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{{Short description|Islamic charity in the United States}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox company
| defunct = 2001
| ___location = [[Richardson, Texas]], U.S.
| key_people = [[Mousa Abu Marzook]] <br />[[Ghassan Elashi]]
| homepage = [https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.hlf.org hlf.org]
}}
The '''Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development''' ('''HLF'''
Headquartered in [[Richardson, Texas]], and run by [[Palestinian-Americans]], the organization's stated mission was to "find and implement practical solutions for human suffering through humanitarian programs that impact the lives of the disadvantaged, disinherited, and displaced peoples suffering from man-made and natural disasters."<ref name="usblock">{{cite web |date=November 20, 2008 |title=Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons |url=http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081109195856/http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf |archive-date=November 9, 2008 |access-date=November 24, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Department of the Treasury]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Solving the Necessity Conundrum: What the Drug War Can Teach Us About Due Process for U.S. Charities in the Fight Against International Terrorist Financing |url=https://www.icnl.org/resources/research/ijnl/solving-the-necessity-conundrum-what-the-drug-war-can-teach-us-about-due-process-for-u-s-charities-in-the-fight-against-international-terrorist-financing |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=ICNL |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19990221194319/http://www.hlf.org/contactus.htm Contact Us]." Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.</ref>
In December 2001, the U.S. designated HLF a [[United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|terrorist organization]], seized its assets, and closed the organization. At the time it was the largest Muslim charitable organization in the United States. It had been under [[FBI]] surveillance since 1994.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2008/november/hlf112508|title=FBI — Holy Land Foundation Convictions}}</ref><ref name="ca5.uscourts.gov">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-10560-CR0.wpd.pdf|title=Revised January 13, 2012 "The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit" United States of America vs Mohammad El-Mezain; Ghassan Elashi; Shukri Abu Bakr; Mufid Abdulqader; Abdulrahman Odeh; Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, also known as HLF. " No. 09-10560, Filed December 7, 2011, pg. 7}}</ref> In 2004, a federal grand jury in [[Dallas, Texas]], charged HLF and five former officers and employees with providing material support to [[Hamas]] and related offenses. The government's assertion was that HLF distributed charity through local [[zakat]] (charity) committees located in the [[West Bank]] that paid stipends to the families of [[Palestinian suicide attacks|Palestinian suicide bombers]] and Hamas prisoners; that Hamas controlled those zakat committees; that by distributing charity through Hamas-controlled committees, HLF helped Hamas build a [[grassroots]] support amongst the [[Palestinian people]]; and that these charity front organizations served a dual purpose of laundering the money for all of Hamas's activities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-10560-CR0.wpd.pdf|title=Revised January 13, 2012 "The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit" United States of America vs Mohammad El-Mezain; Ghassan Elashi; Shukri Abu Bakr; Mufid Abdulqader; Abdulrahman Odeh; Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, also known as HLF. " No. 09-10560, Filed December 7, 2011, pg. 8}}</ref>
Simultaneously, in November 2004, U.S. [[Magistrate Judge]] Arlander Keys ruled that HLF, along with the [[Islamic Association of Palestine]] (IAP), were liable for the 1996 killing of 17-year-old American citizen David Boim in Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-11-11-0411110231-story.html|title=3 Islamic fundraisers held liable in terror death|last=Cohen|first=Laurie|date=November 11, 2004 |website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-03}}</ref>
The first criminal trial, in 2007, ended in the partial [[acquittal]] of one defendant and a [[hung jury]] on all other charges. At a retrial in 2008, the jury found all defendants guilty on all counts. The 2008 trial of the charity leaders was the "largest terrorism financing prosecution in American history."<ref>[[Agence France-Presse]][https://web.archive.org/web/20110529023526/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jQhamE6J-SM-obuNztsdmJD9imHQ November 24, 2008]</ref> In 2009, the founders of the organization were given sentences of between 15 and 65 years in prison for "funnelling $12 million to Hamas."<ref>[https://jta.org/news/article/2009/05/28/1005480/holy-land-founders-get-life-sentences#When:10:32:00Z "Holy Land founders get life sentences."] ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency|JTA]]''. May 28, 2009.</ref>
