WASHINGTON - Federal authorities have decided to deport a former Florida professor and longtime Palestinian rights activist [That's a leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad to you and me. -S] after failing to convict him on charges he helped finance terrorist attacks in Israel.

Sami Al-Arian, who had met with U.S. presidents and other political leaders before his terrorism indictment in 2003, reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge and be deported, two lawyers familiar with the case said Friday. The arrangement requires the approval of a judge.

It was not clear where Al-Arian would be sent...

CAIR WELCOMES RESOLUTION OF AL-ARIAN CASE Government decides not to retry Florida Muslim professor

WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/14/06) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed the government's decision not to retry Sami Al-Arian, a Florida Muslim professor who remained in jail despite being acquitted late last year of eight out of 17 federal charges brought against him. The jury deadlocked on the other charges.

According to media reports, Al-Arian reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge and be deported to an unidentified country. A former defense attorney in the case said the government conceded in the agreement that there were no acts of violence committed by Al-Arian. Details of the agreement have not been made public and still require the approval of a judge...