Arrests link Islamic charity to terrorists

WASHINGTON — Five former leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, once the biggest Islamic charity in the United States, were arrested Tuesday on charges that they funneled $12.4 million to Palestinian terrorists. But two other charity officials wanted by the government were able to leave the country recently for the Middle East while they were under criminal investigation.

Law enforcement officials said the arrests represented one of their most important efforts since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to stem the flow of money to terrorists from the United States. Holy Land exploited American tax laws "to bankroll terror," said Michael J. Garcia, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

Lawyers for Holy Land promised to fight the charges vigorously, accusing the FBI of fabricating evidence. They said the group had supported orphans, medical relief and other charitable causes in the Middle East and never knowingly gave money to Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group, or any other organization promoting violence.

"These arrests are a sound bite for this administration in its war on terrorism," said John Boyd, a lawyer for Holy Land. "This is completely unfounded, and if the Holy Land Foundation is given an opportunity to defend itself, it will be able to rebut every charge made in this indictment."

Arrested on Tuesday in the Dallas area were Shukri Abu Baker, the former president and chief executive of Holy Land; Ghassan Elashi, a former board chairman and treasurer; and Mufid Abdulqader, a top fund-raiser. Mohammed El-Mezain, a former chairman of the board, was arrested in San Diego, and Abdulraham Odeh, the group's representative in New Jersey, was arrested in Newark, officials said.

Two other former Holy Land officials, Haitham Maghawri and Akram Mishal, were able to leave the country recently. Both were charged with providing material support to terrorists in the indictment unsealed on Tuesday in Dallas.

A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the two men were believed to have been living in the Dallas area as recently as about six months ago. Although the men were under criminal investigation, the FBI did not have the resources for round-the-clock surveillance, and the Justice Department did not believe that it had enough evidence to bring a criminal case against them at that time, the official said.