Two Men Charged with Terrorism Link

(Marietta, Ohio) Two Dearborn, Michigan, men have been allegedly scouring stores in the region for cell phones which they intended to send overseas. As a consequence, Osama Sobhi Abulhassan and Ali Houssaiky, both 20, were charged Wednesday with money laundering in support of terrorism.

According to Susan Vessels, assistant prosecutor in Washington County, during a traffic stop Abulhassan and Houssaiky were found to have about a dozen cell phones and more than $10,000 in their vehicle.

From Detroit Free Press:

Abulhassan and Houssaiky initially were charged with obstructing justice after they were accused of lying to police about why they bought the phones, Vessels said. They later told police they bought them for someone in Dearborn, who may be the focus of an FBI investigation, authorities said.

Vessels would not comment on how the two men were tied to terrorism. But she said an Ohio law that went into effect this year allows prosecutors to charge people suspected of using money to purchase items that would support terrorists or that terrorists would use.

Prosecutors asked for $1-million bonds, but the judge set bond at $200,000 each, Vessels said. Another bond hearing was set for today in Marietta.

Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, has become involved and is claiming that the government is overreacting.