Minneapolis, MN – The trial of Mohamud Said Omar continued here today, Oct. 10, at the Federal Court building, with testimony from self-confessed liar Kamal Said Hassan. While being questioned on the stand, prosecution witness Hassan admitted that he had lied while under oath in previous court proceedings. Other key prosecution witnesses have admitted that they can avoid jail time based on how well they do in helping the government put people in prison.

Mohamud Said Omar is facing five charges, including material support for foreign terrorist organizations and conspiring to kill, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad. Omar is fighting the charges and the government has yet to present credible evidence that he violated any law.

The testimony of prosecution witness Kamal Said Hassan dealt in part with his work for the FBI.

Hassan is one of the young men who left Minneapolis to fight the U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. He joined al-Shabab, one of the main Somali groups resisting the invasion. Eventually Hassan decided to return to the U.S.

According to Hassan’s testimony, on his return trip home he first traveled to Yemen. At the U.S. embassy there, he met with three FBI agents and an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He returned to Minneapolis to face ‘terrorism’ charges, but instead of going to jail, he went to a hotel in Duluth, in northeastern Minnesota, with his FBI handlers. He was then placed in a home in Saint Louis Park, a suburb in Minneapolis, along with his wife – and FBI agents who stayed with him 24 hours a day. At the direction of the FBI, he made phone calls back to Somalia and went out to meet with men in the Somali community here. The FBI put him in the Saint Louis Park home so he could maintain his cover.

While the prosecution lacks evidence of legal wrongdoing by Omar, they are going all out to criminalize the Somali resistance againt the U.S./Ethiopian invasion. One of the prosecution’s exhibits today was a video produced by the Somali resistance. The video, which included song and spoken word poetry, showed the Somali resistance ambushing the invading Ethiopian army. The prosecution is trying to say that the fight to free Somalia from foreign intervention is ‘terrorism.’

Mick Kelly, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, and who was present at today’s proceedings, stated, “The government is using self-confessed liars to frame an innocent man. Behind this is an agenda which aims to label those who fight to free their countries from western domination as ‘terrorism.’ This should be opposed by everyone who cares about justice or civil liberties.”

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