HOUSTON, May 27 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday handed down 65-year prison sentences to two founders of a U.S. Islamic charity convicted of illegally funneling $12.4 million to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The sentences came some six months after a grand jury convicted the Holy Land Foundation and five of its leaders for conspiracy to support a foreign terrorist organization, money laundering, tax fraud and other charges.

The foundation, based in a Dallas suburb, was one of the biggest Islamic charities in the United States before the government shut it down in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

[Read the complete Reuters report here ]

In an separate story, WorldNetDaily.com reports that one of the men sentenced, Ghassan Elashi “was a board member of the Texas chapter of the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American Islamic Relations [CAIR] -- the third CAIR figure to be convicted on federal terrorism charges since 9-11. Ghassan Elashi, along with two brothers, was convicted in Dallas of channeling funds to a high-ranking official of the Palestinian group Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook.

According to WorldNet Daily, CAIR is a spin-off of the Texas-based Islamic Association For Palestine, or IAP, which was founded by Marzook. Former FBI counterterrorism chief Oliver Revell has called the IAF "a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants." 

Prosecutors said Ghassan Elashi, with brothers Bayan and Basman, tried to hide a $250,000 investment by Marzook in their Richardson, Texas, computer company, then funneled payments to Marzook in return.

Marzook, deputy chief of Hamas' political bureau in Syria, founded the IAP in 1991. At its conferences in the U.S., the IAP hosted leaders of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Marzook was deported in 1997.It's not the first conviction for Ghassan Elashi.

According to WorldNetDaily, other CAIR figures convicted since 9-11 are Randall Todd "Ismail" Royer, a former communications specialist and civil rights coordinator, and Bassem Khafagi, former director of community relations.

Hamas criticizes US prison sentences

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A senior Hamas official on Thursday criticized the prison sentences handed down by a U.S. court to members of a Muslim charity that sent aid to the militant Palestinian group, calling the ruling politically motivated and unjust.

Hamas' deputy political leader, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said one of the men sentenced is a relative of his and another is the half brother of the group's top leader, Khaled Mashaal.

The U.S. designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1995, making it illegal to offer the group support. Hamas has taken credit for suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians.

A court in Dallas on Wednesday sentenced two founding members of what was once the largest U.S. Muslim charity to 65 years in prison for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. Three other men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years for conspiracy.

Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elashi, 55, were among the five members of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development sentenced to prison. The men and Holy Land were convicted in November on 108 charges.

The convictions followed a mistrial in which the government in 2007 failed to sway jurors that the now-defunct charity, based in a Dallas suburb, was in fact aiding Hamas.

The two Holy Land leaders were convicted on charges ranging from supporting a terrorist organization to money laundering and tax fraud. The group wasn't accused of violence but of bankrolling Hamas-controlled schools and social welfare programs.

Mufid Abdulqader, 49, was sentenced to 20 years on three conspiracy counts. Mohammad El-Mezain, 55, got 15 years for one count of conspiracy. Abdulrahman Odeh received 15 years for three conspiracy counts.

Abu Marzouk said Abdulqader was the half brother of Mashaal. He said Elashi was a relative of his.

He told The Associated Press that the court's ruling was part of a pattern of politically motivated trials "under different pretexts against all Palestinians on U.S. territory who are committed to their rights to help their Palestinian people."

"They are clear political trials and have nothing to do with the law," Abu Marzouk said.