Word: arians
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...defense attorneys and prosecutors to work." Kromberg insisted there were no ethical lapses and said Florida prosecutors didn't care "a whit" about what was going on in Virginia, which appeared to contradict his earlier statement that the Florida prosecutors didn't want their Virginia colleagues to subpoena al-Arian. "There was no collaboration between Florida and Virginia," he said. Besides, Kromberg noted that when the federal judge in the 2005 trial sentenced al-Arian on the one count to the maximum 57 months instead of the expected 46 (which, given time served, would have meant al-Arian's almost...
...Instead of being sent back to the Middle East, al-Arian was called by Kromberg to testify before a grand jury looking into a Virginia-based Islamic think tank, the International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT). But because he believed Kromberg's subpoena violated his plea agreement, al-Arian refused to cooperate. Last year, as a result, he was indicted for criminal contempt. All the while, despite his controversial history, his case has become a cause célèbre among civil rights activists, and he has staged at least two hunger strikes...
...request for evidence regarding plea negotiations - that the Tampa-based federal prosecutors who had negotiated the plea agreement were aware of Kromberg's plans but never disclosed them. "Lawyers have the obligation to each other to reveal [that kind of information] before someone signs away his liberty," al-Arian defense attorney Jonathan Turley said in last week's hearing, "particularly after he was just acquitted on a number of counts before a jury...
...Kromberg also revealed last week for the first time that the prosecutors who had tried al-Arian in Florida did not want their Virginia colleagues to proceed with the subpoena but kept quiet about it anyway. One possible reason, say defense lawyers: had the defense team known that its client would be compelled to testify in a separate case, the plea deal might have crumbled, denying the Tampa prosecutors even that one conviction. The U.S. Attorney's offices in Florida and Virginia would not comment when contacted by TIME, and the reasons for their actions in the case may never...
...Kromberg himself is also at issue in the case. A 16-year Justice Department veteran known for taking on high-profile terrorism cases, he's been accused of making anti-Muslim slurs. A 2006 affidavit filed by Tampa attorney Jack Fernandez, who served on al-Arian's defense team, alleges that Kromberg refused to delay a hearing scheduled to take place during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. "If they can kill each other during Ramadan, they can appear before the grand jury," Kromberg said, according to the affidavit. "All they can't do is eat before sunset...