THE NATION - News from May 28, 2009
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Two founding members of what was once the nation’s largest Muslim charity were each sentenced to 65 years in prison for funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elashi, 55, were among the five members of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development sentenced to prison by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis in Dallas. The men and Holy Land were convicted in November on 108 counts.
The two Holy Land leaders were convicted on charges ranging from supporting a terrorist organization to money laundering and tax fraud. The group wasn’t accused of violence but of bankrolling Hamas-controlled schools and social welfare programs.
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