2006 Toronto terrorism case
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Ontario terrorism case refers to the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario
, Canada, and the June 2, 2006, counter-terrorism
raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area
that resulted in the arrest of 18 people (the "Toronto 18") found to be Al-Qaeda
members of an Islamic terrorist cell
.
They were accused of planning to detonate truck bombs, to open fire in a crowded area, and to storm the Canadian Broadcasting Centre
, the Canadian Parliament building, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) headquarters, and the parliamentary Peace Tower
to take hostages and to behead the Prime Minister
and other leaders.
Following the jury trial in June 2010, a comprehensive presentation of the case and the evidence obtained from court exhibits previously restricted was presented by Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star. It contains the details on guilty pleas and convictions.
The Ontario Court of Appeal released their decision on December 17, 2010, upholding three of the sentences (two of the three were increased).
(a police agent) met with members of the terrorist group at an information meeting at a banquet hall regarding the use of security certificates in Canada, and began his infiltration of the group. He was told that they had planned a training camp in Orillia. They asked Shaikh if he would join them and teach them how to use a gun, since he had mentioned his military and martial arts
training, and shown them his Possession and Acquisition Licence
.
, from December 18–31, 2005. It was monitored by more than 200 police officers.
Authorities say that "the internet played a large role in the suspects' planning". The group listened to a video over the internet of Anwar al Awlaki, the imam who has been connected to three of the 9/11 hijackers, and since to Nidal Malik Hasan
, the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood shooting
, and to the alleged bomber in the Christmas Day 2009 bombing attempt on Northwest Flight 253, preaching about the need for jihad
in the name of religion now, because the "world is united in fighting Islam."
The ringleader gave sermons comparing the Canadian countryside to Chechnya
, and calling for victory over "Rome", which prosecutors alleged was a reference to Canada. "Whether we get arrested, killed, or tortured, our mission is greater than just individuals," he said. He also said: "We're not officially al-Qaida but we share their principles and methods" around a campfire.
In 2008, a video made at the camp documenting their actions were made public, after the media obtained them through the British trial of Aabid Khan
(who was himself convicted of being a terrorist propagandist), thus working around the publication ban
that forbade them from showing evidence from the Canadian trials. The home video showed masked men in winter camouflage marching through the snow in an Ontario forest, carrying out activities alleged to be terrorist training exercises, shouting "Allahu Akbar"--or "God is Great"--while waving a black flag. The video was obtained by the NEFA Foundation (Nine-Eleven Finding Answers Foundation).
The video also showed the men daring each other to jump over campfires, and driving in a Canadian Tire
parking lot late at night, alternatively described as "evasive driving maneuvers" or simply having fun driving doughnuts
on the slippery ice. The film had been dubbed with Nasheed music, and the informant admitted that he had "choreographed" some of the scenes, arranging the campers to perform for the camera in a militant fashion upon the instruction of Zakaria Amara who did the filming. The youths frequented the local coffee shop, still dressed in their fatigues.
Shaikh, the police agent, was accused by the defence of having played a "key role" in setting up and running the trip, and purchased many of the supplies used. and being the "military trainer" at the camp. Shaikh gave firearms lessons to the accused, but at their request purchased a rifle and ammunition for the group. Shaikh showed the "campers" how to fire an illegal 9 mm handgun
and ammunition
which belonged to Faheem Ahmad. He also gave "exhortational sermon
s on Jihad", but described the camp itself as hapless.
A youth, who cannot be named,
appeared in videos with the rest of the group, meant to mimic Jihadist beheading videos coming out of the Invasion of Iraq, sitting in front of a flag, and flanked by two hunting knives
. During the filming, the leader kept trying to effect giggles from the adolescents, who were trying "to look tough" for the "mock" video.
. They planned to detonate truck bombs at least three locations, and open fire in a crowded area. They also made plans to storm various buildings such as the Canadian Broadcasting Centre and the Canadian Parliament
building, and take hostages. Law enforcement authorities identified other targets, including the CSIS, the Parliamentary Buildings' Peace Tower, and power grids.
According to one of the suspect's lawyers, they were also accused of planning to "behead the Prime Minister
", Stephen Harper
, and other leaders.
Members of the group are also accused of ordering fertilizer to build the truck bombs, constructing a remote-control detonator
, and scouting a safe house
to store weapons, practice military drills, and harbor terrorists.
had become involved in the investigation by March 2005. The raids were carried out by a Canadian inter-agency task force, the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team
(INSET), which coordinated the activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP), the CSIS, the Ontario Provincial Police
(OPP), and other police forces, as the operation was spread across several different jurisdictions in southern Ontario, in the area north of Toronto.
