Two founding members of what was the USA's largest Islamic charity were each sentenced to 65 years in prison Wednesday for directing millions of dollars to Hamas, the AP reported. Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elashi, 55, were among five members of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development sentenced.
The men and the charity were convicted in November 2008 on 108 charges and were accused of bankrolling schools and social welfare programs the government says are controlled by Hamas. The defendants said they only gave aid.
Holy Land's co-founder, Mohamed El-Mezain, who is related to Musa Abu Marzook, a senior Hamas political leader based in Damascus, was sentenced to 15 years in jail for providing aid to the group. Mufid Abdulqader, the brother of Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal, and Abdulrahman Odeh, the charity's New Jersey representative, were convicted on three counts of conspiracy.
