LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge on Friday denied a government appeal to keep incarcerated a top fundraiser for an Islamic charity the government says has ties to terrorism.
AIM The motion came a day after U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ordered the release without bond of Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, 45, who is being held at the Terminal Island federal detention facility.
Hatter denied the motion without comment, according to court documents filed late Friday.
"The judge clearly said the government has no business detaining him," said Hamdan's attorney, Ranjana Natarajan of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
It was unclear when Hamdan could be released, or whether the government would appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the department was aware of the judge's decision and was reviewing its legal options.
Contacted at her home late Friday, Hamdan's wife, Entesar Hamdan, said she was unaware of the ruling but hoped the government wouldn't take the case any further.
"I didn't expect they would take it one last step," she said. "It's sad. It's already been two years of his life, of our lives."
Hamdan, who founded a mosque in Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004 as federal authorities unsealed an indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The government charged that the Texas-based charity funneled millions to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The following month, Hamdan was ordered deported on the immigration charges. His requests to be released on bond while he fights the charges had been denied until this week.
Hamdan, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, was accused of having ties to terrorism but was never charged. Instead, he was convicted of overstaying a student visa he got 27 years ago.
The Holy Land Foundation's president, chairman and director of endowments have been charged with terrorism-related crimes
"Overstayed a student visa he got 27 years ago..."
Hamdan (familiar name): illegal alien founded a mosque near the original Disneyland and funneled millions of dollars to Hamas.
And Judge Hatter colludes with the terrorists, per a lawsuit filed by ACLU.
Pretty well sums up all that is plaguing the U.S. and the world, I'd say.