2nd Minnesota woman sentenced in Somali terror case

By AMY FORLITI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Two Minnesota women convicted of conspiring to send money to the terrorist group al-Shabab in Somalia have been sentenced in federal court.

Hawo Mohamed Hassan was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison on one terror-related count and two counts of lying to the FBI. Earlier Thursday, her co-defendant Amina Farah Ali was sentenced to 20 years on 13 terrorism-related counts.

Authorities say the women went door-to-door raising money in the name of charity, but routed the funds to al-Shabab. Their attorneys say the women are humanitarians who gave money to orphans, as well as to a group working to push foreign troops out of Somalia.

They are among nine people sentenced this week in the long-running federal investigations into terrorism recruiting and financing for al-Shabab.