Dr. Shakir Hammodi - a Columbia business man sentenced to three years in prison for violating trade sanctions - was released from prison this week.
According to his son Owais Abdul-Kafi, Hamoodi was released to a Columbia halfway house on December 9. Abdul-Kafi says Hamoodi will be allowed to return home at some point to serve the remainder of his sentence - ending April 7 - under house arrest. Abdul-Kafi says he's not sure when that transfer would take place.
Between 1993 and 2003, Hamoodi sent more than $200,000 to friends and family in his native Iraq in violation of U.S. imposed sanctions on the country. In 2012, he was sentenced to three years in prison for the violation.
"We're happy this is getting closer to the end of his sentence," Abdul-Kafi said of his father's release from prison, "but he's not home yet. Hopefully, he will be home soon."
