Sheikh Hassan Jami Mohamud Vindicated: St Paul Imam Never “Psyched Up” Defendants for Jihad

Press Release Issued by Minnesotans Against Islamophobia

Minneapolis, MN, May 20, 2016– During today’s proceedings in the trial of Guled Ali Omar, Abdirahman Yasin Daud and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, we finally heard the piece of audio that supposedly implicated Sheikh Hassan Jami of St. Paul. The Sheikh who Abdirizak Warsame allegedly learned about prayer in battle from was NOT Sheikh Hassan Jami of St. Paul but actually Sheikh Hassan Hussein of Nairobi, Kenya. The audio was clear, although the accompanying transcript (prepared by Confidential Human Source, CHS, Abdirahman Bashir, from tapes he himself recorded) pointed to the Sheikh in St. Paul.

At a pre-trial hearing on April 1 st , AUSA Docherty accused Sheikh Hassan Jami Mohamud of “psyching these young men up for jihad” and P. Chinedu Nwaneri removed his law firm from the team defending Mohamed Farah rather than allow unsubstantiated personal attacks on the Sheikh to distract from the defense of Mr. Farah. Many believe this was the prosecution’s strategy all along. Judge Michael Davis would not allow the Sheikh to question Abdirizak Warsame, who the Sheikh has always maintained he never even met. The Judge did allow the Nwareri team to withdraw. The impact the loss of 2/3 of his legal team has had on Mohamed Farah’s capacity to receive the best possible defense cannot be quantified easily, but we do know that his remaining lawyer pressured him strongly in the weeks leading up to the trial to take a plea. The only plea on the table was the top count in the indictment – Conspiracy to commit murder outside the United States – which carries a possible life sentence.

After the April 1 st hearing, friends and supporters of Sheikh Hassan Mohamud gathered outside the courthouse to denounce the prosecution slander to the press. The Sheikh was an important part of the defense team, his knowledge of both US and Islamic Law as well as Somali culture made him irreplaceable. The Sheikh is also a respected religious and community leader and the slurs against him are part of a broader government strategy aimed as sowing dissension inside the tight knit Somali community.

The defense has not yet had an opportunity to cross examine the well paid FBI informant Bashir. We already know he is a self-serving liar. We expect to find out much more when the defense gets the opportunity to cross examine him starting Monday.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Minnesotans Against Islamophobia at MN.Against.Islamophobia@gmail.com.