The police state that one of the arrested men, ordered three metric tonnes
(6,600 pounds
) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a potentially powerful ingredient often used as quarry and mining explosives. This weight has widely been compared to the amount of ammonium nitrate used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
in the United States. The official account actually estimates the ammonium nitrate in the Oklahoma City bomb at 2,000 pounds, or about 0.9 metric tons. There was never any serious chance of danger or harm as a harmless substance was substituted for the ordered ammonium nitrate and delivered to the men by INSET officers in a sting operation
; however, that the accused wanted to inflict so much damage and casualties is what disturbed the public.
The RCMP said that the CSIS had been monitoring the individuals since 2004, later joined by the RCMP. The suspects, all adherents to a radical form of Islam, were alleged by CSIS to have been inspired by Al-Qaeda. A direct connection seems unlikely.
The investigation started with intelligence officials monitoring Internet chat sites. The suspects were charged under the anti-terrorism legislation passed by Canadian parliament
in December 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks
in the US.
Two men, Yasim Mohamed and Ali Dirie, were already serving a two-year prison sentence for trying to smuggle a pair of handguns across the Peace Bridge
a year earlier, for "personal protection" for themselves since they had worked as designer clothing re-sellers in seedy neighborhoods. They had their charges upgraded to "importing weapons for terrorist purposes" after it was revealed that their third handgun had been meant to repay Ahmad who had used his credit card to pay for their rental car.
The identities of the five minors
were legally protected by Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act
.
Six of the 17 men arrested have ties to the Al Rahman Islamic Center
near Toronto, a Sunni mosque
.
Another two of those arrested were already serving time in a Kingston, Ontario
, prison on weapons possession charges. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) two other men, Syed Ahmed and Ehsanul Sadequee, who were arrested in Georgia
in the United States
on terrorism
charges, are connected to the case as well.
John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute
, a Toronto think tank
, summarized the young suspects stating "These are kids at a transition, between Islamic society and Western society. A lot of people will get militarized if they're unsure of their own identity. They're just young and stupid. If you're 17, bored, restless, you want to meet girls – hey, be a radical." "The cops have a nickname for it – the jihad generation," says Thompson.
The arrests sparked several comments by politicians in the US regarding the security of Canada, as well that of the US. Congressman Peter King
was reported on June 6 to have said that "there's a large al-Qaeda
presence in Canada … because of their very liberal immigration laws, because of how political asylum is granted so easily", without providing evidence to support his statement.
John Hostettler
, American chairman of the House Judiciary
subcommittee on Border Security said the arrest illustrated that "South Toronto" served as a "enclave for radical discussion", where people held "a militant understanding of Islam". His comments were widely criticized in Canada, as there is no area of Toronto known as "South Toronto", as the downtown core of the city sits immediately above the shores of Lake Ontario
, and none of the suspects were even from the downtown core. Both Canada's Conservative
government and the Liberal
opposition condemned the "completely uninformed and ignorant remarks".
Although CSIS originally said five days after the arrest that the intent was to take politicians hostage until the country agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
officer, Mike McDonell, described the arrested people as representing a "broad strata" of Canadian society and the Toronto Star
claimed that it is "difficult to find a common denominator" among them, even though all were radical Muslims and many attended the same mosque. Some individuals in the media, such as Andrew C. McCarthy
in National Review
, have described this as a tendency of the police and media to whitewash a role of militant Islam in contemporary terrorism.
The media coverage of the arrests was accused of bringing to light underlying racism in Canadian media, after a number of incidents including the Globe and Mail newspaper's use of the term "brown-skinned young men" in describing the men who had rented a storage unit
.
Radical Imam
Aly Hindy
, who knew nine of the accused youths personally, said he had doubts that any of them "did anything wrong", adding that "If some of them are guilty, I don't think it's terrorism. It may be criminal, but it's not terrorism.".
started June 4, 2007, for the remaining 14 terrorism suspects was halted by the Crown Attorney
on September 24, 2007, so the case could proceed directly to trial. The move (called a "preferred indictment", or a "direct indictment") meant defense counsel could not hear the balance of the testimony of the Crown's key witness, police informant Mubin Shaikh
, who was in the middle of testifying.
At the opening trial, against the sole remaining youth, prosecutors alleged that comments that referred to "shotgun on Blondie" were actually a pretext to sexually assault non-Muslims.
