Rochester women face joint trial on terror charges

Published 12:40 pm Thursday, June 23, 2011

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge says he won’t hold separate trials for two Minnesota woman accused of sending money to the terror group al-Shabab in Somalia.

Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis says 34-year-old Amina Farah Ali and 64-year-old Hawo Mohamed Hassan will face trial together. The Rochester women are both charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

They pleaded not guilty.

Their attorneys made several arguments for separate trials. Among them, Hassan’s attorney said he intended to call Ali as a witness to show Hassan didn’t know money was going to al-Shabab.

Davis disagreed. In a Wednesday order, he says it’s not necessary for a defendant to know all the details of a conspiracy in order to be convicted. The trial is set for Oct. 3.