PIJ Defendant in Tampa Pleads Guilty in Separate Case

By Bill West

As reported in today�s News Box section on the Blog, an AP report cites a Tampa Tribune article noting that Sameeh Hammoudeh, one of the defendants in the Tampa Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) prosecution case and one who is also detained along with principal defendant Sami Al-Arian, pleaded guilty yesterday in US District Court in Tampa, along with his wife Nadia, to a separate indictment that was brought in August last year. That indictment charged multiple counts of fraud, including tax and immigration related violations stemming from their alleged illegal employment at the Islamic Academy of Florida, the private Islamic school founded by Al-Arian and his deported brother-in-law Mazen Al-Najjar, who is also an indicted defendant in the PIJ prosecution but who is at large outside the United States.

The news reports indicate the Hammoudehs have agreed to cooperate with the US Government in removal (deportation) proceedings that may result against themselves and other family members who are in the US illegally. The reports indicate Federal prosecutors, who are so far doing an exceptional job under exceptionally difficult circumstances, will recommend probation for the couple pursuant to the plea agreement.

Nothing more should be read into the reported plea agreement than what it says on its face. However, even with this, a key defendant in the Tampa PIJ case has now accepted a guilty plea involving activities linked to an organization created and operated by Al-Arian and Al-Najjar. And among those violations are felony immigration charges, which were the very predicate offenses upon which the original November 1995 search warrants were obtained to search Al-Arian�s residence, his office at the University of South Florida and the office suite at the World Islam and Studies Enterprise, his alleged �think tank.�

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