Providing material support for terrorism

Providing material support for terrorism is a provision of the USA PATRIOT Act (18 U. S. C. §2339B) which prohibits material support to groups designated as terrorists. The four types of support described are “training,” “expert advice or assistance,” “service,” and “personnel.” In June 2010 the United States Supreme Court upheld the law in the case Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project 561 U. S. ____ (2010). Plaintiffs in the case had sought to help the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam learn means of peacefully resolving conflicts.^[1]

Implementation

The following people have been charged or convicted of providing material support for terrorism under this law.

John Walker Lindh, who was captured fighting for the Taliban during the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi, one of the first battles in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on various charges.
David Hicks, a former Guantanamo detainee who pled guilty in 2007 and served a sentence of less than one year in Australia.
Lynne Stewart, a 70 year old veteran civil rights lawyer who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for releasing information from her imprisoned client Omar Abdel-Rahman.^[2]
Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former Guantanamo detainee who was Osama bin Laden's former driver. He was convicted in 2008 and served a sentence of less than one year in Yemen.^[3] See 8 U.S.C. § 2339B.
Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, who attended the al Farouq training camp in 2000.^[4]^[5]

In September 2010 the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided activists in Minneapolis and Chicago, seizing computers, cell phones and files and issuing subpoenas to some targeted individuals to appear before a federal grand jury. The FBI agents were seeking evidence of ties to foreign terrorist organizations, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.^[6]^[7] Attorneys linked the raids to the Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project decision.^[8]^[9]

References

^ Adam Liptak, Court Affirms Ban on Aiding Groups Tied to Terror, The New York Times, June 21, 2010.
^ "Attorney who helped terrorist gets 10 years in prison". New York Post. 15 July 2010. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/attorney_who_helped_terrorist_gets_PYGIvliTgsFfDjH8DWkVTJ. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
^ Tran, Mark (2007-06-05). "Profile: Salim Ahmed Hamdan". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,2095889,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
^ "Minneapolis Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to al Qaeda". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2009-05-20. Archived from the original on 2009-08-24. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fminneapolis.fbi.gov%2Fdojpressrel%2Fpressrel09%2Fmp052009b.htm&date=2009-08-24. "According to the plea agreement, from about March 2000 through at least December 2003, Warsame conspired with others to provide material support to al Qaeda in the form of personnel, training, and currency. Specifically, in March 2000, Warsame traveled to Afghanistan where he attended an al Qaeda training camp outside Kabul. In the summer of 2000, he then traveled to the al Faruq training camp, where he received further training and met Osama Bin Laden. Warsame subsequently worked at an al Qaeda guesthouse and clinic."
^ "Minneapolis Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to al Qaeda". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2009-07-09. Archived from the original on 2009-08-24. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fminneapolis.fbi.gov%2Fdojpressrel%2Fpressrel09%2Fmp070909.htm&date=2009-08-24.
^ Colin Moynihan, F.B.I. Searches Antiwar Activists’ Homes, New York Times, September 24, 2010
^ Search warrant and subpoena (Indymedia)
^ Sheila Regan, FBI raids activist homes in Minneapolis, Chicago, Twin Cities Daily Planet, September 24, 2010.
^ Activists to Protest Recent FBI Raids on Anti-War Members, Associated Press, September 24, 2010.