Somali shop owner charged with lying about son with possible terrorist link

Jihad Next Door
SALT LAKE CITY — A Somali shop owner faces federal charges for allegedly lying to FBI agents regarding the whereabouts of her son, who authorities apparently suspect could be associated with a terrorist network.Wearing a Muslim hijab over her jail jumpsuit, Lul Noor Abdi, 42, of Salt Lake City, appeared at a detention hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court. About 30 members of the Somali community, including Abdi's mother, crowded into the small courtroom and in a hallway.Abdi faces two counts of making false statements to the FBI. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba ordered her to be released from jail, with restrictions, including the seizure of her passport.Abdi told agents that she had taken her son to live in Uganda, when she had really taken him to live in Somalia, according to the indictment. Abdi also allegedly told agents and officers that she was supporting her son by sending money to an individual in Uganda on her son's behalf when, in fact, she was sending money to a person in Somalia.After the hearing, assistant U.S. attorney John Huber wouldn't reveal what led to Abdi's arrest or why the FBI questioned her, other than to say, "A young man in Somalia is a concern to the United States."The FBI, he said, is "just trying to find out what the story is."

Huber said the son has never lived in Utah.
"The problem is the FBI is not sure where he is," said Tyler Williams, Abdi's attorney.Abdi came to the United States from a refugee camp in Kenya 10 years ago, living mostly in Maine and moving to Utah in 2008, said her friend Mohamed Sharif. He said Abdi's son had some brushes with the law in Maine.Sharif, who works as a Somali interpreter and will attend Salt Lake Community College this fall, said FBI agents questioned him last week and told him they had concerns about young U.S. citizens like Abdi's son being recruited by radical groups in Africa, including al-Qaida. "He's the last person in my head who would be influenced by a terrorist network," Sharif said.Abdi is a well-respected member of the Somali community and supports her mother by running a market on State Street, Sharif said. He said Abdi doesn't understand why the FBI questioned her or what she did wrong. The Somali community, he said, fears being associated with its homeland due to recent reports of terrorism and piracy and doesn't know how to respond when government authorities show up asking questions.Williams, her lawyer, said, "I think this is really a misunderstanding based on cultural difference."
FBI spokeswoman Debbie Bertram said the agency can't comment on the case.