On August 12, 2009, Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, a US man linked to the Toronto 18, was convicted in the US of aiding terrorist groups by sending videotapes of US landmarks overseas and plotting to support "violent jihad". A judge also convicted Syed Haris Ahmed in June 2009 of conspiring to support terrorism in the US and abroad. Authorities alleged that Ahmed and Sadequee took a week-long trip to Canada in March 2005 to meet with members of the Toronto 18.
In September 2008 Nishanthan Yogakrishnan, charged as a youth when arrested, was convicted of knowingly participating in, and contributing to, a terrorist group and plotting to detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto and storm Parliament Hill. In May 2009, he was sentenced as an adult to two and a half years of time served. Ontario Superior Court Judge John Sproat ruled there was "overwhelming" evidence that a terrorist conspiracy existed, and that he belonged to a homegrown terrorist
group, attended two terrorist training camps, and stole items to enhance training. He was the first person to be found guilty under Canada's 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act, which was passed following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Saad Khalid pleaded guilty in May 2009 to aiding a plot to detonate bombs in the city's bustling downtown, the Toronto Stock Exchange
, the CSIS headquarters in Toronto, and an unidentified military base, off Highway 401 between Toronto and Ottawa. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In September 2009 Ali Mohamed Dirie, a Canadian born in Somalia, admitted he was a member of a terrorist group that planned attacks in Canada. On tape, he called white people the "number 1 filthiest people on the face of the planet. They don't have Islam. They're the most filthiest people." He added: "In Islam there is no racism, we only hate kufar (non-Muslims)." The Crown and defence have agreed on a seven-year sentence.
Also in September 2009, Aabid Hussein Khan (an avid al-Qaeda supporter), considered a key figure in a terrorist network that spanned a half-dozen countries, including Canada, in an overlapping investigations and related trial in Britain was sentenced in a Brampton court to 14 years for his involvement in the Toronto bomb plot.
In October 2009, Zakaria Amara, described by prosecutors as the leader of the group, pleaded guilty to charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, bomb charges, and planning explosions likely to cause serious bodily harm or death.
In May 2010, Fahim Ahmad, described as a leader of the group, reversed his plea mid-trial and pleaded guilty.
". The judge believed Shaikh was motivated by his "moral and religious convictions." Sproat said the winter camp had already been planned before Shaikh infiltrated the group, and that the youth was invited by the alleged ringleaders. "The camp would have been much the same had Shaikh not attended," wrote Sproat in his ruling. "The information and indoctrination presented to (the accused) was not influenced or affected by any state action." At the time of the camp, Shaikh was working as a confidential informer for the RCMP, and he later became an agent in February 2006. Sproat also noted Shaikh had limited contact with the teen after the camp, which was when his involvement intensified by shoplifting for the group and attending a second camp. The judge held further: ""The evidence is overwhelming that (the youth) would have committed the offence if he had never come into contact with Shaikh."
The roles of two Agents were made public amid defence allegations they "perhaps provoked" the youths to make militant statements. Shaikh had been paid $292,000 to "knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity" and asked to act as "moles" in the group, leading to accusations that they had "urged them to act, then sat back and counted [their] cash while the others went to jail". The Toronto Star
reported that a well-known member of Toronto's Islamic community had infiltrated the alleged terrorist cell while on the police payroll as an informant, and that another mole had been involved in setting up the purchase of phony ammonium nitrate. Elsohemy, the second mole in the case, was placed in witness protection
after he agreed to help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
arrange the phony ammonium nitrate purchase on behalf of the youths, which led to the allegations of a bomb plot.
A third man, Qari Kafayatullah, was an Afghan immigrant who frequently told the youths that he had knowledge of explosives, and convinced their parents to let them attend the upcoming December camp – promising that it was just a bit of fun for the young men, and that he would be the responsible adult present – even though there was never any indication he later attended.
In October 2009, a man described by prosecutors as the leader of the group, pleaded guilty to bomb charges, the fifth member of the so-called "Toronto 18" group to have admitted guilt or to have been found guilty. Zakaria Amara, 23, from Mississauga, pleaded guilty in a Brampton, Ontario, court to charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist group and planning explosions likely to cause serious bodily harm or death. In January 2010, Amara was sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentence was the stiffest given so far under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Saad Gaya from Oakville
, Ontario was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for the Toronto 18 terrorism case in 2006. He is being held at the Maplehurst Correctional Center in Milton, Ontario.