The trial has been criticised by some NGOs, including [[Human Rights Watch]].<ref name=":2" /> Civil rights attorney Emily Ratner wrote that the use of anonymous and hearsay evidence by the prosecutors was "constitutionally questionable" at best.<ref name="br">{{cite web |last=Bridge Initiative Team |title=Factsheet: Holy Land Foundation |url=https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-holy-land-foundation/ |website=Bridge: A Georgetown University Initiative |publisher=Georgetown University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211123943/https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-holy-land-foundation/ |archive-date=11 February 2020 }}</ref><ref name="er">{{cite web |last1=Ratner |first1=Emily |title=Anonymous Accusers in the Holy Land: Subverting the Right of Confrontation in the United States' Largest Terrorism-Financing Trial |url=http://law.loyno.edu/sites/law.loyno.edu/files/Ratner.formatted.pdf |website=Loyola University New Orleans}}</ref> Families of the men charged, known as the Holy Land Five, have demanded their release.<ref name="middleeasteye.net">{{Cite web |title=Holy Land Five: Rights groups, families demand release over 'miscarriage of justice' |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/holy-land-five-rights-groups-families-demand-release-over-miscarriage-justice |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref>
== History ==
=== Early history (
In 1988, Shukri Abu Baker established a tax-exempt charity, called the Occupied Land Fund, based in [[Indiana]]. The following year the charity raised $300,000. Two years later the OLF was incorporated by Baker, [[Ghassan Elashi]], and
[[Mousa
=== Federal Scrutiny (1994-2001) ===
Before the designation of HLF as a terrorist organization, the government had been surveilling the organization pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ("FISA") as well as several individuals due to suspect activity.<ref name="ca5.uscourts.gov" /> In 1993, one month after the signing of the [[Oslo Accords]], Baker and Elashi participated in a public meeting in Philadelphia secretly recorded by the FBI. During this meeting, participants discussed their opposition to the Oslo Accords and their support of Hamas. Baker instructed that "if anyone should inquire about the purpose of the meeting, participants should explain that it was a 'joint workshop' between HLF and the IAP."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Revised January 13, 2012 "The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit" United States of America vs Mohammad El-Mezain; Ghassan Elashi; Shukri Abu Bakr; Mufid Abdulqader; Abdulrahman Odeh; Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, also known as HLF. " No. 09-10560, Filed December 7, 2011, pg. 11 |url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-10560-CR0.wpd.pdf}}</ref> He also stated that participants should not refer to "samah" or Hamas spelled backwards explicitly, mentioning that it would be better for participants to obscure the meaning by saying "Sister Samah."<ref name=":1" /> Following this meeting, in 1994 the government searched the houses of two unindicted co-conspirators, Ismail Elbarasse and Abdelhaleen Masan Ashqar, where they found numerous documents labeling HLF as a fundraising arm for Hamas.<ref name=":1" />
In 1994, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] and the [[American Jewish Congress]] launched a campaign demanding that the [[IRS]] revoke the HLF's tax-exempt status; the campaign was supported by [[Charles Schumer]], [[Nita Lowey]] and [[Eliot Spitzer]].<ref>Peled. p. 56</ref> Further government scrutiny and action was encouraged by the [[Cabinet of Israel|Israeli government]].<ref>{{cite news |author1=Mike Allen |author2=Steven Mufson |date=2001-12-05 |title=U.S. Seizes Assets of 3 Islamic Groups |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/12/05/us-seizes-assets-of-3-islamic-groups/ad196eda-0bfc-4259-84f6-89d4ee60b888/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}</ref>
In February 1995, the HLF and several other US Muslim organizations held a meeting with senior [[US Treasury Department]] officials asking for guidelines on how to avoid making inappropriate transactions with designated terrorist organizations. Those attending included the Chief of the International Programs Division, John Robert McBrien, the head of the [[Office of Foreign Assets Control]], Richard Newcomb, the head of the Licensing Division, Stephen Pinter, and the senior attorney in the Treasury Department's Chief Council's office, Serena Moe. The guidelines requested were finally released in 2002.<ref>Peled. pp. 72, 73</ref>
