KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The attorney for an Islamic charity whose office was searched by FBI agents last week says the charity has no ties to global terrorism or to a Sudanese group with a similar name that is under federal investigation. | "Lies, all lies! Er, what was the question again?" |
Attorney Shareef Akeel said the Islamic American Relief Agency-USA has no connection to the Islamic African Relief Agency, which the Bush administration has accused of helping raise more than $5 million to finance Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. "IARA-USA condemns any act of terrorism, any support of terrorism and any heinous use of a charity to support terrorism," Akeel told The Kansas City Star in an article published Thursday. He was speaking on behalf of Mubarak Hamed, former president and executive director of the Islamic American Relief Agency. Last week, the FBI's regional terrorism task force seized computers and records from the group's office in Columbia, Mo. Authorities also searched a storage locker and Hamed's home, as well as the home of a contributor in Wolcott, Conn. No one has been arrested or charged in what the FBI has described as a criminal investigation. The Treasury Department designated Islamic African Relief Agency, based in Khartoum, Sudan, and five senior officials of the charity as supporters of international terrorism. The charity's assets and accounts were frozen and the department made it illegal to contribute to the organization. The Treasury Department has said it has tied the Missouri office to the Sudanese group, but Akeel denied any connections. "All I can tell you is IARA-USA has its own board. It's a separate entity that's organized in America. It has a completely separate organization than the one in Sudan," Akeel said. |