Judge orders former Florida professor (Dr Al-Arian) freed on bond

[flashl]

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia: A federal judge, overruling government objections, has ordered that a former professor in custody since 2003 as part of a terrorism investigation be freed on bond.

It's unlikely that former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian will immediately be set free. It's expected that he'll be transferred to immigration authorities since he's subject to deportation.

But U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema's order could trigger provisions that bar the government from prosecuting Al-Arian for criminal contempt.

...

Now the government wants to prosecute him again for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating a cluster of Muslim organizations in northern Virginia.

International Herald Tribune, France

<JURIST> Arab activist Sami Al-Arian was granted bail Thursday by a judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia , but it is speculated that he might be detained by immigration officials upon release.