Holy Land Defendants ALL found Guilty!

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

A jury on Monday determined that the Holy Land Foundation and five men who worked with the Muslim charity were guilty of three dozen counts related to the illegal funneling of at least $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Defendant Mohammad El-Mezain is embraced by Hadi Jawad outside the Earle Cabell Federal Building prior to Monday’s reading of the Holy Land Foundation trial verdicts. At rear is Abdulrahman Odeh, Mr. El-Mezain’s

The unanimous verdicts are a complete victory for the government, which streamlined its case and worked hard to carefully educate jurors on the complex, massive evidence presented in the trial.

The prosecution’s victory is also a major one for the lame duck administration of President George W. Bush, whose efforts at fighting terrorism financing in court have been troubled, even though the flow of funds seems to be effectively shut down.

It was the second trial where the government attempted to convict the men and the now-defunct, Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation itself. It took the jury eight days of deliberations to reach its decisions – less than half the time it took jurors to deadlock end up with an almost complete mistrial last year on the first go-around.

Before he read the verdict, the judge had ordered all observers to remain civil and respect the proceedings.