Last update - 00:00 17/10/2006
Jury picked for Chicago terrorism trial of alleged Hamas supporters
By The Associated Press
Twelve jurors and six alternates were chosen Monday for the federal racketeering conspiracy trial of two men accused of supplying money and fresh recruits to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.
Chicago grocer Muhammad Salah, 53, and former university professor Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 48, of Alexandria, Virginia are accused of taking part in a 15-year conspiracy in which money allegedly was funneled into American bank accounts and then delivered to Hamas military cells waging a terrorist campaign in Israel.
Recruits also were allegedly mustered in the United States and sent overseas to join Hamas forces trying to topple the Israeli government.
Both men deny they are members of Hamas.
U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve overruled objections from federal prosecutors that defense attorneys had deliberately acted to keep whites from serving on the jury.
The defense was allowed to strike 10 names from the list of prospective jurors without showing cause as to why they should not serve. But such strikes cannot be merely for reasons such as race or ethnicity.
Prosecutors noted that nine of the 10 prospective jurors struck by the defense were white and asked St. Eve to restore four of them to the list.
St. Eve, however, held that in each case there was a plausible, non-racial explanation for why the defense used its strikes. And Salah attorney Michael E. Deutsch said his actions were not based on race.
"I couldn't care less whether a juror is white or black," Deutsch said. "I want jurors who are independent and open-minded."
Salah also is charged in the indictment with lying under oath in a civil lawsuit and Ashqar with refusing to testify before a grand jury. Opening statements were set for Thursday.
Also charged in the case is Abu Marzook, described by prosecutors as the deputy chief of the Hamas political division. But he is classified as a fugitive, believed to be living in Syria, and will not be at the trial.