Judge Rules in Favor of Hamas/al-Qaeda-Related Charity

Judge stops terror probe of Ohio charity

October 26, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The U.S. government must halt its investigation into whether a charity should be deemed a terrorist organization, a judge ruled Monday.

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development cannot be labeled a "specially designated global terrorist" pending further action by U.S. District Judge James Carr in Toledo, Ohio.

Carr in August ruled that the government violated the Constitution by secretly freezing the charity's assets in 2006. The charity had asked him to halt the investigation pending further action regarding the August ruling.

Treasury officials said KindHearts was connected with the Hamas-affiliated Holy Land Foundation and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Global Relief Foundation. KindHearts leaders have denied being connected to any terrorist group and say the group is a nonprofit charitable organization that administers humanitarian aid to the world's poor.

In his Monday ruling, the judge said the government's actions could cause KindHearts to lose its attorneys and harm its reputation.

"Defendants are requiring KindHearts to respond to allegations that I have found constitutionally lacking," Carr wrote. "This ... has severely prejudiced KindHearts' ability to respond especially in light of defendants' arbitrary and capricious denial of KindHearts' requests to pay attorneys fees with its own blocked resources.

"To analogize, KindHearts not only is blindfolded, but also has its hands tied behind its back," the judge wrote.

KindHearts has asked the judge to alter the process by which the government designates groups terrorist organizations and allow it to use its funds to pay legal fees, said Alan Kabat, a Washington attorney representing the charity.

"We're very pleased with the court's ruling," he said. "The effect is to postpone any designation until the judge has ruled on the remedy for any violations that have already occurred."
Both sides are to present written arguments to the judge by Jan. 11.

In his August ruling, Carr said the government has an obligation to tell an organization why it is freezing its assets and give it a chance to respond.

The government had argued that the judge did not have the authority to issue an order stopping the investigation.

Dean Boyd, a U.S. Department of Justice spokesman, said the government is reviewing the ruling and had no immediate comment late Monday.

Source: AP
James Carr
Latest recipient of The Dhimmi Award

Judge's Ruling Won't Clear KindHearts

Treasury Department officials have yet to say whether they will appeal on Ohio judge's ruling that their 2006 asset freeze against an Islamic charity violated the group's due process rights.

Treasury officials accuse KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development of taking over fundraising for Hamas in the United States after the government forced the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) to shut down in 2001. That action was upheld by a federal judge in Washington, D.C.

HLF and five officials subsequently were indicted and convicted of illegally funneling more than $12 million to Hamas.

The freeze of KindHearts bore significant differences from HLF, U.S. District Judge James G. Carr wrote in his order last month.

For one, the Treasury Department labeled HLF a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in its 2001 action. In contrast, KindHearts saw about $1 million of its assets frozen in February 2006 while Treasury investigated whether the charity deserved the same designation.

Officials then were slow, or even unresponsive to requests from KindHearts' attorneys for information and evidence that prompted the action. That, Carr ruled, "failed to provide the two fundamental requirements of due process: meaningful notice and opportunity to be heard." Read more ...

Source: IPT News

Kindhearts
Latest recipient of the Distinguished Islamofascist Award

Ohio charity accused of terrorist ties sues feds

By John Seewer

TOLEDO, Ohio -- An Ohio-based charity that the U.S. government says is linked to Hamas is demanding that officials unfreeze its assets.

Attorneys for Kindhearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development sued Thursday in federal court in Toledo. The charity says the government hasn’t given it a chance to defend itself.

The Treasury Department in 2006 ordered U.S. banks to freeze the charity’s assets. The government says it was funneling money to organizations affiliated with the militant Islamic group Hamas.

Kindhearts denies any terrorist connections. The Treasury Department did not return a message left Thursday by The Associated Press.

Source: AP

Ohio State Muslim Student Association funded by terror organization Kindhearts

A belated plug for my article published on Tuesday, "Terror Funded MSA at Ohio State", regarding the Ohio State Muslim Student Association's financial backer, Kindhearts, which was raided by federal authorities and shut down by the US government for terrorist financing. (I would also note our recent post about the OSU MSA's playing host to now convicted Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist leader Sami Al-Arian.) Read more ...

Source: Central Ohioans Against Terrorism

Terror-Funded MSA at Ohio State

By Patrick Poole

February 20, 2006 proved to be an eventful day for the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at The Ohio State University. Not only did that date mark the conclusion of their weekend-long "Leaders of Tomorrow" conference, but that was also the day that their conference sponsor, Kindhearts, was raided by federal law enforcement and closed by order of the Department of the Treasury for financing terrorism, freezing its assets.

According to the US government, Kindhearts, which was established following the closure of the Holy Land Foundation and the Global Relief Foundation, was not only engaged in providing millions for HAMAS in Lebanon and the West Bank, it had hired as a fundraising specialist the man identified by HAMAS head Khaled Mishal as the designated HAMAS bag man in the US, Mohammed El-Mezain. (For additional background on Kindhearts and its multiple connections to the international terrorism finance network, see Joe Kaufman's FrontPage article, "The Black Hearts of Kindhearts") Read more ...

Source: FrontPage Magazine

Michelle Obama's Name Removed from Terrorist Fundraiser's Web Page - Update: Terror Fundraiser's Page Disappears!

By LGF

As we noted a few days ago, Hatem El-Hady, former chairman of the Toledo-based Islamic charity Kindhearts (closed by the US government in 2006 for terrorist fundraising), has now devoted himself to raising money for the Barack Obama campaign.

He has a web page at the official Obama campaign site. On Wednesday when we posted about El-Hady, there were three "friends" listed on his page, and one of them was none other than Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama. Here's the screenshot we took:

Read more ...

Source: Little Green Footballs

Terrorist Fundraisers 4 Obama

Two years ago, Hatem El-Hady was the chairman of the Toledo, Ohio-based Islamic charity, Kindhearts, which was closed by the US government in February 2006 for terrorist fundraising and all its assets frozen. Today, El-Hady has redirected his fundraising efforts for his newest cause - Barack Obama for President.

El-Hady has his own dedicated page on Barack Obama's official website, chronicling his fundraising on behalf of the Democratic Party presidential candidate (his Obama profile established on February 19, 2008 - two years to the day after Kindhearts was raided by the feds). Not only that, but he has none other than Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, listed as one of his friends, one of her 224 listed friends.

But his leadership of Kindhearts is not the only thing that has brought him scrutiny by federal law enforcement officials. Last summer, El-Hady was questioned by the FBI concerning his knowledge of possible conspirators in a UK-based terror plot. Read more ...

Source: Central Ohioans Against Terrorism