TRIAL Damra to continue as imam

Despite his conviction, Damra is expected to lead prayers as usual today.
AKRON (AP) -- The leader of Ohio's largest mosque has been convicted of concealing ties to terrorist organizations on his U.S. citizenship application in 1994, but his legal battle will continue. So will his role at the mosque.
Palestinian-born Fawaz Damra, imam of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, showed no emotion as the verdict was read Thursday in U.S. District Court.
Damra, 41, could be sentenced Sept. 9 to as much as five years in prison and be stripped of his citizenship, which could lead to deportation. He remains free on bond.
"We're obviously very disappointed by the verdict, and we're going to continue to fight to exonerate Mr. Damra," defense lawyer John Cline said outside the court building.
Haider Alawan, a member of the mosque's board of elders and a Damra supporter, said the imam is expected to lead prayers as usual today.
Damra is imam of the spacious, gold-dome mosque in the Cleveland suburb of Parma. About 800 people usually attend prayer services today and up to 5,000 come on holidays.
After court recessed, Damra walked to his wife and left the courtroom with his arm around her. Supporters greeted him in the lobby with pats on the shoulder. He made no comment outside the building.
Concealed ties
Prosecutors claimed that when Damra applied for citizenship, he concealed ties to Afghan Refugee Services, the Islamic Committee for Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, groups the government classifies as terrorist organizations.
"We feel this is a victory in the war on terrorism," said Cherie Krigsman, a U.S. Justice Department prosecutor. "I didn't see any evidence that he is a changed man."
Prosecutors showed video footage of Damra and other Islamic leaders raising money for an arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has been listed as a major terrorist group by the State Department since 1989.
Jurors also were shown footage in which Damra called Jews "the sons of monkeys and pigs" during a 1991 speech and said "terrorism and terrorism alone is the path to liberation" in a 1989 speech.
"You saw him on the videotape," Krigsman said after the verdict. "He was the guy that they brought in to raise the money for Islamic Jihad. Without the money they could not operate."
Damra's lawyers did not call any witnesses. Cline told jurors that Damra may have supported certain groups, but he did not consider himself a member or affiliate of them.
The prosecution also claimed Damra lied on his application about whether he persecuted people because of their race or religion.
But Damra's attorneys asked the judge to acquit him based on what they called insufficient evidence. The judge said Thursday he would rule on that and other post-verdict motions within 15 days.
Damra was indicted in January and arrested at his suburban Cleveland home. Mosque members voted in March to allow Damra to continue leading prayers and performing other functions.
Jad Humeidan, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he believed jurors got it wrong.
"For anybody coming into the jury room there are always things in the back of your mind, and it's hard to leave it behind and come in with a fresh mind to consider just what you see in the courtroom," he said.
Humeidan said Damra "has been a great interfaith leader in the Cleveland community."