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Last update - 07:45 15/08/2007
U.S. court rules that evidence seized in IDF raid is inadmissible
By The Associated Press

Lawyers for Muslim charity leaders accused of aiding Hamas terrorists scored a rare victory in court Tuesday when a federal judge blocked some evidence seized by Israel Defense Forces soldiers during raids of Palestinian organizations.

Defense lawyers had objected that some of the documents were not signed or dated, and they cast doubt on Israel's handling of the evidence.

Five former leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development are charged with funneling millions of dollars to Hamas, which the U.S. government designated a terrorist organization in 1995. The trial is in its fourth week of testimony.
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Federal District Judge A. Joe Fish has ruled in the prosecution's favor on a wide range of issues, from allowing the government to call Israeli secret agents as witnesses to denying defense requests for a mistrial.

On Tuesday however, Fish ruled against prosecutors and blocked the jury from seeing 12 documents seized from Palestinian charities allegedly linked to Hamas and funded partly by the Holy Land Foundation.

The precise significance of the judge's ruling was difficult to gauge. The judge did not explain his ruling, and lawyers have been barred from talking to reporters about the case.

Also, the judge allowed some evidence from the Israeli raids, including pro-Hamas posters that could bolster in jurors' minds the prosecution's charge that the groups financed by Holy Land Foundation were controlled by Hamas.

Holy Land was the largest U.S. Muslim charity when government agents shut it down in December 2001. Leaders of the group said they provided humanitarian aid to Palestinian children, victims of the Oklahoma City bombing and others.

But prosecutors have portrayed the charity as part of a broader campaign to support suicide bombings and other attacks by Hamas in Israel.

The five defendants have mostly presented a united front against the charges, although that wall began to crack yesterday.

A lawyer for one of the men got an FBI agent to admit that the man's name did not appear on a list of Muslim Brotherhood activists or in a Hamas official's phone book. Some of the other defendants' names did appear.

