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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 30, 2005 U.S. wants to re-open Islamic charity case later Federal prosecutors seek to drop the case against Al-Haramain and re-open it after suspects Pete Seda and Soliman Al-Buthe are captured By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Government attorneys argued Monday for the right to re-open their money-laundering and tax-fraud case against an Ashland-based Islamic charity labeled as aiding terrorists, saying the international fugitive status of two chapter leaders has stymied their current efforts. In court papers filed Monday, federal prosecutors say it is in the public interest to drop its case against the Ashland chapter of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc. until the capture of one of the chapter’s "alter egos" — international fugitives Pete Seda, formerly of Ashland, and his Saudi partner, Soliman Al-Buthe. Seda, Al-Buthe and the Ashland chapter were indicted in February on federal felony charges for allegedly taking a $150,000 chapter donation and smuggling the money to Saudi Arabia in 2000 without reporting it to federal authorities and for allegedly lying about it on a chapter tax return. Prosecutors want to drop the felony case for now against the chapter, which federal prosecutors call the "corporate shell" of Seda and Al-Buthe. The government also wants to reserve the right to re-indict the chapter later. Attorneys for the defunct chapter, however, are fighting the motion to dismiss, saying they want to go to trial this fall or not be re-indicted on the same charges later. Advertisement "The government does not want to expend the considerable resources necessary to try this case unless one of the individual defendants is before the court," Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cardani wrote in the motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Eugene. U.S. Magistrate Thomas Coffin was scheduled to hear oral arguments on the motion Sept. 8 in Eugene. A hearing previously scheduled for Monday was postponed so Cardani could prepare his latest motion in the legal haranguing that brought the Bush administration’s war on terror to Ashland. Al-Buthe, a former officer in the now defunct Al-Haramain offices in Saudi Arabia, and Seda, and former Ashland arborist and peace activist, formed the country’s first Al-Haramain chapter in Ashland in 2000. The chapter owns Seda’s former Ashland house, as well as a prayer house in Springfield, Mo. Al-Buthe and the chapter have been designated as aiding terrorists, and the chapter assets have been frozen. Seda has not been labeled as aiding terror. Federal agents believe Al-Buthe is in Saudi Arabia, while they believe Seda, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is in his native Iran. The United States does not have extradition agreements with either country, and international arrest warrants have been issued for both men. Attorneys for both sides could not be reached late Monday for comment. In previous court filings, the chapter’s attorneys have argued that the government should be forced to drop its case against the chapter "with prejudice," meaning it cannot come back and re-file later. The chapter’s attorneys also want any reference to the chapter removed from the indictments of Seda and Al-Buthe, saying the indictments have made the chapter defendants in a civil case brought by Sept. 11 survivors and their families. In Monday’s filing, Cardani wrote that prosecutors would be willing to strip any references to the Al-Haramain chapter as a co-defendant in Seda’s and Al-Buthe’s indictments. But Cardani wrote that any other references to the chapter should remain. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail U.S. wants to re-open Islamic charity case later ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Distance Education www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Helzberg Diamonds Computer Security Casino Gambling Sites Cheap Website Templates Budget Website Hosting Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Memory Foam Mattress Diamonds Online Poker Home Equity Loans Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Advertisement s