Saturday, September 14, 2002

Federal Judge Drops Charges of Perjury in Chicago
A federal judge in Chicago today threw out a perjury indictment against an Islamic charity and its leader, who were accused of lying about ties to Osama bin Laden and whether they had secretly funneled money to his terrorist network, Al Qaeda.

Judge Joan Gottschall of Federal District Court said that the Justice Department erred in using the perjury statutes to charge the charity, the Benevolence International Foundation, and its director, Enaam M. Arnaout, when they asserted they were not affiliated with terrorist organizations. They made the statements in a lawsuit filed in January against the federal government after officials investigating the Sept. 11 attacks seized the foundation's assets.

Judge Gottschall said today that perjury charges were inappropriate because the statements by Mr. Arnaout and the group were not made in connection with a specific court proceeding as required by the statute. Mr. Fitzgerald said he would use the same statements to bring new charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements.

Mr. Arnaout remains imprisoned in Chicago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/14/national/14PERJ.html

No comments:

Post a Comment

con·cept