20 October, 2011

Jurors resume deliberating terrorism funding case

Jurors resume deliberating terrorism funding case

By AMY FORLITI, Associated Press –

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A jury has resumed deliberations in the case of two Minnesota women accused of conspiring to funnel money to a terrorist group in Somalia.

Jurors completed their first full day of deliberations Tuesday with no verdict in the trial of 35-year-old Amina Farah Ali (ah-MEE'-nuh FEHR'-uh ah-LEE') and 64-year-old Hawo Mohamed Hassan (HAH'-woh moh-HAH'-mehd hah-SAHN').

Prosecutors say the two were part of a "deadly pipeline" that routed money and fighters from the U.S. to Somalia.

Defense attorneys portray them as humanitarians who wanted to help the poor in their war-torn homeland and tried to aid those protecting Somalia.

The women, U.S. citizens of Somali descent, were among 20 people charged in Minnesota in federal investigations into recruiting and financing for al-Shabab, considered a terrorist group with ties to al-Qaida.

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