Newspaper: Israel ties Tampa university professor to Jihad*** Al-Najjar, who spent more than 3 1/2 years in jail on secret evidence linking him to terrorists, only to be released in December 2000, has been in solitary confinement since November 2001 awaiting deportation. A seven-member delegation of prosecutors and investigators from Tampa traveled to Israel in the fall of 2000 for briefings by the Israelis, the Tribune reported. Then-U.S. Attorney Donna Bucella, now in private practice in Miami, said Monday she could not confirm the trip occurred nor comment on the report. As recently as 1994, suspects arrested in connection with terrorist attacks in Israel have had slips of paper with Al-Najjar's home telephone number in Tampa written on them, the Israeli intelligence agents told the newspaper.***
USF professor Al-Arian faces firing - brother-in-law Al-Najjar deported *** TAMPA -- A Palestinian professor was deported to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country Thursday, one day after the university he formerly taught at filed a lawsuit seeking to fire his brother-in-law because it thinks he has ties to terrorism. Mazen Al-Najjar left the country at 9 a.m., ending his seven-year legal battle to remain in the United States, according to his attorney, Joe Hohenstein. He would not reveal Al-Najjar's destination until his client safely landed in that country. Al-Najjar, who has a doctorate in engineering and has taught Arabic language classes at the University of South Florida, spent more than 31/2 years in jail on secret evidence linking him to terrorists. He was released in 2000 but arrested again in November and held until his deportation.
Al-Najjar is the brother-in-law of USF computer-science Professor Sami Al-Arian. USF President Judy Genshaft announced Wednesday that she intends to fire Al-Arian because of his alleged ties to terrorism. The school filed a lawsuit Wednesday that includes the termination letter university officials will send to Al-Arian if the courts rule that firing him would not violate his constitutional rights.***