|
Acquitted terror suspect loses appeal in immigration case
A former University of Arkansas at Fayetteville graduate student from the Middle East, convicted of obtaining U. S. citizenship unlawfully, lost his appeal Wednesday of five federal convictions. The 8th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis rejected Arwah J. Jabers argument that the U. S. District Court of the Western District of Arkansas was not the proper place for his prosecution. Jaber said the alleged crimes did not occur in the district or within the time period described in the indictment. The court also rejected Jabers argument that the judge should have instructed jurors to consider whether the case should be in another district. Born in the West Bank, Jaber attended the university and obtained a doctoral degree in chemistry while awaiting trial. He was acquitted last year of an aiding-terrorism charge but convicted of obtaining his naturalization unlawfully, making false statements on passport and naturalization applications, and twice using a false Social Security number on credit card applications. U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren sentenced Jaber to 15 months in prison and three years supervised probation to begin upon completion of his prison term. Jaber also was fined $2000 and lost his citizenship. The appeals court said Jaber twice erroneously led immigration officials to believe that he never used another name since becoming a permanent resident in 1996 nor committed a crime for which he was not arrested. The first occasion was when he applied for citizenship Aug. 16, 2000, in Lincoln, Neb., the court said. The second time was in informing immigration officials Jan. 30, 2001, in Kansas City, Mo., that he was changing his address from Pittsburg, Kan., to Fayetteville. In response to Jabers arguments, the court said a federal offense that begins in one district and is completed in another can be prosecuted in the latter district. Also, the court said, Hendren did not have to instruct the jury on venue because that was not in dispute since Jaber obtained his citizenship on July 2, 2001, in Fayetteville in the Western District of Arkansas. In addition, the appeals panel noted that the defense did not object to a jury instruction that the evidence did not need to establish the exact dates in the indictment. Jaber was arrested at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill on June 14, 2005, as he prepared to leave on a trip to the Middle East. Prosecutors said he planned to join Palestinian Islamic Jihad, labeled by U. S. authorities as a terrorist organization. During his trial, Jaber denied the allegation. He also said he did not cite his Palestinian name, Orwah Houshia, in immigration papers though he applied for credit cards using that name because he had used Arwah Jaber on all his immigration papers up until then. Posted by: ryuge 2007-12-06 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=211720 |