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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A federal appeals court on Friday affirmed a civil contempt ruling against a former university professor hours after he ended a two-month hunger strike to protest a judge's decision to extend his prison term.
A judge decided to hold Sami al-Arian an additional 18 months because he refused to testify before a Virginia grand jury investigating Palestinian charities. Al-Arian had been scheduled to be released from prison in April.
Al-Arian, a Palestinian who taught computer science at the University of South Florida, claimed that a plea agreement in Florida exempted him from cooperating with the Alexandria, Va. grand jury.
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