Rochester woman gets 20 years for aiding Somali terrorist group
A Rochester woman was sentenced in Minneapolis Thursday to 20 years in federal prison for funneling money to al-Shabab in Somali, the Rochester Post Bulletin reports.
Amina Farah Ali was convicted of 13 terror-related counts after going door to door, raising money in the name of charity, but then routing the funds to the al-Qaida-linked group.
Ali insisted that she was only trying to help the poor in the war-torn East African country, the Associated Press reports.
Ali's co-defendent, Hawo Mohamed Hassan, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Hassan was convicted of one terror-related count and two counts of lying to the FBI. Prosecutors were seeking at least 15 years, the Rochester newspaper reported.
Authorities said the women were behind a "deadly pipeline" that sent more $8,600 to al-Shabab from September 2008 through July 2009.
The two women are among nine people sentenced this week for their roles in terrorism recruiting and financing for al-Shabab.
Adarus Abdulle Ali was also sentenced Thursday to two years in prison after he admitted he lied before a grand jury investigating why young Somali men were leaving Minnesota to join a terrorist group in their homeland.
Six other men were sentenced earlier this week to prison terms ranging from three years to 20 years.