During the mid-90s, HLF distributed publications that stated HLF raised money for "widows, orphans, the homeless, and 'families of martyrs." In addition, the group lauded the fact that it was the "first to aid the 413 suspected Hamas activists whom Israel deported to Lebanon in 1992."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-1996-06-13/html/CREC-1996-06-13-pt1-PgE1081-4.htm |title=Congressional Record, Volume 142, Issue 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996) |website=www.govinfo.gov|access-date=2019-10-03}}</ref> HLF also listed [[Islamic University of Gaza]]—also founded by
In 2000, HLF raised over $13 million, making it the largest [[Muslim]] charity in the United States at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=#08-1046: Federal Jury in Dallas Convicts Holy Land Foundation and Its Leaders for Providing Material Support to Hamas Terrorist Organization (2008-11-24) |url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/November/08-nsd-1046.html |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=www.justice.gov}}</ref>
===
On December 4, 2001, under [[Executive Order 13224]] issued by President [[George W. Bush|Bush]], the Holy Land Foundation was designated a Domestic Terror
According to the [[United States Department of Treasury]], HLF was making donations to Hamas run charities, ("[[zakat]] committees") and to schools "that served Hamas's ends by encouraging children to become [[suicide bomber]]s and to recruit suicide bombers by offering support to their families".<ref name="13224-e">{{cite web |title=Additional Background Information on Charities Designated Under Executive Order 13224 |url=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/terrorist-illicit-finance/Documents/designationsum-.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602150934/http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/terrorist-illicit-finance/Documents/designationsum-.pdf |archive-date=2013-06-02 |access-date=2014-10-16 |publisher=Ustreas.gov}}</ref> While Treasury officials conceded that a "substantial amount" of the money raised went to worthy causes, they insisted that Holy Land's primary purpose had been to subsidize Hamas. Treasury officials had found that HLF provided the following amounts to "zakat" charities from 1992 to 2001: $366,584 to the Tulkarem Zakat Committee; $1,674,954 to the [[Islamic Charitable Society]] of Hebron ("ICS Hebron"); $475,715 to the Nablus Zakat Committee; $554,500 to the Jenin Zakat Committee; $494,252 to the Ramallah Zakat Committee; and $295,187 to the Qalqilia Zakat Committee. The Treasury argued that these charities were affiliated and controlled by Hamas despite functioning under the Israeli Military Administration. In addition, HLF sent $485,468 to the Islamic Science and Culture Committee from May 1991 until the committee was closed in 1996. Between 1992 and 2001 the HLF received $56 million in donations, and during 1995–2001 $12.4 million was spent outside the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Revised January 13, 2012 "The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit" United States of America vs Mohammad El-Mezain; Ghassan Elashi; Shukri Abu Bakr; Mufid Abdulqader; Abdulrahman Odeh; Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, also known as HLF. " No. 09-10560, Filed December 7, 2011, pg. 10 |url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-10560-CR0.wpd.pdf}}</ref> Repeated appeals to the courts by HLF to have the freeze lifted failed.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft|vol=219|reporter=F. Supp. 2d|opinion=57|court=D.D.C.|date=2002), aff'd, 333 F.3d 156 (D.C. Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1218 (2004}}</ref>
On July 27, 2004, a federal [[grand jury]] in [[Dallas, Texas]], returned a 42-count indictment against the Holy Land Foundation.<ref name="ashcroft">{{cite web |author=Attorney General John Ashcroft |date=July 27, 2004 |title=Prepared Remarks re: Holy Land Foundation Indictment |url=http://www.justice.gov/archive/ag/speeches/2004/72704ag.htm |access-date=November 24, 2008 |publisher=United States Department of Justice}}</ref><ref>Peled. p. 91</ref> Charges included: [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]], [[Providing material support for terrorism|providing material support]] to a [[U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|foreign terrorist organization]], [[tax evasion]], and [[money laundering]]. The indictment alleged that the Holy Land Foundation provided more than $12.4 million to individuals and organizations linked to Hamas from 1995 to 2001, when their assets were frozen. The indictment also named specific officers of the Holy Land Foundation: President Shukri Abu Baker; Chairman [[Ghassan Elashi]]; and Executive Director Haitham Maghawri, and four others: Mohammad el-Mezain, Akram Mishal, [[Mufid Abdulqader]], and Abdulraham Odeh. Five of the seven were arrested. Maghawri and Mishal have not been found, and are considered [[fugitive]]s.
