Prosecutors: Plans for terror defendants’ release ‘untested’

Published 10:09 am Wednesday, July 8, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS — Three men accused of trying to leave Minnesota to join the Islamic State group have not renounced the group’s violent ideology, and proposals for their pretrial release won’t adequately protect the community or guarantee that they’ll show up for court, prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.

The document was filed in advance of Wednesday hearings on defense attorneys’ proposals to release Hamza Naj Ahmed, 21, and Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman and Hanad Mustafe Musse, both 19. The men, Americans of Somali decent, are among seven people recently charged with plotting to join the terror group in Syria.

The proposals were crafted by the defense with input from Somali community members and religious leaders. They include options for housing, religious education, volunteering and other activities that defense attorneys say are designed to steer the men in a positive direction, assure the community’s safety and ensure the men attend court hearings.

Email newsletter signup

Prosecutors disagree.

“Jobs, family, school and attendance at mosque did not stop the defendants from trying to flee before, and will not stop them from trying again,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Winter wrote.