Islamic Charity Fundraiser Walks Free After 2 Years in Detention
Charity News Online
The top fundraiser for an Islamic charity the government says has ties to terrorism was released Monday night from a federal detention center in Los Angeles where he had been incarcerated for more than two years. Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan left the Terminal Island federal detention facility in San Pedro shortly after 9:30 p.m. after an emotional reunion with his wife and five children inside the prison gates. Earlier Monday the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected a last-ditch government request to keep him locked up, The Associated Press reported.
Hamdan, who founded a mosque in Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004 as federal authorities unsealed an indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The government charged that the Texas-based charity funneled millions to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Holy Land Foundation's president, chairman and director of endowments were also charged with terrorism-related crimes.
Hamdan himself was never charged with terrorism. Instead, he was convicted of overstaying a student visa he got 27 years ago. The month after the Holy Land Foundation was charged, he was ordered deported on the immigration charge. His requests to be released on bond while he fought the charge were denied until U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ordered him freed last week. He was released without bond but must wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and check in regularly with authorities.
Hamdan, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, has acknowledged traveling around the country as a Holy Land fundraiser. He insists, however, he has no information to support allegations the group aided Hamas, which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization.
charity, fundraising, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Hamas
Charity News Online
The top fundraiser for an Islamic charity the government says has ties to terrorism was released Monday night from a federal detention center in Los Angeles where he had been incarcerated for more than two years. Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan left the Terminal Island federal detention facility in San Pedro shortly after 9:30 p.m. after an emotional reunion with his wife and five children inside the prison gates. Earlier Monday the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected a last-ditch government request to keep him locked up, The Associated Press reported.
Hamdan, who founded a mosque in Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004 as federal authorities unsealed an indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The government charged that the Texas-based charity funneled millions to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Holy Land Foundation's president, chairman and director of endowments were also charged with terrorism-related crimes.
Hamdan himself was never charged with terrorism. Instead, he was convicted of overstaying a student visa he got 27 years ago. The month after the Holy Land Foundation was charged, he was ordered deported on the immigration charge. His requests to be released on bond while he fought the charge were denied until U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ordered him freed last week. He was released without bond but must wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and check in regularly with authorities.
Hamdan, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, has acknowledged traveling around the country as a Holy Land fundraiser. He insists, however, he has no information to support allegations the group aided Hamas, which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization.
charity, fundraising, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Hamas
posted by Lisa Vronskaya at 10:17 AM
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