US: Muslim charity leaders lose appeal in Hamas case
A US federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of five leaders of an Islamic charity on charges of funneling money and supplies to Hamas, which the United States designates as a "terrorist" group.
The organizers of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation argued they were denied a fair trial in 2008 when the government used secret Israeli witnesses to testify against them. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those challenges, pointing to "voluminous evidence" that the foundation, which was started in the late 1980s, had long-running financial ties to Hamas. (Reuters)
