Lawyers for Minnesota jihad suspects say Islamic State not terror organization
August 8, 2015 9:49 am By Robert Spencer 19 Comments
Ethiopian Christians Islamic State“In one of several motions filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, the attorneys argued that despite its reputation for brutality, ISIL carries many characteristics of a government that tends to day-to-day business and that therefore criminal charges against the defendants are too broad.” Indeed. After all, during World War II, no one would have dreamed of bringing criminal charges against Nazi spies, because Nazi Germany carried many characteristics of a government, right?
“Lawyers for Minnesota terror suspects argue ISIL not a terrorist organization,” by Abby Simons, Star Tribune, August 7, 2015:
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Defense attorneys for seven suspects charged with supporting terrorism are arguing that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is not a terrorist organization because it operates a government and regulates services for citizens living under its control in Syria.
In one of several motions filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, the attorneys argued that despite its reputation for brutality, ISIL carries many characteristics of a government that tends to day-to-day business and that therefore criminal charges against the defendants are too broad.
“While the group has adopted partly violent and repressive tactics, and engages in military and insurgency attacks against the Syrian and Iraqi armies, it has also embarked on a systematic process of civilian governance over the eight to 10 million people with the territory it controls,” attorneys said.
The statutes under which the defendants are charged prohibit providing support under the direction or control of a terrorist group. The attorneys argue that when a terrorist group controls an entire territory, simply being in that country would effectively become, under the current charges, support to the terrorist group. But when services are provided, it’s no longer possible to describe that territory as being part of a terrorist state.
“Mere travel to Syria, or willingness to ‘join’ ISIL, cannot constitutionally be equated with material support. Accordingly, the material support statute is void,” the attorneys argued….
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/08/lawyers-for-minnesota-jihad-suspects-say-islamic-state-not-terror-organization
