Defendants in terror financing case scheduled for deposition in Spain

Press Release – For Immediate Release
January 31, 2019

Media Contact

Nathan Miller or Liat Distler
(310) 571-8264
Nathan@miller-ink.com or Liat@miller-ink.com

A defendant under investigation for raising funds for a designated Palestinian terror group disclosed to a Madrid newspaper this week details of criminal proceedings brought in 2017 by The Lawfare Project in Spain against Leila Khaled.

The defendant in question is accused of raising funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and handing those funds to Khaled.

By leaking details of the case to the press, the defendant has violated the confidentiality that binds both attorneys and parties in Spanish criminal proceedings. “While The Lawfare Project passionately supports free speech, we regard this disclosure as a breach of the duty of confidentiality,” said the Executive Director of The Lawfare Project, Brooke Goldstein.

The leaked information—now in the public domain—reveals that the leader of “Red Network”, a radical organization, raised thousands of dollars, most of which was delivered to Leila Khaled, a leading member of the political bureau of the PFLP, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the EU, United States, and others.

The National Court—a tribunal in Madrid with exclusive jurisdiction on terrorist crimes—has scheduled February 5, 2019 as the date for the deposition of three defendants on this matter, when they will be compelled to give sworn evidence to the court.

“Terrorism financing carries in Spain a prison term between five and ten years, with fines ranging from three to five times the amount of the funds raised. Prison terms are increased when the funds are delivered to the leader of a terrorist organization. Other than that, we are duty-bound to keep confidential the details of the investigation,” said Ignacio Wenley Palacios, The Lawfare Project’s Spanish counsel who acts on behalf of the plaintiff.

Goldstein said: “When radical groups hand funds straight to Leila Khaled and the PFLP they are normalizing and endorsing terrorism against Jews and Israelis, and they are doing so illegally. I am confident that Spanish courts will use this opportunity to stop European groups—masquerading as ‘pro-Palestinian’—from funding terror, hatred, and bloodshed, and from being hijacked by those with a history of hijacking planes."