WASHINGTON, 7 June 2005 — Two years after his arrest, Sami Al-Arian, the fired University of South Florida computer science professor, got his day in court yesterday.

Al-Arian, 47, took center stage as he entered Tampa’s federal courthouse yesterday in shackles and handcuffs. He faces terrorism charges, along with eight co-defendants, in a case that surfaced more than a decade ago but took on heightened focus and controversy following the 9/11 terrorism attacks.

Only four of the nine were in court yesterday as opening arguments began — the rest are still at large overseas.

Al-Arian and the others face 53 counts including racketeering, conspiracy to kill civilians, money laundering and giving material support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

Prosecutors allege the men used an Islamic academic think tank and a Palestinian charity founded by Al-Arian as fund-raising fronts for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is on a State Department list of terrorist organizations.

The group is blamed for more than 100 deaths in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. None of the defendants is alleged to have personally participated in Islamic Jihad attacks.

Al-Arian was videotaped during a gathering in 1988 shouting, “Death to Israel!” In a 2002 interview with the St. Petersburg Times, he claimed his quote was taken out of its cultural context and he only meant “death” to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.

Following four weeks of preparation and jury selection by attorneys from both the defense and prosecution, lawyers presented their opening arguments yesterday in a court case expected to last six months.

The Al-Arian case has also fueled debate about civil liberties and homeland security, and it has prompted concerns that such prosecutions inflame anti-Muslim sentiments.

Arian, in court documents and in statements after his arrest, argues the government has sought to criminalize his speech and muzzle his unpopular political views. He calls himself a political prisoner.

His wife, Nahla, said in an interview Friday said that the case only proves that civil liberties and academic freedom are under siege by an overzealous government after 9/11.

“Unfortunately, the government exploited the atmosphere of fear, hatred and suspicions,” she said. “The great Constitution of this country is under attack.”

But prosecutors are adamant that the indictment is not about Al-Arian’s First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and association. They want jurors to decide how far Al-Arian took his speech and private conversations, hours of which were secretly recorded by FBI intelligence units.

Court documents show the government built its case by reaching back through decades of intercepted telephone calls, faxes and other documents gathered by FBI agents dating back to 1984.

A jury of six men and six women, along with 10 alternates, have been chosen for the trial amid objections by Al-Arian’s defense attorneys who argued the trial should be moved out of state. The judge ruled that some prejudices about Muslims and Arabs would occur no matter where the case was tried.

In anticipation of the attention the trial could generate, the US Marshals Service has increased its safeguard measures.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, US Marshals have categorized the trial a “high threat” and have set up thick plastic barricades in the street around the courthouse. They also installed additional metal detectors and increased the number of security officers on duty.

“This is not fair because it is going to instill fear in the jury and it will create a sense of insecurity and distress,” said Al-Arian’s wife.

“This is not fair for the defendant, for my husband...The government is using the scare tactic here to achieve its goals in convicting my husband, which is not fair. If we have normal situations, if we have a normal atmosphere, of course we are confident that we can show he’s innocent.”