In December 2004, a federal judge in Chicago ruled that the Holy Land Foundation (along with the [[Islamic Association of Palestine]] and the [[Quranic Literacy Institute]]) was liable in a $156 million lawsuit for aiding and abetting the militant group Hamas in the death of David Boim, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen murdered by members of Hamas while visiting Israel in 1996.<ref>
{{cite news |date=December 8, 2004 |title=Hamas victim's family get $156m |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4080499.stm |access-date=November 24, 2008 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> This decision was the first time U.S. citizens or organizations were held liable under a 1990 federal law that permitted victims of terrorism to sue for civil damages.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}} In 2007, this decision was reversed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago and sent back to the trial court.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-12-29 |title=U.S. court overturns $156 mln award in terror case |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/economy/us-court-overturns-156-mln-award-in-terror-case-idUSN29512171/ |access-date=2025-07-12 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>
In December 2005, the European Union froze its European assets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2006-01-07 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060107142924/http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2006 }}</ref>
On July 3, 2007, [[Muslim Legal Fund of America]] agreed to fund the defense of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development against allegations by the government that the charity provided "material support" for terror groups by providing basic necessities (i.e. food, clothing, shelter, etc.) for Palestinians under the Israeli occupation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=StackPath |url=https://www.mlfa.org/mlfa-funds-defense-of-hlf-largest-american-muslim-charity/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614083936/https://www.mlfa.org/mlfa-funds-defense-of-hlf-largest-american-muslim-charity/ |archive-date=2021-06-14 |access-date=2020-12-14 |website=www.mlfa.org}}</ref>
In October 2008, the [[United States Department of the Treasury]]'s [[Office of Foreign Asset Control]] designated HLF a [[Specially Designated Global Terrorist]].<ref name="usblock" />
In 2008, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reheard the Boim lawsuit en banc.<ref name="Rowe">{{cite web |last=Rowe |first=Laura B. |title=Ending Terrorism with Civil Remedies: Boim v. Holy Land Foundation and the Proper Framework of Liability |url=http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/Documents/Academic%20Programs/7CR/v4-2/rowe.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017084809/http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/Documents/Academic%20Programs/7CR/v4-2/rowe.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-17 |access-date=2013-09-21 |publisher=Seventh Circuit Review vol 4 Iss. 3 spring 2008}}</ref> On November 3, 2008, the 7th Circuit upheld the $156 million award, agreeing that "'those who donate funds to a known terrorist group are responsible under U.S. law for the group's actions – even if the donors contend that they only intended to support the group's "humanitarian" activities."<ref>{{cite web |title=Boim v Holy Land Foundation |url=http://www.wlf.org/litigating/case_detail.asp?id=552 |publisher=Washington Legal Foundation}}</ref>
=== Related groups ===
Ghassan Elashi, HLF chairman, was also vice president of [[InfoCom Corporation]] of Richardson, Texas, indicted along with Hamas' Marzook.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Senior Leader of Hamas and Texas Computer Company Indicted for Conspiracy to Violate U.S. Ban on Financial Dealings with Terrorists |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=December 18, 2002 |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2002/December/02_crm_734.htm |access-date=November 24, 2008}}</ref> InfoCom, an Internet company, shared personnel, office space, and board members with the HLF. The two organizations were formed in California around the same time, and the [[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy|Washington Institute]] has argued that both received [[seed money]] from Hamas leader Marzook.<ref>{{cite web |author=Matthew A. Levitt |date=August 1, 2002 |title=Hearing on 'The Role of Charities and NGOs in the Financing of Terrorist Activities' |url=http://banking.senate.gov/02_08hrg/080102/levitt.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081125172939/http://banking.senate.gov/02_08hrg/080102/levitt.htm |archive-date=November 25, 2008 |access-date=November 24, 2008}}</ref> InfoCom also maintained the web sites for HLF and [[Islamic Association of Palestine|IAP]] (Islamic Association of Palestine).<ref>{{cite web |date=December 18, 2002 |title=Fact Sheet on the Elashi Brothers and InfoCom |url=http://siteintelgroup.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=news1902&Category=news&Subcategory=0 |publisher=SITE Intelligence Group |access-date=November 24, 2008}}{{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
== 2007 trial ==
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=== Testimony and evidence ===
During the 2007 trial, the lawyers representing the foundation alleged that the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] fabricated quotes and modified transcripts.<ref>{{cite news| url=
