Man Who Allegedly Raised Funds for Al-Qaeda Receives Bond

Ohio Judge James Knepp rewarded Sultane Roome Salim, 40, with a $500,000 bond, even though he allegedly raised funds for al-Qaeda.

The system will release him once his mother posts the bond “that includes her home and a commercial building in Cambridge, Ohio.” Salim, his Pakistani wife, and their three children must surrender their passports.

From the Toledo Blade:

Mr. Salim is charged with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists, providing material support and resources to terrorists, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Toledo that also named his brother, Asif Ahmed Salim, 35, as well as Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 37, and Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, 36.

Prosecutors allege the group conspired to travel to Yemen to give thousands of dollars to Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011.

Michael Tobin, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Asif Salim and Yahya Mohammad, both residents of the United Arab Emirates, were arrested overseas and flown to Virginia. Ibrahim Mohammad was arrested in Texas.

The two other men are citizens of the United Arab Emirates. They flew back to Ohio to face charges.

Salim is a chemical engineer but worked as a financial analyst. He was recently fired from his job.

On November 7, Salim’s attorney claimed the federal prosecutors “overreached” and “made baseless accusations.”

“They missed the mark on this one,” stated attorney Cherrefe Kadri. “The government has the obligation to prove its case and produce all information and all evidence that it purportedly has. That’s something that will happen over the next several months.”