The defendants are charged with aiding a terrorist group, conspiracy and money laundering. They could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty and if deaths resulted from their actions
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  1.   It is called Provenance 05:40  |  Mark Lincoln 15/08/07
  2.   Evidence is evidence 06:26  |  Efox 15/08/07
  3.   re: MaoSayTongue 06:27  |  Efox 15/08/07
  4.   No Mao - It`s called the Constitution 06:29  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  5.   Mark Lincoln - Judges 06:32  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  6.   Foxie - I Prefer Rule of Law 06:53  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  7.   It is not the constitution 08:04  |  Go 15/08/07
  8.   On the other hand... 09:27  |  Colin Wright 15/08/07
  9.   The IDF have lied so many times . . . 09:47  |  Maki 15/08/07
  10.   The report doesn`t say all the evidence 10:35  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 15/08/07
  11.   IDF? Evidence? Must be the joke of the year. 10:54  |  Andreas 15/08/07
  12.   And then they`re surprised when there`s terror attacks in the USA 11:45  |  Nannette 15/08/07
  13.   What has happened to MaoSayTongue`s post? 12:01  |  Hannah 15/08/07
  14.   THIS CASE WAS ILLEGAL FROM THE BEGINNING 13:04  |  indrajaya 15/08/07
  15.   Zionist mendacity recognized worldwide 13:13  |  Hannah 15/08/07
  16.   To Hannah and Indrajaya....talking about the Jews again? 13:51  |  GrossedOut 15/08/07
  17.   Good decision 15:06  |  Chris Linthwaite 15/08/07
  18.   #17 lintwaite and law! as usual total ignorance 15:47  |  victor hardman 15/08/07
  19.   To victor hardman 15:59  |  Inmate@Guantanamo 15/08/07
  20.   Margie, I am doubting your ability to see reality. 15:59  |  Ibrahim 15/08/07
  21.   Go Nr 7 16:13  |  leon 15/08/07
  22.   Nanette 16:30  |  Lynn 15/08/07
  23.   Mark of Lewiston 16:37  |  Lynn 15/08/07
  24.   #7 Go 16:39  |  Lynn 15/08/07
  25.   # 14 Indy 16:41  |  Lynn 15/08/07
  26.   Margie, it is only arrogant Ibrahim who is able to 16:42  |  A pround Jew 15/08/07
  27.   Ibrahim: you`re reflecting your reality at me 16:45  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 15/08/07
  28.   # 19 @ guantanamo 16:47  |  Lynn 15/08/07
  29.   # 20 Ibrahim 16:49  |  Lynn 15/08/07
  30.   Arab Hannah 16:54  |  Hannah the best 15/08/07
  31.   I predict a guilty verdict for some but perhaps not all 17:05  |  Chick 15/08/07
  32.   Margie, can you really show a case? 17:26  |  Ibrahim 15/08/07
  33.   Well the IDF is a terrorist organisation 17:28  |  Stephen Murray 15/08/07
  34.   Proud Jew on Arrogance... 17:32  |  Ibrahim 15/08/07
  35.   Leon #21 17:32  |  Gordon 15/08/07
  36.   13 Hannah - It was a purely antisemitic diatribe. END 17:34  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  37.   Ruled Admissible 17:36  |  Gina 15/08/07
  38.   Grossed Out 17:40  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  39.   Mark of Lewiston 17:44  |  Gina 15/08/07
  40.   Ibrahim 17:46  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 15/08/07
  41.   10 Hi Margie 17:53  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  42.   Hanna and Indrajaya - Don`t You Have Juries? 18:06  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  43.   Ibrahim 18:06  |  Gina 15/08/07
  44.   Jihadi Hannah -- Judge has already accepted the testimony 18:07  |  Gina 15/08/07
  45.   To follow this Holy Land Foundation trial 18:13  |  Gina 15/08/07
  46.   Lynn - My response to Gerald was Lost 18:21  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  47.   #19 another ignoramus posts his law knowledge not 18:27  |  victor hardman 15/08/07
  48.   Gina - It Depends 18:35  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  49.   Not a fair court hearing 18:40  |  Joe 15/08/07
  50.   Triviality; IDF should not take it personally 18:47  |  Tosefta 15/08/07
  51.   20 Ibrahim - Trust the Jury 18:55  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  52.   Tosefta`s view of Israeli evidence 19:00  |  Jasmine Murphy 15/08/07
  53.   Mark of Lewiston 19:06  |  Gina 15/08/07
  54.   Not my relative 19:08  |  Fish 15/08/07
  55.   @19 SHOULD LEARN ABOUT JURISDICTION 19:09  |  paul harris 15/08/07
  56.   #43 Tosfeta IDF should not...... 19:14  |  tbora 15/08/07
  57.   tbora -- except he didn`t 19:27  |  Gina 15/08/07
  58.   Margie From TA 19:33  |  Ibrahim 15/08/07
  59.   Mark of Lewiston on the fairness of the system 19:35  |  Ibrahim 15/08/07
  60.   #43 Victor Harman 19:38  |  Chris Linthwaite 15/08/07
  61.   Trust the IDF? Not! 19:38  |  W 15/08/07
  62.   tbora in karachi 19:40  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 15/08/07
  63.   Not all of Israeli evidence tossed 19:55  |  Gina 15/08/07
  64.   #52 Tbora exagerrating 20:04  |  Tosefta 15/08/07
  65.   W --- How about trusting American agents? 20:22  |  Gina 15/08/07
  66.   The IDF is synonomous with lying. 20:24  |  Mr. Knowitall 15/08/07
  67.   the case wont wont give them their freedom 20:26  |  ting 15/08/07
  68.   Ibrahim 20:45  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 15/08/07
  69.   66 Ting - on al-Arian 21:06  |  Mark of Lewiston 15/08/07
  70.   Mark of Lewiston - stealth Constitutionalists 21:14  |  Mark Lincoln 15/08/07
  71.   old knowitall frostbitten heart 21:16  |  Hannah 15/08/07
  72.   Tosefta - so it seems 21:23  |  Mark Lincoln 15/08/07
  73.   Ibrahim - what if you were 21:25  |  Mark Lincoln 15/08/07
  74.   #57 Ibrahim 21:27  |  peter 15/08/07
  75.   The law if you like 21:46  |  ipse dixit 15/08/07
  76.   peter on muslim charities. 22:17  |  Ibrahim 15/08/07
  77.   Ibrahim 22:34  |  Gina 15/08/07
  78.   #46 Big-OT in Belfast 22:37  |  Labhras 15/08/07
  79.   Ibrahim, you`re missing the point 22:40  |  peter 15/08/07
  80.   #61 Margie in TA 3rd try to get a response 22:42  |  Labhras 15/08/07
  81.   #65 the frostbite is totally confused 22:50  |  victor hardman 15/08/07
  82.   margie 27 23:01  |  realism 15/08/07