Somali Immigrant Sentenced for Providing Support to Foreign Terrorists | WPN World People News

Ahmed Nasir Taalil Mohamud, a cabdriver from Anaheim, was sentenced to six years in prison for his part in a San Diego-based conspiracy to provide material support to the terrorist group al Shabaab.

Nasir is the last of four defendants to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller. The others were sentenced in November 2013, including San Diego cabdriver Basaaly Saeed Moalin to 18 years in prison; Mohamed Mohamed Mohamud, the imam at a popular mosque frequented by the city’s immigrant Somali community, to 13 years in prison; and Issa Doreh, who worked at a money transmitting business that was the conduit for moving the illicit funds, to 10 years in prison.

Nasir and his co-conspirators were found guilty during a three-week trial in February. The United States presented evidence that Nasir, Moalin, Mohamud, and Doreh conspired to provide money to al Shabaab, a violent and brutal militia group that engages in suicide bombings, targets civilians for assassination, and uses improvised explosive devices. In February, 2008, the U.S. Department of State formally designated al Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization.

During the trial, the government contended that Nasir conspired to collect money from donors in Orange County as part of the conspiracy to support al Shabaab.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Miller acknowledged that Nasir was the least culpable member of the conspiracy, and he noted the defendant’s background as a refugee from war-torn Somalia. Still, the judge said, “These offenses were very serious.”

Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation