US may rethink terror cases after mistrial-experts [View All]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's failure this week to win a conviction in a major case of alleged terrorism financing is a sign it may be targeting the wrong suspects and needs to rethink its prosecution strategy, legal experts say.

A judge in Dallas declared a mistrial on Monday on most counts against an Islamic charity -- the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development -- and several men linked to it who were accused of illegally funneling money to the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

The government vowed to retry the case, but legal experts said it faces obstacles in prosecuting charitable groups and terrorism cases in general.

"This case shows that we have not done our homework," said Karen Greenberg, executive director of New York University's Center for Law and Security. "It's conveying an impression to the American people that we don't know how to do this."

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