Two U.S. women were each sentenced Friday to more than a decade in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to al Shabaab, a foreign terrorist organization.
Muna Osman Jama, 36, of Reston, Va., was sentenced to 12 years, while Hinda Osman Dhirane, 46, of Kent, Wash., received an 11-year sentence, according to a Justice Department press release issued Friday evening. Both were found guilty following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga on Oct. 25.
The two women were convicted of sending money to financiers associated with the terrorist group in Somalia and Kenya.
They also created “Group of Fifteen,” a collection of women from Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada and Minneapolis, who met privately online to discuss their support of the terrorist group’s military operations in the Golis Mountains and two safe houses in Nairobi. One of the safe houses was used for the terrorists to store weapons, while the other was used as a medical center for al Shabaab fighters wounded in battle.
Court documents show the women’s “Group of Fifteen” had ties to leaders within the terrorist group. Members laughed at the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi as it was taking place and after the Boston Marathon bombing, before authorities knew who had committed the attack, the Justice Department said.
