Minneapolis, MN – Paid informant Abdirahman Bashir continued his testimony, May 20, in packed courtroom at the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse, as the trial of three Somali youth who were entrapped by the FBI entered its ninth day. The cross examination of Bashir is expected to begin on Monday.

The young men, Guled Omar, Abdirahman Daud and Mohamad Farah are facing life in prison on the charges of conspiracy to commit murder abroad and material support of terrorism.

Much of today’s testimony was devoted to listening to tapes that Bashir secretly recorded to implicate the young men who considered him a friend.

The recording showed that Bashir attempted to get the youths to take actions that would lead to federal changes, including obtaining fake passports. At one point in the tapes Bashir offered that he could get an “unlicensed AK-47” and that an arsenal of weapons was available to him.

This trial mirrors many across the U.S. where the FBI manufactures a ‘crime’ and then fits people into it.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead of the Anti-War Committee is urging peace activists and other progressive people to continue to fill the courtroom in coming weeks.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliticalRepression #GuledOmar #AbdirahmanDaud #MohamadFarah #AbdirahmanBashir

Minneapolis, MN – About 100 people gathered in front of the Minneapolis Federal Building, May 19, to stand in solidarity with the three Somali youth who were entrapped by the FBI. They are facing up to life in prison. The crowd was made up of family and friends of the defendants, civil liberties and anti-war activists.

According to statement from protest organizers, “This case is part of an ongoing organized attack against the East African community, which is facing rising levels of Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism and government repression.”

Speaking to the crowd, the mothers of the three defendants demanded freedom for their sons and thanked people for packing the courtroom during the course of the trial.

Sarah Martin, of the Coalition to Defend the Muslim Community, stated, “It is the important the public understands that these Somali youth were entrapped by the FBI, in an effort to justify to us that they are ‘making us safer.’” Meredith Aby-Keirstead of the Anti-War Committee urged rally participants to continue to pack the courtroom in coming weeks.

Earlier today in court, the well-paid and self-admitted liar, Abdirahman Bashir, began his testimony for the prosecution.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliticalRepression #AbdirahmanBashir