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| Two Palestinians not guilty in US Hamas finance trial |
| 2007-02-02 |
| A US jury found two Palestinian men not guilty of racketeering conspiracy charges Thursday in a Hamas financing case once hailed by the US administration as a major victory in the "war on terror." The jury did however find both men guilty of less serious charges of obstruction of justice, for which they can still face lengthy prison terms. The three-month trial, which evolved into a debate on the legitimacy of the Islamist movement Hamas and the alleged use of torture by Israeli security forces, was closely watched by Chicago's Palestinian and Jewish communities and civil rights activists. Dozens of spectators, who had rushed to the courtroom on short notice, burst into cheers and applause when the not guilty verdict was returned against naturalized US citizen Muhammad Salah, a Chicago grocer, and former Washington-based university professor Abdelhaleem Ashqar. Prosecutors had argued that both men were top officials in the militant wing of Hamas, which currently heads the Palestinian government but is still designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Salah was accused of being a "bag man" who shuttled funds for guns and other terrorist activities, while Ashqar was accused of being the group's secretary and communications go-between. Both men had insisted throughout the trial that they were only involved in charitable activities and had been documenting the history of a legitimate political movement. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 I'm working to implement this excellent idea right now. |
| Posted by: Senor Hugo Chavez 2007-02-02 15:41 |
| #6 I agree as well. |
| Posted by: Mr. Robert Mugabe 2007-02-02 15:40 |
| #5 "And last, but not least, treating terrorists as criminals---giving them all the benefits of an ethical code that they intend to wipe from the World---is numero uno mistake." I so agree with you, Mr Gromgurru. And I've got a nice long list of the folks I consider terrorists, who will be imprisoned without trial on January 21, 2009, if all goes well. |
| Posted by: Sen Hillary Clinton 2007-02-02 15:39 |
| #4 Sounds like the U.S. made the best of a bad case (not enough hard evidence). Perhaps Salah and Ashqar can enjoy the shouts of victory before the long prison terms begin and then the long years of supervision. |
| Posted by: whatadeal 2007-02-02 10:30 |
| #3 #2 And last, but not least, treating terrorists as criminals---giving them all the benefits of an ethical code that they intend to wipe from the World---is numero uno mistake. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-02-02 10:25 |
| #2 very unfortunate outcome; the "we were collecting funds for the charitable arm of Hamas" although a scam was an effective defense; also, since Hamas wasn't declared a terrorist org until 1995, it complicated things; in addition, the crime of 'racketeering' is hideously vague and makes it tough to get convictions in compilcated cases. |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-02-02 08:18 |
| #1 Not guilty, but guilty of less serious charges of obstruction of justice. Not guilty in the headline, but guilty in the text. Charges? Were there other charges ommitted in this stellar reporting? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-02-02 06:30 |