Transcripts hint at evidence in Minn. terror case
By AMY FORLITI
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Transcripts of secretly recorded phone calls shed some light on the case against a man suspected of helping young Somali men leave Minnesota to join al-Shabab.
Mahamud Said Omar faces charges of material support of terrorism. The recordings were made as part of the government's investigation, and English transcripts were entered in the federal court file in Minneapolis late Thursday.
In the transcripts, Omar talks of giving $100 to a man named "Mustaf" and also talks about young men who "left" an unnamed city. He describes the city as being in an "uproar" over the departures.
The calls took place in early November 2008, when the departures were becoming publicly known.
Omar's attorney says he doesn't accept the transcripts at face value and may challenge them at an upcoming hearing.
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