Terrorism investigation in Finland shakes up Somalis

This is a story that is a bit confusing.  Perhaps something is lost in the translation, but the gist of it is that some Somalis have been arrested on terrorism charges (for what exactly is not clear) and the rest of the “community” has been shaken.

From Helsingen Sanomat

When the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Security Intelligence Service (SUPO) revealed two weeks ago Friday that it had started an investigation into suspicions of financing terrorism and recruiting for terrorist activities, many people of Somali background in Finland knew that something was going on.

It appears that the investigation centers around funding Al-Shabaab by sending remittances to Somalia.  The Somalis in Finland can’t really say who their families back in Somalia are hanging with these days.

People are also more cautious about sending remittances of money to Somalia. Some people wonder if just anyone might end up on a list of terror suspects if relatives have formed excessively close ties with the rebels.

“Not everyone in Finland knows what their relatives think about al-Shabaab, or ask what the money is used for”, Abdirahim Hussein says.

There is also no certainty about how many Somalis living in Finland actually support al-Shabaab. The issue is generally not discussed in public, as supporting the Islamist organisation is not allowed.

Read the whole article and see if you can follow it because next we are going to jump to Minneapolis for that Somali terror-funding trial on-going there.

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