Vol. 73/No. 23      June 15, 2009

On May 27 a federal court in Dallas handed down sentences totaling 180 years in prison for the five. They were convicted last November of raising more than $12 million for the Palestinian group Hamas through the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a charity based in Richardson, Texas.

It took the government two trials, a decade-long press campaign claiming the charity was “terrorist,” and 15 years of wiretapping and spying on bank records, to win the case.

Throughout the trial and sentencing, the defendants denied the charges and stated that they had raised money for individuals and groups in the West Bank and Gaza for humanitarian purposes.

Shukri Abu Baker, former executive chairman of the foundation, received a 65-year jail term. Before sentencing him, U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis referred to Abu Baker as “an ardent supporter of Hamas.”

During his statement to the court, Abu Baker told the judge, “It’s easy to demonize your opponent,” and insisted that it was “not rage against Israel” but his desire to provide aid to Palestinian children that motivated his charity work.

The judge cut Abu Baker off, saying, “I don’t want to go all morning.” He then pronounced what amounted to a life sentence.

The remaining defendants also received harsh jail terms: Ghassan Elashi, 65 years; Mufid Abdulqader, 20 years; and Mohammad el-Mezain and Abdulrahman Odeh, 15 years.

The U.S. government designated Hamas as “terrorist” in 1995. The government shut down Holy Land in December 2001.

The first trial ended in a hung jury Oct. 22, 2007. In the second trial prosecutors were allowed to speak with jurors from the first trial in order to modify their case to ensure a conviction the second time around.

The conviction of the five also includes an order for Holy Land to pay the U.S. government the more than $12 million the foundation had collected.  
 
 
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