Judge Fish noted that the court was already aware that not every intercept was summarized by the government nor was every intercepted collected listened to by the government. Fish claimed that the defendants' access was already sufficient since they had personal access to all the declassified summaries of the FISA intercepts and to the four lines of FISA intercepts that were fully declassified. Their attorneys who possessed security clearances could also access all FISA intercepts the government produced. Judge Fish mentioned that if this was insufficient then the parties could use the summaries of intercepts and other criteria – such as the phone numbers involved in the communications – to identify specific relevant intercepts in order to ask the government to review and declassify the identified intercepts.<ref name="auto1"/> Judge Fish criticized the defendants for seeking to declare the whole of CIPA as unconstitutional rather than utilize the pathway to declassification already laid out for them on December 8, 2006. In response to the mistranslated summaries, Judge Fish noted that unless the defendants found more than the one example provided amongst the declassified summaries that are significantly inaccurate or misleading, they could not provide that the presented inaccuracies were widespread rather than an isolated incident. Judge Fish again mentioned that the defendants could use the aforementioned pathway for declassification of FISA evidence and stated that the defendants could request relief if they found widespread issues related to misleading summaries, although "it is highly unlikely that such appropriate relief would include a declaration that CIPA is unconstitutional."<ref name="auto1"/> On July 5, 2007, Judge Fish again denied the defendants request to prevent the government from introducing or relying upon any communications from lines that the defendants could not access and prohibit the government from using forty-five transcripts of conversations that the defendants never received in summary form.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-txnd-3_04-cr-00240/pdf/USCOURTS-txnd-3_04-cr-00240-11.pdf|title=United States District Court – Northern District of Texas Dallas Division, "United States of America, Plaintiff, vs. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (01), Shukri Abu Baker (02) Mohammad El-Mezain (03) Ghassan Elashi (04) Mufid Abdulqader (07), and Abdulraham Odeh (08), Defendants." Criminal Action No. 3:04-CR-240-G. July 5, 2007.}}</ref> Judge Fish denied the request stating that the "forty-five intercepts constitute less than twenty-three percent of the intercepts the government intends to use at trial" and that the government offered starting in August 2005 to seek declassification of any intercepts the defendants would request. Judge Fish criticized the defendants' lawyers as having "drag their feet" and "having refused to seek declassification of specific documents for at least eighteen months after the government offered its assistance, the defendants now wish to place blame on the government for their own failure to seek declassification of documents in preparation for trial." Of the government's 200 transcripts designated for use at trial, the defendants had access to full transcripts for 50 of the intercepts, and access to 105 declassified summaries of additional intercepts. They roughly had access to 155 of 200 or 77.5% of the intercepts the government planned to use at trial.<ref name="auto"/>
Critics pointed out erroneous evidence produced during the trial. For example, over defence objection, the government called two anonymous witnesses:
The government did not allege that HLF paid directly for suicide bombings, but instead that the foundation supported terrorism by sending more than $12 million to charitable groups, known as zakat or charity committees, which provide social goods and services. The prosecution said the committees were controlled by Hamas, and contributed to terrorism by helping Hamas spread its ideology, recruit supporters, and provide a front for laundering money and soliciting donations.<ref name="Eaton" /> Some of these charitable committees were still receiving US funding through the USAID program as late as 2006. Although none of the zakat committees were included on the Treasury Department list of designated terrorist organizations, the government alleged that HLF knew these charities were controlled by Hamas and acted as a branch of Hamas within the United States. Avi testified that the zakat committees were controlled by Hamas starting in 1991. Moreover, conversations captured from the Philadelphia meeting in 1993 had Hamas leader Muin Shabib discussing the zakat committees relationship to Hamas. Another 1991 letter addressed to Baker used similar language implying Hamas control of the zakat charities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-10560-CR0.wpd.pdf|title=Revised January 13, 2012 "The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit" United States of America vs Mohammad El-Mezain; Ghassan Elashi; Shukri Abu Bakr; Mufid Abdulqader; Abdulrahman Odeh; Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, also known as HLF. " No. 09-10560, Filed December 7, 2011, pg. 13–14}}</ref> This evidence established HLF's relationship with Hamas prior to 1995. Following Hamas' designation, financial documents and testimony showed that HLF provided funds to the same Hamas-controlled zakat committees as prior to the designation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-10560-CR0.wpd.pdf|title=Revised January 13, 2012 "The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit" United States of America vs Mohammad El-Mezain; Ghassan Elashi; Shukri Abu Bakr; Mufid Abdulqader; Abdulrahman Odeh; Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, also known as HLF. " No. 09-10560, Filed December 7, 2011, pg. 14}}</ref> Evidence seized in an Israeli raid from the zakat committees buttressed this claim, as video recordings showed school ceremonies and other events that promoted Hamas ideology, such as teaching children plays about suicide bombings, as well as the connections of multiple Hamas leaders to the zakat committees.<ref name="ca5.uscourts.gov"/>
