We also congratulate the defendants' families who have suffered immensely during this ordeal. Many innocent Arabs have been targeted by the U.S. government since September 11, 2001 often under the powers of the so-called Patriot Act. The acquittals yesterday represent a renewal of faith in the jury system, where average Americans were clearly able to see past the suffocating volume of propaganda directed against Al-Arian and the other co-defendants. Professor Al-Arian was found not guilty of eight of the 17 counts brought against him and the jury was deadlocked on the other counts. Co-defendants Sameeh Hammoudeh and Ghassan Zayed Ballut were acquitted of all charges against them. Hatem Naji Fariz was found not guilty of 24 counts and jurors deadlocked on the remaining eight. Professor Al-Arian and Hatem Naji Fariz are now waiting in prison while the Department of Justice prosecutors decide whether or not they wish to go to trial again on the charges on which the jury deadlocked. These charges are based on those of which the co-defendants were found not guilty. We ask all people of conscience to write and call Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales at the Department of Justice to demand that the government drop all charges and free Dr. Al-Arian and Hatem Naji Fariz forthwith. The defendants and their families have suffered for far too long and must be allowed to get on with their lives. E-MAIL, CALL and WRITE Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales E-MAIL: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov PHONE: 202-514-2001 and 202-353-1555 MAIL: U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Please cc your correspondence to alerts@al-awda.org Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition PO Box 131352 Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA Tel: 760-685-3243 Fax: 360-933-3568 E-mail: info@al-awda.org WWW: http://www.al-awda.org Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC), is the largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to Palestinian human rights. We are a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. As such, under IRS guidelines, your donations to Al-Awda/PRRC are tax-deductible. To find out how to make a donation, please go to http://www.al-awda.org/donatenow