A federal judge on Friday sentenced the first man out of more than a dozen charged in a sweeping counterterrorism investigation that has spanned more than two years and several continents and focused a spotlight on the Twin Cities Somali community.
Abdow Munye Abdow, 26, was a relatively small player in a major drama involving the recruitment of 20 or more local men of Somali descent to aid and, in some cases, fight for the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab. U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum sentenced Abdow to four months behind bars and four months of home confinement for lying to federal agents investigating the case. But Friday's sentencing marks a milestone in one of the nation's largest counterterrorism investigations since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Abdow, who rented a car used by terror suspects to flee the country, is the first to have his case resolved by the courts.
A total of 14 men, most of whom lived in the Minneapolis area, have been charged or indicted in connection with an investigation that began more than two years ago, after young Somali men from Minnesota started secretly slipping away from their families. Five of the 14, including Abdow, have pleaded guilty in connection with the case. One local man awaits trial. Another sits in jail in the Netherlands, awaiting extradition. The rest are believed to have fled the country and remain at large. |