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
, Canada, and the June 2, 2006, counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
that resulted in the arrest of 18 people (the "Toronto 18") found to be Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
members of an Islamic terrorist cell
Clandestine cell system
A clandestine cell structure is a method for organizing a group of people in such a way that it can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization. Depending on the group's philosophy, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission,...
.
They were accused of planning to detonate truck bombs, to open fire in a crowded area, and to storm the Canadian Broadcasting Centre
Canadian Broadcasting Centre
The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, located in Toronto, Ontario, is the broadcast headquarters and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English-language television and radio services...
, the Canadian Parliament building, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
(CSIS) headquarters, and the parliamentary Peace Tower
Peace Tower
The Peace Tower is a focal bell and clock tower, sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower after the latter burned down in 1916, along with most of the Centre Block...
to take hostages and to behead the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
and other leaders.
Following the jury trial in June 2010, a comprehensive presentation of the case and the evidence obtained from court exhibits previously restricted was presented by Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star. It contains the details on guilty pleas and convictions.
The Ontario Court of Appeal released their decision on December 17, 2010, upholding three of the sentences (two of the three were increased).
Infiltration
On November 27, 2005, Mubin ShaikhMubin Shaikh
Mubin Shaikh was one of two informants for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in the 2006 Toronto Terrorism case, and moved on to become a paid Royal Canadian Mounted Police agent...
(a police agent) met with members of the terrorist group at an information meeting at a banquet hall regarding the use of security certificates in Canada, and began his infiltration of the group. He was told that they had planned a training camp in Orillia. They asked Shaikh if he would join them and teach them how to use a gun, since he had mentioned his military and martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
training, and shown them his Possession and Acquisition Licence
Possession and Acquisition Licence
A Possession and Acquisition Licence is a licence that allows individuals in Canada to possess and acquire firearms as well as ammunition. Licences are typically valid for five years and must be renewed prior to expiry to maintain all classes. Once licensed, an individual can apply for a firearm...
.
Orillia training camp
The trip by the group, ages 15–42, classified by the authorities as terrorist training, was to a wooded area near Orillia, OntarioOrillia, Ontario
Orillia, pronounced ōrĭl'ēə, is a city located in Simcoe County in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe, 135 kilometres north of Toronto.Originally incorporated as a village in 1867, the history of...
, from December 18–31, 2005. It was monitored by more than 200 police officers.
Authorities say that "the internet played a large role in the suspects' planning". The group listened to a video over the internet of Anwar al Awlaki, the imam who has been connected to three of the 9/11 hijackers, and since to Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....
, the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood shooting
Fort Hood shooting
The Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others...
, and to the alleged bomber in the Christmas Day 2009 bombing attempt on Northwest Flight 253, preaching about the need for jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
in the name of religion now, because the "world is united in fighting Islam."
The ringleader gave sermons comparing the Canadian countryside to Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, and calling for victory over "Rome", which prosecutors alleged was a reference to Canada. "Whether we get arrested, killed, or tortured, our mission is greater than just individuals," he said. He also said: "We're not officially al-Qaida but we share their principles and methods" around a campfire.
In 2008, a video made at the camp documenting their actions were made public, after the media obtained them through the British trial of Aabid Khan
Aabid Khan
Aabid Khan is a British youth from Bradford, UK who was convicted in August 2008 of being a "terrorist propagandist".-Life:Khan worked at the At Tibyan website, run by Younes Tsouli...
(who was himself convicted of being a terrorist propagandist), thus working around the publication ban
Publication ban
A publication ban is a court order which prohibits the public or media from disseminating certain details of an otherwise public judicial procedure. In Canada, publication bans are most commonly issued when the safety or reputation of a victim or witness may be hindered by having their identity...
that forbade them from showing evidence from the Canadian trials. The home video showed masked men in winter camouflage marching through the snow in an Ontario forest, carrying out activities alleged to be terrorist training exercises, shouting "Allahu Akbar"--or "God is Great"--while waving a black flag. The video was obtained by the NEFA Foundation (Nine-Eleven Finding Answers Foundation).
The video also showed the men daring each other to jump over campfires, and driving in a Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...
parking lot late at night, alternatively described as "evasive driving maneuvers" or simply having fun driving doughnuts
Doughnut (driving)
A doughnut or donut is a maneuver performed while driving a vehicle. Performing this maneuver entails rotating the rear or front of the vehicle around the opposite set of wheels in a continuous motion, creating a circular skid-mark pattern of rubber on a roadway and possibly even cause the tires...
on the slippery ice. The film had been dubbed with Nasheed music, and the informant admitted that he had "choreographed" some of the scenes, arranging the campers to perform for the camera in a militant fashion upon the instruction of Zakaria Amara who did the filming. The youths frequented the local coffee shop, still dressed in their fatigues.