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== 2008 retrial and convictions ==
The HLF retrial began on August 18, 2008. The prosecution again presented the two anonymous Israeli witnesses, "Avi" and "Major Lior."<ref>{{cite web|title=Judgement No. 09-10560|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-10560-CR0.wpd.pdf|publisher=United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit}}</ref> In an effort to strengthen its unsuccessful presentation at the first trial, the prosecution added testimony from former National Security Council staff member Steven Simon, from Treasury Department official Robert McBrien, and from Mohamed Shorbagi, who had pleaded guilty to charges unrelated to HLF and was cooperating with the prosecution. The prosecution also placed into evidence documents that, according to "Major Lior," the IDF had recovered from the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah during an IDF operation in 2002 known as "[[Operation Defensive Shield]]."<ref name="LRB-2015-01">[http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n02/francis-fitzgibbon/low-hanging-fruit Low-Hanging Fruit – Francis FitzGibbon on the show trial of the Holy Land Foundation] (January 2015), ''[[London Review of Books]]''</ref>
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The five convicted individuals were [[Ghassan Elashi]], former CEO Shukri Abu-Baker, [[Mufid Abdulqader]], Abdulrahman Odeh, and Mohammad El-Mezain.
* Abu-Baker was sentenced to 65 years.
* Elashi, also a member of the founding Board of Directors of the Texas branch of the [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]] (CAIR), was sentenced to 65 years.
* Mufid Abdulqader was sentenced to 20 years.
* Abdelrahman Odeh was sentenced to 15 years.
* El-Mezain, former endowments director, sentenced to 15 years.
Because of the potential lengthy sentences for the [[criminal conviction]]s, the individual defendants were remanded into custody without [[bail]] pending any appeal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Guilty Verdicts in Holy Land Foundation Retrial |work=CBS 11 / TXA 21 Dallas Fort-Worth |date=November 24, 2008 |url=http://cbs11tv.com/local/holy.land.retrial.2.872727.html |access-date=November 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210132823/http://cbs11tv.com/local/holy.land.retrial.2.872727.html |archive-date=December 10, 2008 }}</ref>
== Post-conviction ==
A 2011 [[NPR]] report claimed some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictive [[Communication Management Unit]].<ref name=npr2/>
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In May 2012, Elashi, Baker, Abdulqader, and Odeh filed a petition for writ of [[certiorari]] with the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]], challenging their convictions on [[Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Sixth Amendment]] grounds and thereby requesting that the high court review their convictions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/11-1390.htm |title=''Elashi v. United States'' Docket|publisher=U.S. Supreme Court}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/elashi-v-united-states|title= Cases in the Pipeline, ''Elashi v. United States''|publisher=scotusblog.com}}</ref> The defendants asserted that the prosecution's use of two anonymous witnesses during their trial was impermissible as a matter of law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/11-1390-Elashi-v.-U.S.-Petition.pdf|title=Defendants' Petition for Certiorari, ''Elashi v. United States'', May 21, 2012}}</ref>
On October 29, 2012, the United States Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari.<ref>Elashi v. United States, No. 11-1390, 133 S. Ct. 525 (2012)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/11-1390.htm|title=Search – Supreme Court of the United States|website=www.supremecourt.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kampeas |first=Ron |url=
On December 12, 2024, Mufid Abdulqader was released from [[Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville|Seagoville, TX Federal Correctional Institution]] after 16 years of imprisonment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-12 |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/yaakub_ira/p/DDe49e7Rs3k/}}</ref>
=== Criticism of the trial ===
British barrister Francis FitzGibbon QC has called the second trial a 'show trial' which relied on 'untested and untestable evidence,' hearsay evidence, prejudicial evidence, and the showing to the jury of additional material which was not part of the evidence at all. These add up to 'patent failings and abuses in the legal process.'<ref name="LRB-2015-01" /> FitzGibbon also doubts the strength of the prosecution's case because, among other reasons, the [[United States Agency for International Development]] funded the same zakat committees named in the indictment of the HLF, and continued to do so for three years after it had shut down the HLF.<ref name="LRB-2015-01" />
