MUSLIM CHARITY MEMBER GETS 65 YEARS IN PRISON
COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 31 May 2009
Associated Press - May 27, 2009
DALLAS (AP) – A founding member of what was once the nation’s largest Muslim charity today was sentenced to 65 years in prison for funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
50-year-old Shukri Abu Baker, of Garland, was the first Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development to be sentenced.
The November convictions of the five men on 108 charges followed a mistrial.
The government alleged the charity sent more than $12 million to Hamas. It’s illegal to offer Hamas support because it was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. in 1995. The group has taken credit for hundreds of suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians.
Abu Baker told the judge today quote "I did it because I cared, not at the behest of Hamas."
Holy Land’s supporters say the prosecution was a politically motivated product of Bush’s "war on terror" and a prime example of post-Sept. 11, anti-Islam hysteria.
Information from The Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com
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