Shaikh, the police agent, was accused by the defence of having played a "key role" in setting up and running the trip, and purchased many of the supplies used. and being the "military trainer" at the camp. Shaikh gave firearms lessons to the accused, but at their request purchased a rifle and ammunition for the group. Shaikh showed the "campers" how to fire an illegal 9 mm handgun
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
and ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
which belonged to Faheem Ahmad. He also gave "exhortational sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
s on Jihad", but described the camp itself as hapless.
Rockwood training camp
Held over two days in May 2006 at the Rockwood Conservation Area, the second camping trip, consisting of 10 people, came after members complained about fearing that police would arrest them for having known two Americans who had just been arrested.A youth, who cannot be named,
Young offenders in 2006 Toronto terrorism case
Among the 18 arrests during the 2006 Toronto terrorism case were five youths whose names could not be published because of the provisions of Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act...
appeared in videos with the rest of the group, meant to mimic Jihadist beheading videos coming out of the Invasion of Iraq, sitting in front of a flag, and flanked by two hunting knives
Hunting knife
A hunting knife is a knife used during hunting for preparing the game to be used as food: skinning the animal and cutting up the meat. It is different from the Hunting dagger which was traditionally used to kill wild game....
. During the filming, the leader kept trying to effect giggles from the adolescents, who were trying "to look tough" for the "mock" video.
Targets
The group was preparing a large-scale terrorist attack in southern OntarioSouthern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
. They planned to detonate truck bombs at least three locations, and open fire in a crowded area. They also made plans to storm various buildings such as the Canadian Broadcasting Centre and the Canadian Parliament
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
building, and take hostages. Law enforcement authorities identified other targets, including the CSIS, the Parliamentary Buildings' Peace Tower, and power grids.
According to one of the suspect's lawyers, they were also accused of planning to "behead the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
", Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, and other leaders.
Members of the group are also accused of ordering fertilizer to build the truck bombs, constructing a remote-control detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
, and scouting a safe house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
to store weapons, practice military drills, and harbor terrorists.
Arrests
The U.S. Joint Terrorism Task ForceJoint Terrorism Task Force
A Joint Terrorism Task Force is a partnership between various U.S. law enforcement agencies that is charged with taking action against terrorism, which includes the investigation of crimes such as wire fraud and identity theft...
had become involved in the investigation by March 2005. The raids were carried out by a Canadian inter-agency task force, the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team
Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams
Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams are Canadian counter-terrorist security forces operating under the auspices of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada...
(INSET), which coordinated the activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP), the CSIS, the Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
(OPP), and other police forces, as the operation was spread across several different jurisdictions in southern Ontario, in the area north of Toronto.
The police state that one of the arrested men, ordered three metric tonnes
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
(6,600 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a potentially powerful ingredient often used as quarry and mining explosives. This weight has widely been compared to the amount of ammonium nitrate used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
in the United States. The official account actually estimates the ammonium nitrate in the Oklahoma City bomb at 2,000 pounds, or about 0.9 metric tons. There was never any serious chance of danger or harm as a harmless substance was substituted for the ordered ammonium nitrate and delivered to the men by INSET officers in a sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
; however, that the accused wanted to inflict so much damage and casualties is what disturbed the public.
The RCMP said that the CSIS had been monitoring the individuals since 2004, later joined by the RCMP. The suspects, all adherents to a radical form of Islam, were alleged by CSIS to have been inspired by Al-Qaeda. A direct connection seems unlikely.
The investigation started with intelligence officials monitoring Internet chat sites. The suspects were charged under the anti-terrorism legislation passed by Canadian parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
in December 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
in the US.
Two men, Yasim Mohamed and Ali Dirie, were already serving a two-year prison sentence for trying to smuggle a pair of handguns across the Peace Bridge
Peace Bridge
The Peace Bridge is an international bridge between Canada and the United States at the east end of Lake Erie at the source of the Niagara River, about upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects the City of Buffalo, New York, in the United States to the Town of Fort Erie, Ontario, in Canada...
a year earlier, for "personal protection" for themselves since they had worked as designer clothing re-sellers in seedy neighborhoods. They had their charges upgraded to "importing weapons for terrorist purposes" after it was revealed that their third handgun had been meant to repay Ahmad who had used his credit card to pay for their rental car.
Suspects of the Toronto 18
- Qayyum Abdul JamalQayyum Abdul JamalA Canadian janitor and schoolbus-driver, Abdul Qayyum Jamal was initially labeled the "ringleader" of an alleged terrorist plot in Toronto in June 2006 after a Canadian Member of Parliament reported his virulent criticism of Canadian troops in Afghanistan to police...
, 43, MississaugaMississauga, OntarioMississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
; an active member of the mosque who frequently led prayers. ImmigratedImmigration to CanadaImmigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada to reside permanently in the country. The majority of these individuals become Canadian citizens. After 1947, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the...
from KarachiKarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. - Shareef AbdelhaleemShareef AbdelhaleemA database engineer, Muhammad Shareef Abdelhaleem is one of 17 people initially arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He is alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario.-Life:...
, 30, born in suburban EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
; immigrated with his family to Canada at age 10 around the 90's. - Steven Vikash ChandSteven Vikash ChandSteven Vikash Chand is one of 17 people arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He and his conspirators are alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario.-Life:...
, alias Abdul Shakur, 25; a recent convert to Islam, and a former Canadian soldierCanadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. - Jahmaal JamesJahmaal JamesJahmaal James is one of 17 people detained on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He and the others arrested are alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario....
, 23, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... - Fahim AhmadFahim AhmadFahim Ahmad is one of people convicted in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case. He was a ringleader in the group. He was 21 years old at the time of arrest, and married with two children.-Life:...
, 21, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... - Asad AnsariAsad AnsariAsad Ansari is one of 18 people accused and detained on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the Toronto terrorism arrests....
, 21, Mississauga - Ahmad Mustafa GhanyAhmad Mustafa GhanyBorn on September 27, 1984 in Mississauga, Ontario, Ahmad Mustafa Ghany is a 2004 graduate of McMaster University's health sciences program, and was one of 17 people initially arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests....
, 21, born in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
; his family immigrated from Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. Charges against him were dropped after two years. - Zakaria AmaraZakaria AmaraZakaria Amara is one of 17 people detained on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He was convicted for planning to have launched terrorist attacks against targets in southern Ontario and was believed to be one of the ringleaders.The text...
, 20, Mississauga - Saad KhalidSaad KhalidA 19-year old University of Toronto student, Saad Khalid was one of 17 people detained and arrested on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in the Greater Toronto Area in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests....
, 19, born in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
; immigrated with his family to Canada at age 8.
The identities of the five minors
Young offenders in 2006 Toronto terrorism case
Among the 18 arrests during the 2006 Toronto terrorism case were five youths whose names could not be published because of the provisions of Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act...
were legally protected by Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act
Youth Criminal Justice Act
Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act is a Canadian statute, which came into effect on April 1, 2003. It covers the prosecution of youths for criminal offences...
.
Six of the 17 men arrested have ties to the Al Rahman Islamic Center
Al Rahman Islamic Center
The Al Rahman Islamic Center is a storefront mosque in Mississauga, Canada, a city of 734,000 west of Toronto, Canada. Forty to fifty Muslim families pray at the mosque....
near Toronto, a Sunni mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
.
Another two of those arrested were already serving time in a Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, prison on weapons possession charges. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) two other men, Syed Ahmed and Ehsanul Sadequee, who were arrested in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
charges, are connected to the case as well.
John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute
Mackenzie Institute
The Mackenzie Institute for the Study of Terrorism, Revolution and Propaganda is a think tank in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1986 by Brigadier Dr. Maurice Tugwell, a former Parachute Regiment officer and British Army veteran of WW-2, Palestine , the Malayian insurgency, Cyprus and Ulster...
, a Toronto think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, summarized the young suspects stating "These are kids at a transition, between Islamic society and Western society. A lot of people will get militarized if they're unsure of their own identity. They're just young and stupid. If you're 17, bored, restless, you want to meet girls – hey, be a radical." "The cops have a nickname for it – the jihad generation," says Thompson.
Impact
On the night following the arrests, the Rexdale, Toronto mosque was vandalized, as windows were smashed across the building as well as the cars in the parking lot. Similar vandalism was reported at a mosque in Etobicoke.The arrests sparked several comments by politicians in the US regarding the security of Canada, as well that of the US. Congressman Peter King
Peter T. King
Peter T. "Pete" King is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. King's central Long Island district includes parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties....
was reported on June 6 to have said that "there's a large al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
presence in Canada … because of their very liberal immigration laws, because of how political asylum is granted so easily", without providing evidence to support his statement.
