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Al-Shabaab Members Get 11-Year Sentences
NEW YORK, NY – Two members of the terrorist organization al-Shabaab were sentenced to 11 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the group.
Ali Yasin Ahmed, 31, also known as Ismail, and Mohamed Yusuf, 33, also known as Abu Zaid, Hudeyfa and Mohammed Abdulkadir, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York on charges of conspiring to provide material support to al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to court documents, between approximately December 2008 and August 2012, the defendants served as members of al-Shabaab in Somalia, where they supported al-Shabaab and its extremist agenda. In early August 2012, the defendants were apprehended in East Africa by local authorities while on their way to Yemen. On Nov. 14, 2012, the FBI took custody of the defendants and brought them to the Eastern District of New York for prosecution.
“Ahmed and Yusuf travelled to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab as part of the terrorist organization’s cadre of foreign fighters,” said Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin. “The National Security Division remains committed to identifying, disrupting and holding accountable all who seek to provide material support to and fight on behalf of designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
“These defendants left their adopted European homes to support al-Shabaab, a violent terrorist organization that has demonstrated its capabilities and motives in numerous terrorist attacks overseas and has publicly called for attacks against the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers. “Today’s significant sentences reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ criminal conduct and will serve as a strong deterrent to others considering the path to violence.”
The defendants, both naturalized Swedish citizens, traveled to Somalia intending to wage violent jihad on the U.N.-sanctioned African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali government forces that were attempting to bring stability to that war-torn country. Once in Somalia, the defendants participated in numerous attacks on government forces. Yusuf is featured in an al-Shabaab propaganda video in which he encourages young men to travel to Somalia and join al-Shabaab and threatened a cartoonist who had depicted the prophet Mohammad.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shreve Ariail, Seth D. DuCharme and Richard M. Tucker of the Eastern District of New York, along with Trial Attorney Annamartine Salick of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Trial Attorney Shanna Batten of the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Dan Stigall of the National Security Division also provided invaluable assistance.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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