U.S. Women Sentenced For Raising Funds For Terror Group
Two women were sentenced to prison this week for allegedly raising funds for the terror group al-Shabaab online.
Muna Osman Jama, 36, of Reston, Virginia, and Hinda Osman Dhirane, 46, of Kent, Washington, were sentenced to 12 and 11 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist group, according to Reston Now.
The pair, both natives of Somalia, led an organized ring called the "Group of Fifteen", which included women from Minnesota, Kenya, Egypt, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, the group met in private chat rooms to discuss how they would organize and distribute funds to al-Shabaab factions in Somalia and Kenya. The money was used to fund military operations, weapons support and two safe houses in Nairobi.
The FBI recorded phone calls and other communications between the member of the groups. The Department believes the women "had close connections with al-Shabaab leadership and were privy to non-public, inside information concerning al-Shabaab activities."
"Jama and Dhirane were recorded as they laughed as the carnage at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi was still taking place. Dhirane and co-conspirator were also recorded as they laughed at the Boston Marathon Bombing before it became known who committed the attack," the Department of Justice statement read.
The women were arrested in 2014 but were found guilty in October of 2016.
Jama and Dhirane did not deny their sympathies for al-Shabaab, but their defense lawyers argued that the money went to people who were not "clearly" defined members of the terror group, ABC News reports.
