Sami Omar Al-Hussayen
| Sami Omar Al-Hussayen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 (age 43–44) Saudi Arabia |
| Detained at | Idaho |
| Penalty | acquitted |
| Status | deported |
| Occupation | Professor of Computer Science |
Sami Omar Al-Hussayen (born 1973, Saudi Arabia), also known as Sami Al-Hussayen, is a teacher at a technical college in Riyadh. As a Ph.D. graduate student in computer science at the University of Idaho in the United States, he was arrested and charged in 2003 by the United States with running websites as a webmaster that were linked to organizations that support terrorism. Al-Hussayen is one of the few people at the time to have been charged under a provision that has been described as "overly broad and vague." He was also charged with immigration violations.
U.S. v. Al-Hussayen is considered a landmark case for civil liberties, related to provisions of the USA Patriot Act in the United States. It was the first time that the government tried to use the material support statutes "to prosecute conduct that consisted almost exclusively of operating and maintaining websites."
The Idaho senior US Senator and one of its Congressmen, both Republicans, had already proposed amendments to the Act because of their concerns about its effects on civil liberties.
At an immigration hearing in 2003, the federal judge ordered Al-Hussayen deported. He was held in the United States to face terrorism and immigration charges, and was tried in 2004. He was acquitted that year of the three federal terrorism charges, which was considered a "stinging defeat" for the government; he was also acquitted of three of eight immigration charges. The jury was deadlocked on the other immigration charges, and the judge called a mistrial.
Al-Hussayen accepted a deal, agreeing to deportation if the prosecutor dropped plans to retry him on the outstanding immigration charges. His wife and three sons returned to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia before him, and he was deported in July 2004. He and his wife both work in Riyadh.
Sami Omar Al-Hussayen was arrested in late February 2003 in the town of Moscow, Idaho, where he lived since 1999 as a Ph.D. graduate student in computer science at the University of Idaho. His wife and three sons were with him.
The federal government had two cases against him: federal charges related to support of terrorism, and one related to immigration issues. For the terrorism case, he was initially charged with seven counts of visa fraud, and four counts of lying to officials. All charges related to his alleged work as a webmaster, as a foreign student on a student visa in the United States is not allowed to work for an employer not situated on the student's campus. Al-Hussayen maintained that he did volunteer work and was not receiving pay, and thus did not violate the conditions of his visa. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
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