Dallas, December 13 (RHC)-- A Palestinian American man who was convicted and imprisoned in 2008 for his work with the Texas-based charity Holy Land Foundation has been released from federal prison. 

Mufid Abdulqader, one of the so-called Holy Land 5, was released to a halfway house Thursday.  Abdulqader and his four co-defendants — Ghassan Elashi, Shukri Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain and Abdulrahman Odeh — received sentences of up to 65 years under the George W. Bush administration, accused of working for a so-called "terrorist" organization.

The Holy Land Foundation raised millions of dollars for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, making it a target for pro-Israel groups in the United States.  Their case was widely denounced as political persecution during the height of the so-called war on terror and shuttered what was once the largest Muslim charity in the United States. 

Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi remain behind bars.

[ SOURCE:  DEMOCRACY NOW ]