John Hostettler
John Hostettler
John Nathan Hostettler , was a Republican candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat in the state of Indiana held by retiring Senator Evan Bayh. On December 3, 2009, Hostettler announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, but lost to former Senator Dan Coats.Hostettler served in the U.S...
, American chairman of the House Judiciary
United States House Committee on the Judiciary
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement...
subcommittee on Border Security said the arrest illustrated that "South Toronto" served as a "enclave for radical discussion", where people held "a militant understanding of Islam". His comments were widely criticized in Canada, as there is no area of Toronto known as "South Toronto", as the downtown core of the city sits immediately above the shores of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
, and none of the suspects were even from the downtown core. Both Canada's Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
government and the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
opposition condemned the "completely uninformed and ignorant remarks".
Although CSIS originally said five days after the arrest that the intent was to take politicians hostage until the country agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
Reporting controversy
The initial reports of this incident caused some controversy when a Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
officer, Mike McDonell, described the arrested people as representing a "broad strata" of Canadian society and the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
claimed that it is "difficult to find a common denominator" among them, even though all were radical Muslims and many attended the same mosque. Some individuals in the media, such as Andrew C. McCarthy
Andrew C. McCarthy
Andrew C. McCarthy III is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A Republican, he is most notable for leading the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center...
in National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, have described this as a tendency of the police and media to whitewash a role of militant Islam in contemporary terrorism.
The media coverage of the arrests was accused of bringing to light underlying racism in Canadian media, after a number of incidents including the Globe and Mail newspaper's use of the term "brown-skinned young men" in describing the men who had rented a storage unit
Self storage
Self storage is an industry in which storage space is rented to tenants, usually on a monthly basis. A self storage business provides rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor space in which tenants can store and access their goods. Self storage tenants include businesses and individuals...
.
Radical Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
Aly Hindy
Aly Hindy
Aly Hindy is the current Imam of the Salaheddin Islamic Centre in Scarborough, Canada, notable for his alleged connections to militant and fundamentalist elements, as well as his defence of Canadians accused of terrorism....
, who knew nine of the accused youths personally, said he had doubts that any of them "did anything wrong", adding that "If some of them are guilty, I don't think it's terrorism. It may be criminal, but it's not terrorism.".
Court proceedings
A preliminary hearingPreliminary hearing
Within some criminal justice systems, a preliminary hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecutor, to determine whether there is enough evidence to require a trial...
started June 4, 2007, for the remaining 14 terrorism suspects was halted by the Crown Attorney
Crown attorney
Crown Attorneys or Crown Counsel are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada.Crown Attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code of Canada...
on September 24, 2007, so the case could proceed directly to trial. The move (called a "preferred indictment", or a "direct indictment") meant defense counsel could not hear the balance of the testimony of the Crown's key witness, police informant Mubin Shaikh
Mubin Shaikh
Mubin Shaikh was one of two informants for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in the 2006 Toronto Terrorism case, and moved on to become a paid Royal Canadian Mounted Police agent...
, who was in the middle of testifying.
At the opening trial, against the sole remaining youth, prosecutors alleged that comments that referred to "shotgun on Blondie" were actually a pretext to sexually assault non-Muslims.
On August 12, 2009, Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, a US man linked to the Toronto 18, was convicted in the US of aiding terrorist groups by sending videotapes of US landmarks overseas and plotting to support "violent jihad". A judge also convicted Syed Haris Ahmed in June 2009 of conspiring to support terrorism in the US and abroad. Authorities alleged that Ahmed and Sadequee took a week-long trip to Canada in March 2005 to meet with members of the Toronto 18.
In September 2008 Nishanthan Yogakrishnan, charged as a youth when arrested, was convicted of knowingly participating in, and contributing to, a terrorist group and plotting to detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto and storm Parliament Hill. In May 2009, he was sentenced as an adult to two and a half years of time served. Ontario Superior Court Judge John Sproat ruled there was "overwhelming" evidence that a terrorist conspiracy existed, and that he belonged to a homegrown terrorist
Homegrown terrorism
Homegrown terrorism is commonly associated with an international organization rather than being a ‘lone wolf’ act committed by isolated and disturbed individuals. It constitutes terrorist attacks from within the target nation, often Western...
group, attended two terrorist training camps, and stole items to enhance training. He was the first person to be found guilty under Canada's 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act, which was passed following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Saad Khalid pleaded guilty in May 2009 to aiding a plot to detonate bombs in the city's bustling downtown, the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
, the CSIS headquarters in Toronto, and an unidentified military base, off Highway 401 between Toronto and Ottawa. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In September 2009 Ali Mohamed Dirie, a Canadian born in Somalia, admitted he was a member of a terrorist group that planned attacks in Canada. On tape, he called white people the "number 1 filthiest people on the face of the planet. They don't have Islam. They're the most filthiest people." He added: "In Islam there is no racism, we only hate kufar (non-Muslims)." The Crown and defence have agreed on a seven-year sentence.
