[wvns] CHARITY TRIAL WITNESS FALTERS
An Israeli agent is vague on the leadership of overseas agencies.
Greg Krikorian
Los Angeles Times
8/17/07
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-holyland17aug17,1,743075.story
The testimony seemed to cast doubt on a central element of the
government's criminal case against former officials of the now-defunct
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. Prosecutors say the
officials dispensed funds to terrorists under the guise of charity
donations to community groups called zakat committees on the West Bank
and Gaza, knowing that Hamas militants controlled the local groups and
benefited from the funding.
In his first day of cross-examination, the Israel Security Agency
officer, identified only as "Avi," struggled for answers when
questioned about leadership of the overseas charities and whether they
had Hamas ties before 2001, when Holy Land Foundation still operated.
The organization, once the nation's largest Islamic charity, was
closed by the U.S. government shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. This was done on grounds that it funneled millions of dollars
to Hamas over the years. Holy Land officials denied that.
This week, in a move opposed by defense lawyers and questioned by some
legal experts, an Israeli counterterrorism official was allowed to
appear as an expert witness for the government. During that testimony,
the courtroom was closed to the public and the media.
Courts have sometimes allowed witnesses with unique firsthand
knowledge of a crime to testify anonymously before juries. But this
was believed to be the first time the government had asked -- and a
judge had permitted -- a witness to testify as an expert without being
identified to the accused.
The agent, whose audio testimony was broadcast via closed-circuit
television to a separate courtroom for the media and spectators, began
his second day on the stand. He described alleged connections between
Hamas and nine Palestinian charities funded by Holy Land in the West
Bank and Gaza.
He said the Islamic Charitable Society of Hebron, for example, was
Hamas' largest and most important fund-raising arm in the West Bank
and was controlled by Hamas activists.
"It is no secret in the territories who controls these committees," he
said.
But on cross-examination, the agent said he could not recall where or
when anyone other than an Israeli intelligence official might have
read or otherwise known that specific zakat committees or board
members had ties to Hamas. In prior court papers, Holy Land officials
have maintained that they never supported Hamas and did not have any
reason to believe the charity committees were run by Hamas.
Defense lawyers also elicited testimony that other large charities
such as Holy Land Foundation in England and Holland--also identified
by "Avi" as part of Hamas' global network--have been cleared after
investigations in those countries. Acknowledging that a British
charity called Interpal was allowed to reopen after a commission ruled
that there was no evidence against it, the agent added: "Clearly, they
didn't have my evidence."
greg.krikorian @ latimes.com
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