By MLFA’s Criminal Defense Department
What Just Happened:
On October 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the “Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network”, or “Samidoun,” as a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Who Is Samidoun:
Samidoun is a Canadian-based organization and international network that works to build awareness and provide resources for more than 9,000 Palestinians currently detained in Israel and more than 10,000 Palestinian children who have been detained over the past twenty years. Their work enjoys broad support from the international non-profit and pro-Palestine community.
Disclaimer: MLFA does not represent Samidoun or speak on behalf of Samidoun
Why it matters:
OFAC’s action potentially jeopardizes Samidoun’s efforts to address the effects of Israel’s mass detention of Palestinians. The designation also may put U.S. humanitarian aid efforts for Gaza and efforts to raise awareness of the conditions in Gaza at risk despite the International Court of Justice describing those conditions as a plausible genocide.
Going Deeper:
- The Secretary of State designated the PFLP as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Secretary of State in 1997, and the Treasury Department designated it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2001.
- These designations make it a federal offense to attempt to, conspire to, or actually support the PFLP. Material support includes support that is provided, or intended to be provided, to organizations that act at the direction of or in coordination with the PLFP.
- Following 9/11, OFAC used powers delegated to the Executive under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to “specially “designate U.S. charities as terrorist organizations.
- Subsequent judicial decisions restricted those powers and required that the Treasury Department have probable cause and provide due process before designation.
- OFAC’s designation of Samidoun as “a sham charity” is a new approach and appears to be an attempt to avoid the existing judicial requirements of probable cause and due process before OFAC can restrict or seize funds.
- If this designation withstands legal challenges, OFAC’s designation of Samidoun as “a sham charity” for PFLP may put any charity or individual working with or contributing to Samidoun at risk for criminal prosecution for material support of terrorism and or administrative seizure of funds.
What Happens Next:
OFAC’s pattern of seizing the funds of specially designated charities after 9/11 effectively shuttered them. The Justice Department then prosecuted selected individuals involved in those charities for material support of terrorism and related charges. Whether OFAC’s designation of “Samidoun” as a sham charity fundraising for the PFLP will similarly lead to direct action against U.S. charities and persons is unknown at this time, but organizations and individuals should not ignore this action.
What Should U.S. Charities, Organizations, and Individuals Do: Any U.S. charities, organizations, or individuals that have had dealings with or are contemplating dealings with Samidoun should, to better educate themselves on any risks pertaining to their specific factual situations, immediately seek legal advice and cease further dealings without legal advice.
