[Washington Post] Dan Eggen - A federal jury in Chicago acquitted two men Thursday of charges that they were part of a long-running conspiracy to finance Hamas activities in Israel. But Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 48, and Muhammad Salah, 53, were found guilty of lesser charges: Ashqar was convicted of obstruction of justice and criminal contempt for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury, while Salah was convicted of obstruction for providing false answers in a civil lawsuit. Salah was accused of helping funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to militant groups in the West Bank and Gaza. He was captured by the Israelis with $100,000 in cash in 1993 and allegedly confessed to being a military commander in Hamas. Ashqar was alleged to have helped launder money and facilitate communications for Hamas.
2007-02-02 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive