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Judge won't unfreeze Holy Land's assets

Texas group linked to Hamas

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A federal judge refused Thursday to unblock the assets of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a Dallas-based group accused of funneling money to the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The Bush administration froze Holy Land's assets and raided its offices last December after determining that the group was aiding a terrorist organization. Holy Land sued, claiming government officials hadn't sufficiently proved any link to terrorism and had violated its constitutional rights.

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In an order filed Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler refused Holy Land's request for a temporary injunction to unblock its assets. She also dismissed most of the claims in its lawsuit.

However, Kessler decided to allow one part of the case to move forward -- whether a raid on Holy Land's offices, in which documents, computers and furniture were seized, violated its Fourth Amendment right against unlawful search and seizure. The government did not obtain a warrant for that search.

But while she allowed litigation on that issue to continue, the judge indicated that she doubts Holy Land will prevail.

"The court is not prepared to determine that HLF has a substantial likelihood of success on those allegations in light of the strong arguments advanced by the government in support of its position," she wrote in her order.

In its suit, Holy Land maintained that the Office of Foreign Asset Control, an arm of the Treasury Department, acted arbitrarily and capriciously in blocking its assets. The group insists it is a charitable organization aiding Palestinians, not a channel for terrorist funding.

But Kessler said the government has offered "ample support" for its determination that the group was tied to Hamas.

"There is evidence that HLF had financial connections to Hamas; that HLF and Hamas leaders not only had substantial involvement with one another, but also that an HLF officer agreed to take direction from a senior Hamas activist; and that HLF has provided financial support to Hamas-controlled organizations and to Hamas martyrs and prisoners," she wrote.

In support of her ruling, Kessler cited government evidence that Hamas officials met with leaders of Holy Land -- including Shukri Abu Baker, its CEO -- in Philadelphia in 1993 and a year later in Oxford, Mississippi. Both meetings were under FBI surveillance.

Kessler dismissed claims that HLF's rights to due process, freedom of association and freedom of speech were violated by the government's action.

"The government has merely restricted HLF's ability to provide financial support to Hamas. It has not restricted HLF's ability to express its viewpoints, even if those views include endorsement of Hamas," she wrote.

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization, has been labeled by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization. The group's military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has admitted responsibility for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and well as attacks against the Israeli military.

Kessler also ruled the government did not violate the Fifth Amendment's prohibition against taking of property because Holy Land's assets were frozen, not seized. And she rejected the group's claim that its right of religious expression was being "substantially burdened," noting that Holy Land calls itself a charity, not a religious organization.