Al-Arian, a former computer science professor at the University of South Florida, was accused by prosecutors of being a leader of a terrorist group called Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He is being held at a medical prison in North Carolina.
After a six-month trial ended in an acquittal on some counts and a hung jury on others, al-Arian struck a plea bargain in May 2006 and admitted to conspiring to aid Palestinian Islamic Jihad, specifically by helping a family member with links to the group obtain immigration benefits and by lying to a reporter about another individual's ties to the group.
Al-Arian would be up for release in April, but his prison term is being extended indefinitely after a judge found him in civil contempt for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., investigating a cluster of Islamic charities in northern Virginia that has ties to al-Arian.
Al-Arian believes his plea deal specifically exempted him from cooperating with authorities. But two federal judges have ruled that al-Arian must testify.
Al-Arian began his hunger strike Jan. 22 to protest of the subpoena and contempt citation. His family says he has been drinking only four glasses of water a day. Last week he fainted and hit his head. He has since been transferred to a medical prison in Butner, N.C.
Al-Arian's lawyer, Peter Erlinder, said it is only fair that Gonzales release al-Arian now because prosecutors initially recommended to the judge that al-Arian receive time served when he struck the May 2006 plea deal. A judge rejected that recommendation and sentenced al-Arian to an additional 11 months.
"Mr. Gonzales, you have the power ... to release Dr. al-Arian for voluntary departure from the U.S. with the stroke of your pen," Erlinder said in an open letter to Gonzales.
Erlinder was joined at a press conference outside the Justice Department by representatives of the Muslim American Society, the American Muslim Alliance and the ANSWER Coalition, an anti-war group.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the attorney general does not have the power to unilaterally free al-Arian. Deportations are handled by the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Justice Department.
Typically, immigration officials deport an individual only after they have served their entire sentence. Erlinder said there is precedent for deporting an individual before their prison time is up.