Washington, DC – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said on May 17 that it plans to file a complaint against a Minnesota judge who inappropriately questioned defendants on their religious beliefs and equated mainstream Islamic principles with terrorism.

Minneapolis, MN – About 200 Somalis, mainly women, converged on the Federal Building here, May 16, for the sentencing hearing of two Somali humanitarian workers. Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan were convicted of ‘material support for terrorism’ in October, 2011. Judge Michael J. Davis handed down a 20-year sentence for Amina Ali and a 10-year sentence for Hawo Hassan.

_Justice for Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan _

Minneapolis, MN – About 100 people gathered for a “Speak Out in Support of the Somali Community” Dec. 3. The organizers were inspired to do the forum after the Oct. 20 conviction of Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan, two Somali American women who raised money for charities assisting Somalia’s poor. The women’s conviction was related to providing “material support to foreign terrorist organizations.” During jury deliberations, supporters of the women made it clear that the situation for people in Somalia was dire and that people required help for basic survival.