A federal judge ruled that a woman convicted last year of raising money for the terrorist group al-Shabaab can await sentencing in a halfway house instead of jail.
Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis granted a request by Amina Farah Ali's attorney, rejecting objections by federal prosecutors, and ordered Wednesday, April 18, that the woman be moved from Ramsey County's jail to a St. Paul halfway house Thursday.
The judge said he'd establish conditions of her stay in a later order.
Ali, 35, is one of two Rochester women convicted by a federal jury in Minneapolis in October of conspiring to provide support for al-Shabaab, a group fighting Somalia's U.N.-backed government.
Ali was also found guilty of 12 counts of providing support. The other woman, Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 65, also was convicted of two counts of lying to the FBI.
After trial, Davis sent Hassan - a mother of nine who had been a teacher in Somalia - to a halfway house while she awaited sentencing. He ordered Ali jailed.
Ali's attorney, Daniel Scott, asked Davis this month to let his client await sentencing somewhere other than the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center. He said that it wasn't set up for long stays and that she'd been there six months already and it could be another six months before she is sentenced.
"It has no programs or work opportunities," he complained of the Ramsey County lockup. "Mostly all there is to do is sit and read or watch television."
Ali, a married mother of two, had been free for the 16 months between her indictment and trial and never failed to make a court appearance. Scott told the judge she had strong ties to the community and wouldn't flee.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Paulsen opposed the move to a halfway house, telling Davis the crime required detention and there were no "exceptional reasons" for her to be released.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, both women could face up to 30 years in prison.
Testimony at trial showed Ali and, to a lesser extent, Hassan, had collected clothes and money to be sent to the poor and orphans in their native Somalia. The East African country has been torn by two decades of civil war and natural and man-made disasters.
Much of what they did was legal. But in February 2008, the State Department declared al-Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization, making it a crime to provide aid.
In its indictment, the government claimed that over a 10-month period after the terrorist designation, Ali sent $8,608 to members of al-Shabaab in Somalia. Some of the clothes were intended for al-Shabaab soldiers, according to trial testimony.
Hassan is under 24-hour lockdown at her halfway house, and Davis had ordered her to wear a GPS device that monitored her whereabouts.
But in March, the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office asked Davis for permission to remove the monitor. Officials at the halfway house reported Hassan had been following house rules "and she has exhibited a positive attitude with the facility staff and all other residents."
David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.
Source: Pioneer Press
Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis granted a request by Amina Farah Ali's attorney, rejecting objections by federal prosecutors, and ordered Wednesday, April 18, that the woman be moved from Ramsey County's jail to a St. Paul halfway house Thursday.
The judge said he'd establish conditions of her stay in a later order.
Ali, 35, is one of two Rochester women convicted by a federal jury in Minneapolis in October of conspiring to provide support for al-Shabaab, a group fighting Somalia's U.N.-backed government.
Ali was also found guilty of 12 counts of providing support. The other woman, Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 65, also was convicted of two counts of lying to the FBI.
After trial, Davis sent Hassan - a mother of nine who had been a teacher in Somalia - to a halfway house while she awaited sentencing. He ordered Ali jailed.
Ali's attorney, Daniel Scott, asked Davis this month to let his client await sentencing somewhere other than the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center. He said that it wasn't set up for long stays and that she'd been there six months already and it could be another six months before she is sentenced.
"It has no programs or work opportunities," he complained of the Ramsey County lockup. "Mostly all there is to do is sit and read or watch television."
Ali, a married mother of two, had been free for the 16 months between her indictment and trial and never failed to make a court appearance. Scott told the judge she had strong ties to the community and wouldn't flee.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Paulsen opposed the move to a halfway house, telling Davis the crime required detention and there were no "exceptional reasons" for her to be released.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, both women could face up to 30 years in prison.
Testimony at trial showed Ali and, to a lesser extent, Hassan, had collected clothes and money to be sent to the poor and orphans in their native Somalia. The East African country has been torn by two decades of civil war and natural and man-made disasters.
Much of what they did was legal. But in February 2008, the State Department declared al-Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization, making it a crime to provide aid.
In its indictment, the government claimed that over a 10-month period after the terrorist designation, Ali sent $8,608 to members of al-Shabaab in Somalia. Some of the clothes were intended for al-Shabaab soldiers, according to trial testimony.
Hassan is under 24-hour lockdown at her halfway house, and Davis had ordered her to wear a GPS device that monitored her whereabouts.
But in March, the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office asked Davis for permission to remove the monitor. Officials at the halfway house reported Hassan had been following house rules "and she has exhibited a positive attitude with the facility staff and all other residents."
David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.
Source: Pioneer Press
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