Source: Ohio News Network

Wire Service: AP

http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=1984261

On July 10, 2004 Ohio News Network reported, "The impact of a mosque leader being convicted of hiding terrorist ties is stretching beyond the courtroom.

The American Civil Liberties Union may join the appeal by imam Fawaz Damra to overturn his conviction on a charge of lying to obtain U.S. citizenship in 1994. The ACLU says civil rights advocates believe the case may be just the start of super secret proceedings involving terrorism charges.

The government has said the Damra conviction was a win in the war on terror. Muslims say the case has made their community feel targeted... The Palestinian-born Damra, leader of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, the state's largest mosque, was convicted June 17 and is to be sentenced Sept. 9. The 41-year-old could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and face deportation."