Free Republic

RIYADH: A US court has convicted Pete Seda, cofounder of the Riyadh-based Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in Oregon, of tax fraud and conspiracy, while another US court has dismissed the foundation's co-director Soliman AlButhi in the 9/11 terror-funding case filed by the families of victims of the attacks. "Such judgments indicate a sharp contrast in the American position and explicitly explain how Islamophobia is on parade in the US," said Thomas H. Nelson, the attorney representing AlButhi.

Federal prosecutors announced Thursday they have indicted Pete Seda, the head of the Ashland branch of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, on fraud and tax charges. Seda, also known as Pirouz Sedaghaty and Abu Yunus, and another officer of the foundation, Soliman Hamd Al-Buthe, are part of a three-count indictment for illegally transporting $150,000 to Saudi Arabia. The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, charges them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing a false IRS return for a tax-exempt corporation and failure to file a report of international transportation of currency. Known locally as a peace activist,...