UI campus emotionally shaken
MOSCOW, Idaho — For weeks John Dickinson has been checking his computer and racing to the phone.
The now-retired University of Idaho professor who was Sami Al-Hussayen’s Ph.D. adviser has been wrapped up in his student’s case since the beginning. He’s traveled to Boise several times to visit Al-Hussayen in jail, was subpoenaed as a witness for the trial and publicly protested his imprisonment.
“When you’re waiting for something, you’re just nervous,” Dickinson said just a few minutes after hearing the news that his student no longer faced terrorism charges. “I’m not surprised at the verdict. I’m just pleased that this ends a very unfortunate chapter in his life and that he will soon be reunited with his wife and three children.”
Dickinson and his family, along with a number of friends and classmates of Al-Hussayen, welcomed the news of the verdicts. Many, including the professor, had maintained that Al-Hussayen was innocent, even after they had glimpses of the federal investigation during the trial.
Monica Schurtman, the attorney for Al-Hussayen’s wife, Maha, was relieved to hear the verdicts. Maha Al-Hussayen agreed to leave the country in March or face possible detention. Prior to that, she stayed in Moscow and traveled to Southern Idaho every week to see her husband.
“After her husband’s arrest, she was suddenly thrust into being head of the family,” said Schurtman, explaining that it had been a difficult cultural adjustment under frightening circumstances. “And then she had to leave. It was horrible.”
News spread quickly among Al-Hussayen’s Muslim classmates. Ibraheem Almuaqel of Saudi Arabia had a friend in the courtroom in Boise and got the verdict over a cell phone just seconds after it was announced. He was hit with a rush of emotion. “I can’t explain,” he said. “I really was so happy. But also, I was so sad when I think about the time he spent in the jail for nothing.”
“Thanks God,” said Abdullah Alkhateeb, another Saudi student. “My wife called and told me. I was so happy. We’ve been waiting for a year and a half for this moment.”
For many the news meant more than just that a friend would be allowed to return home to his family. Professor emeritus S.M. Ghazanfar said his support of the student was not so much because he was a fellow Muslim but because he thought they lived in a country that prized freedom. “All this happened under the guise of the Patriot Act,” said Ghazanfar. “Even as a professor you feel that developments such as these muzzle people.”
“This is wonderful news,” he said of the not-guilty verdicts. “It helps me regain my confidence and faith in the institutions of this country.”
Al-Hussayen’s arrest and subsequent charges may have permanently changed the small college town.
It spurred Dickinson’s successful run for Moscow City Council and caused many to consider the Muslim experience and reach out to the foreign students.
“My interest in running for office was a direct result of Sami getting arrested,” said the retired professor. “Our government wasn’t working for us. I wanted to do something about it.”
Earlier this week, the City Council passed a resolution proposed by Dickinson supporting civil liberties in the face of the Patriot Act.
Dickinson and Al-Hussayen have discussed steps the student could take to finish his computer science degree. Al-Hussayen is still a student in good standing and had registered for a research class this spring.
“But the first thing he needs to do is reconnect with his family,” said Dickinson. “He has not been able to touch his wife or his children since the day of his arrest. We’ve talked about what it’s going to be like landing in Saudi Arabia and getting off the plane. He wonders who he is supposed to hug first.”