About the Holy Land Foundation Case

In July 2004, federal agents raided the homes of five Palestinian-American families, arresting the fathers, who had been leaders of a Texas-based charity called the Holy Land Foundation. Until 9/11, the HLF was the largest Muslim charity in the United States and a significant source of aid to the Palestinian people. In December 2001, the federal government shuttered the organization and seized its assets.

The Trials

The first trial of the HLF-5, held in 2007, ended in a hung jury. The second trial was marked by highly questionable procedures including the admission of testimony from anonymized Zionist agents. It resulted in very lengthy sentences for the HLF5 — for "material support for terrorism" by donating to charities in Palestine that the US government itself had long worked with.

The men were sentenced to 15 to 65 year sentences, and two remain imprisoned to this day - Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi.