St. Louis man accused of financing terrorists remains jailed
Feb. 20, 2015 6:29 PM EST
This undated photo provided by the St. Charles County Jail via St. Louis Post Dispatch, shows Sedina Hodzic. Hodzic, a Bosnian immigrant accused of funneling money and military supplies to terror groups in Iraq and Syria will remain in federal custody, after her lawyer told a judge Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, that he wants clarity on her immigration status before seeking bond. She is among six people named in a federal indictment earlier this month. Her husband, Ramiz Hodzic, and another man were also named, along with two people from Illinois and one from New York State. (AP Photo/St. Charles County Jail via St. Louis Post Dispatch)
This undated photo provided by the St. Louis County Jail via St. Louis Post Dispatch shows Ramiz Hodzic. His wife, Sedina Hodzic, a Bosnian immigrant accused of funneling money and military supplies to terror groups in Iraq and Syria will remain in federal custody, after her lawyer told a judge Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, that he wants clarity on her immigration status before seeking bond. She is among six people named in a federal indictment earlier this month. Ramiz Hodzic, and another man were also named, along with two people from Illinois and one from New York State. (AP Photo/St. Louis County Jail via St. Louis Post Dispatch)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Bosnian immigrant accused of funneling money and military supplies to terror groups in Iraq and Syria will remain in federal custody after a brief court hearing Friday.
Ramiz Hodzic, 40, of St. Louis County, is accused of using Facebook, PayPal, Western Union and the U.S. Postal Service to coordinate shipments of money and supplies through an intermediary in Turkey. He has pleaded not guilty.
A federal magistrate judge granted a request by Hodzic's court-appointed attorney that his client remain in custody and to reschedule the hearing. The lawyer provided no explanation for his request in court and declined comment afterward.
Hodzic's wife, Sedina, faces similar charges, along with four other Bosnian immigrants living in St. Louis County, Illinois and New York.
On Wednesday, an attorney for Sedina Hodzic, a mother of three, waived her request to be released on bond while he attempts to clarify her immigration status. A federal indictment says that the Hodzics have been living in the U.S. as refugees for nearly two decades.
A federal judge in Chicago has refused to release Mediha Medy Salkicevic, 34, of Schiller Park, Illinois. Detention hearing dates have not been set for Armin Harcevic, 37, of St. Louis County; Jasminka Ramic, 42, of Rockford, Illinois; and Nihad Rosic, 26, of Utica, New York.
The indictment accuses Ramiz Hodzic of making 10 wire transfers totaling $8,850, and arranging two shipments of military supplies valued at $2,451. Sedina Hodzic is accused of aiding one of those transfers and shipping six boxes of military supplies.
The indictment alleges that the Hodzics were helped by Abdullah Ramo Pazara, another Bosnian immigrant who left St. Louis in May 2013 to fight in Syria and whom authorities say died there.
