From AP, with thanks to Kemaste:
WOLCOTT, Conn. — FBI agents raided the home of a Waterbury Islamic leader as part of an investigation into a Sudanese charity that federal officials recently accused of supporting Osama bin Laden and other terrorists.
Majeed Sharif, president of United Muslim Mosque, would not discuss what investigators took from his Wolcott home on Wednesday. But he told The Associated Press that he did volunteer work for the Islamic African Relief Agency, a charity the Bush administration said Wednesday was financing terrorism.
Sharif, 57 referred all other questions to his attorney, who said Sharif has done nothing wrong.
“He is an absolutely amazing humanitarian and person,” attorney Rosa C. Rebimbas said Thursday. She would not discuss the search.
The FBI confirmed it executed a search warrant in Wolcott but would not identify the address. Federal agents also searched the Islamic African Relief Agency’s office in Missouri on Wednesday.
Bryan Sierra, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said the Connecticut and Missouri searches were part of an ongoing investigation.
“There is no danger or immediate threat to the local community,” Sierra said.
The Treasury Department said the charity, headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan, and five of its officials “provided direct financial support” for bin Laden. It also alleged that the group “engaged in a joint program with an institute controlled by (bin Laden) that was involved in providing assistance to Taliban fighters.”
Sharif, who is active in local charities and in the Connecticut Islamic community, is not named by the Treasury Department. No charges have been filed and documents related to the search are sealed.