In 2018, [[Miko Peled]] published the book ''Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five'', in which he catalogs the trial of the criminalization and dismantling of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, leading to the arrest and jailing of Foundation President Shukri Abu Baker, Chairman [[Ghassan Elashi]], Mohammad el-Mezain, [[Mufid Abdulqader]] and Abdulraham Odeh. According to Peled, "the American justice [...] can convict a hundred innocents for one who is guilty".<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2018/08/05/holy-land-foundation-trial-palestine-israel/|title=The Unjust Prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation Five|first=Charles|last=Glass|website=The Intercept|date=5 August 2018}}</ref> Peled also argued that none of the recipients of aid were family members of suicide bombers and questions why
Civil rights attorney Emily Ratner wrote that the use of anonymous and hearsay evidence by the prosecutors was
[[Human Rights Watch]] has condemned the trial as it was based on hearsay evidence and called on the [[Biden administration]] to release all 5 accused.<ref name=":2" />
===
On
=== Prosecution response ===
Levitt has claimed in response that the [[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]] did not properly vet recipients.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Better Late than Never |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/better-late-than-never-keeping-usaid-funds-out-of-terrorist-hands |access-date=2019-10-03 |website=www.washingtoninstitute.org |language=en}}</ref> Until June 2006, USAID lacked important background identifier information on individuals such as date of birth and full names. According to a Government Accountability Office report, USAID lacked even a procedure to verify the accuracy of individual's names. In March 2006, the USAID mission to Tel Aviv eliminated a requirement to periodically reevaluate partners resulting in a lack of scrutiny for organizations later tied to terrorists. Finally, USAID did not vet recipients that received funds under $25,000 from 2001 to 2003 and under $100,000 post 2003 until 2006 when the threshold returned to $25,000.<ref name=":4" />
===
Following the closure of the HLF offices, Shukri Baker and Ghassan Elashi lodged a civil case to unfreeze HLF assists and reverse the designation of the HLF as a Terrorist Organization.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}} {{When|date=July 2025}}The case was held before Judge [[Gladys Kessler]], a [[Bill Clinton]] appointment. The Executive Order was based on an "administrative record" explaining the reasons behind the decision to designate the HLF as a terrorist organization. The report claimed that the HLF was a front for Hamas.
The report contained a number of documents including one that claimed Shukri Baker was a member of Hamas. None of the statements quoted were taken under oath. The key claim was a list of 70–80 orphans who had received support from the HLF and that they were children of Hamas fighters. Baker and Elashi's lawyers analysed the list and found that only three of the fathers were involved in armed resistance. They had been killed preparing a bomb. They also noted that the list contained children of 11 men killed by Hamas for collaborating with the Israeli secret services. Another document contained a statement from a former manager of the HLF Jerusalem office which the lawyers were able to prove was a fabrication.<ref>Peled. pp. 102, 103</ref>
Before the case could proceed and be presented to a jury Judge Kessler dismissed the case and ordered that all evidence submitted be struck from the record. This decision was appealed. The [[Circuit court#Federal courts of appeals|Circuit Court of Appeals]] found that Judge Kessler had been mistaken in dismissing the case but that since this was a special case involving national security they would let the decision stand. The appellants were denied permission to appeal to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]].<ref>Peled. pp. 105, 106</ref>
In 2003 the HLF's lawyers learnt that there was a criminal investigation underway. Their lawyer, John Boyd, later said they regretted filing the civil case since it led the Government to abandon the original charges which had been so effectively refuted and create a completely new case.<ref>Peled. pp. 102, 107</ref>
=== Cultural Discourse ===
On February 22, 2022, Nida Abu Baker, the daughter of Shukri Abu Baker released a two part documentary - titled ''The'' ''Holy Land 5 -'' directed by Mohammad Omar. It discusses the controversy regarding the trial and history of the Holy Land Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy Land 5 Film Screening – Massachusetts Peace Action |url=https://masspeaceaction.org/event/holy-land-5-film-screening/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=masspeaceaction.org |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Portal|Palestine|Islam}}
== Notes ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name=npr2>
[https://www.npr.org/2011/03/03/134227726/data-graphics-population-of-the-communications-management-units Data & Graphics: Population Of The Communications Management Units], Margot Williams and Alyson Hurt, [[NPR]], March 3
</ref>
}}
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