Sami Omar Al-Hussayen
Encyclopedia
Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, also known as Sami Al-Hussayen, a native of Saudi Arabia
and former graduate student in Computer Science at the University of Idaho
, is a Webmaster
who was acquitted of charges that he ran Web sites which supported terrorism.
Al-Hussayen was defended online by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
.
.
There were two cases against him - one a federal case and the other an immigration related one.
For the federal case, he was initially charged with seven counts of visa fraud, and four counts of lying to officials.
All charges stemmed from his alleged work as a webmaster, as foreign students on student visas in the United States of America are not allowed to work for employers not situated on their campus. Al-Hussayen maintained that the work he did was purely voluntary, and did not get monetary compensation, and thus could not have violated the conditions of his visa.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In March 2003, it was ruled that Mr. Al-Hussayen should be set free without bail and remain under house arrest until his trial commenced. However, immigration officials detained him for their case and he was transferred to their custody.
In January 2004, he was charged with two counts of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists using his skills in computers.
In March 2004, he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas - through donation links on Web sites he allegedly maintained. His formal indictments can be seen here.
His trial began in April 2004.
His trial lasted six weeks. The defense called only one witness. He was acquitted of all three terrorism charges, and of three of the eight immigration charges. The jurors deadlocked on the remaining charges, and District Judge Edward Lodge
declared a mistrial for those remaining charges.
He was deported to Saudi Arabia in July 2004. His wife and three sons traveled back to meet him, rather than await deportation orders. Al-Hussayen currently lives in Riyadh
where he works as an instructor at a technical university, while his wife works as a kindergarten teacher.
The USA Today
reported that U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins
ruled that the Patriot Act's barring "expert advice or assistance" to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations was too vague.
The USA Today quoted the director of the Martin Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution and the Martin School of International Affairs at the University of Idaho, Rand Lewis:
In 2009 a federal court of appeals found that former Attorney General John Ashcroft
could be sued and held personally responsible for the wrongful detention of material witness Abdullah al-Kidd, an American citizen arrested in 2003 and held for 13 months in maximum security prisons to be used as a witness in the trial of Al-Hussayen. In June 2011, the Supreme Court unanimously decided against allowing John Ashcroft to be sued.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and former graduate student in Computer Science at the University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
, is a Webmaster
Webmaster
A webmaster , also called a web architect, web developer, site author, or website administrator is a person responsible for maintaining one or many websites...
who was acquitted of charges that he ran Web sites which supported terrorism.
Al-Hussayen was defended online by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
.
Arrest and Charges
Al-Hussayen was arrested in late February 2003 in the town of Moscow, IdahoMoscow, Idaho
Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...
.
There were two cases against him - one a federal case and the other an immigration related one.
For the federal case, he was initially charged with seven counts of visa fraud, and four counts of lying to officials.
All charges stemmed from his alleged work as a webmaster, as foreign students on student visas in the United States of America are not allowed to work for employers not situated on their campus. Al-Hussayen maintained that the work he did was purely voluntary, and did not get monetary compensation, and thus could not have violated the conditions of his visa.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In March 2003, it was ruled that Mr. Al-Hussayen should be set free without bail and remain under house arrest until his trial commenced. However, immigration officials detained him for their case and he was transferred to their custody.
Trials
The immigration hearings took place in the middle of 2003, where Federal judge Anna Ho ruled that Mr. Al-Hussayen was deportable.In January 2004, he was charged with two counts of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists using his skills in computers.
In March 2004, he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas - through donation links on Web sites he allegedly maintained. His formal indictments can be seen here.
His trial began in April 2004.
His trial lasted six weeks. The defense called only one witness. He was acquitted of all three terrorism charges, and of three of the eight immigration charges. The jurors deadlocked on the remaining charges, and District Judge Edward Lodge
Edward Lodge
Edward Lodge is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Idaho in Boise, Idaho. He is the husband of Idaho State Senator Patti Anne Lodge.- Education and Career :...
declared a mistrial for those remaining charges.
Deportation
After his acquittal at the criminal trial, Al-Hussayen was still imprisoned by immigration authorities, and a few weeks later, agreed not to appeal his deportation order if the prosecution agreed not to retry him for the remaining charges.He was deported to Saudi Arabia in July 2004. His wife and three sons traveled back to meet him, rather than await deportation orders. Al-Hussayen currently lives in Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
where he works as an instructor at a technical university, while his wife works as a kindergarten teacher.
Importance of the Case
The Patriot Act authorizes the government to prosecute people if they "provide expert advice or assistance" to terrorist groups, although a January 2004 federal case in California ruled that this violates First and Fifth Amendment rights.The USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
reported that U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins
Audrey Collins
Audrey Collins OBE played one test match for the England women's team in 1937 .Born in India in 1915, she was brought to England by her Australian mother in 1920 after her father's death in the Great War...
ruled that the Patriot Act's barring "expert advice or assistance" to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations was too vague.
The USA Today quoted the director of the Martin Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution and the Martin School of International Affairs at the University of Idaho, Rand Lewis:
- "We have a law that is shaky at best. My feeling is that Sami is going to be the test case in this."
- "Passive supporters often don't know they're supporting terrorism. So when you get into these gray areas about what people know and what they don't know, I think the law is going to have a difficult time."
In 2009 a federal court of appeals found that former Attorney General John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
could be sued and held personally responsible for the wrongful detention of material witness Abdullah al-Kidd, an American citizen arrested in 2003 and held for 13 months in maximum security prisons to be used as a witness in the trial of Al-Hussayen. In June 2011, the Supreme Court unanimously decided against allowing John Ashcroft to be sued.