PORTLAND, Ore. – Defense lawyers have asked for a new trial for a Southern Oregon man convicted in what prosecutors allege was a scheme to smuggle money to Muslim fighters in Chechnya.
A defense motion says actions by prosecutors that included waving a Quran in the air and dropping it on the table in front of jurors tainted the trial of Pete Seda of Ashland.
He was found guilty Sept. 9 of conspiracy to defraud the government and filing a false tax return.
The prosecutors haven't responded to the defense's move.
Seda was a leader of an Oregon branch of the Saudi Arabian charity Al-Haramain, which the U.S. government declared a terrorist organization in 2004.
He faces sentencing Nov. 23.
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