Tampa activist Mel Underbakke, a longtime chronicler of the Sami Al-Arian case, sent this report about a recent little-noticed event in Washington, D.C. in observation of a sad milestone: 
A diverse group of over 100 people gathered in front of the Justice Department in Washington on Friday April 13 — the day on which Dr. Sami Al-Arian should have been released — to demand justice. The press conference and rally was organized by the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, and led by its executive director, Imam Mahdi Bray. Speakers included Brian Becker of the ANSWER Coalition; Nativo Lopez, national president of the Mexican-American Political Association; Rev. Graylan Hagler of Plymouth United Church of Christ; and Sister Asma Hanif of the Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations.
Lois Price spoke for Friends of Human Rights, a group that originated in Tampa and supported Al-Arian from the time he was arrested. She said that she had always been told that Washington was the heart of justice, but in the past four years she had seen so much injustice toward Sami Al-Arian that she no longer believed that it was true.
Nahla Al-Arian spoke about her two youngest children, whom she had left in Tampa with unanswered questions. She said they had asked her, “Why isn’t our government releasing our father? Is he going to stay in jail forever? Are we ever going to be able to be with him or is this an endless nightmare?â€
Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Arian was in a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, with no release date in sight.
You may write to Sami Al-Arian at the following address: Dr. Sami Al-Arian, Alexandria Detention Center, 2001 Mill Road, Alexandria, VA 22314
This article appears in Apr 18-24, 2007.