Terror financing trial begins
2010-09-07 19:19
Oslo – The trial of a Somali-born Norwegian suspected of financing Islamic insurgents in Somalia opened in the Norwegian capital on Tuesday, the Oslo district court said.
Abdirahman Abdi Osman, 40, is suspected of having collected $32 355 in 2007 and 2008, and to have sent $21 700 to the al-Shabab, an Islamic group linked to al-Qaeda, court documents showed.
According to Norwegian media, he pleaded not guilty.
Osman has lived in Norway for 11 years and was arrested in 2008 along with two others suspected of financing terrorism.
The trial, which is set to run until October 29, is the first to take place since Norway adopted new terror financing legislation in 2002.
According to the case's prosecutor, Osman could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
The al-Shabab group, which controls around 80% of Somalia, is believed to count up to 7 000 armed men, with a main force of around 3 000 fighters with well-honed guerrilla skills.
In a major attack in August, two insurgents disguised as government soldiers went on a shooting rampage in a Mogadishu hotel, killing 30 people, including six members of parliament, before blowing themselves up.
That attack came the day after clashes left 29 civilians dead across the war-ravaged Somali capital.
- SAPA