Also in September 2009, Aabid Hussein Khan (an avid al-Qaeda supporter), considered a key figure in a terrorist network that spanned a half-dozen countries, including Canada, in an overlapping investigations and related trial in Britain was sentenced in a Brampton court to 14 years for his involvement in the Toronto bomb plot.
In October 2009, Zakaria Amara, described by prosecutors as the leader of the group, pleaded guilty to charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, bomb charges, and planning explosions likely to cause serious bodily harm or death.
In May 2010, Fahim Ahmad, described as a leader of the group, reversed his plea mid-trial and pleaded guilty.
No entrapment
Defence counsel argued that police mole Shaikh, by taking on the role of a trainer, encouraging their client to perform better, and training him in the use of a firearm was teaching him how to be a criminal and entrapping him. Superior Court Justice John Sproat ruled in March 2009, however, that the mole acted appropriately and did not entrap the accused youths, stating: "There has not been any entrapment and there has not been any abuse of processAbuse of process
Abuse of process is a cause of action in tort arising from one party making a malicious and deliberate misuse or perversion of regularly issued court process not justified by the underlying legal action.It is a common law intentional tort...
". The judge believed Shaikh was motivated by his "moral and religious convictions." Sproat said the winter camp had already been planned before Shaikh infiltrated the group, and that the youth was invited by the alleged ringleaders. "The camp would have been much the same had Shaikh not attended," wrote Sproat in his ruling. "The information and indoctrination presented to (the accused) was not influenced or affected by any state action." At the time of the camp, Shaikh was working as a confidential informer for the RCMP, and he later became an agent in February 2006. Sproat also noted Shaikh had limited contact with the teen after the camp, which was when his involvement intensified by shoplifting for the group and attending a second camp. The judge held further: ""The evidence is overwhelming that (the youth) would have committed the offence if he had never come into contact with Shaikh."
The roles of two Agents were made public amid defence allegations they "perhaps provoked" the youths to make militant statements. Shaikh had been paid $292,000 to "knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity" and asked to act as "moles" in the group, leading to accusations that they had "urged them to act, then sat back and counted [their] cash while the others went to jail". The Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
reported that a well-known member of Toronto's Islamic community had infiltrated the alleged terrorist cell while on the police payroll as an informant, and that another mole had been involved in setting up the purchase of phony ammonium nitrate. Elsohemy, the second mole in the case, was placed in witness protection
Witness protection
Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness or any person involved in the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during and after a trial, usually by police...
after he agreed to help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
arrange the phony ammonium nitrate purchase on behalf of the youths, which led to the allegations of a bomb plot.
A third man, Qari Kafayatullah, was an Afghan immigrant who frequently told the youths that he had knowledge of explosives, and convinced their parents to let them attend the upcoming December camp – promising that it was just a bit of fun for the young men, and that he would be the responsible adult present – even though there was never any indication he later attended.
In October 2009, a man described by prosecutors as the leader of the group, pleaded guilty to bomb charges, the fifth member of the so-called "Toronto 18" group to have admitted guilt or to have been found guilty. Zakaria Amara, 23, from Mississauga, pleaded guilty in a Brampton, Ontario, court to charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist group and planning explosions likely to cause serious bodily harm or death. In January 2010, Amara was sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentence was the stiffest given so far under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Saad Gaya from Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
, Ontario was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for the Toronto 18 terrorism case in 2006. He is being held at the Maplehurst Correctional Center in Milton, Ontario.
External links
- Canadian Anti-Terror Law on Trial: The Toronto Terrorism Arrests, JURISTJURISTJURIST is an online legal news service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, powered by a staff of more than 40 law students working in Pittsburgh and other US locations under the direction of founding Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Professor Bernard Hibbitts, Research Director Jaclyn...
- 'Inhumane' isolation for terror suspects: Lawyers, Canadian Press, April 8, 2007
- Canada charges 17 terror suspects, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, June 3, 2006 - "Canada arrests 17 allegedly 'inspired by al-Qaida'", Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, June 3, 2006 - Frightened rural Ontario residents describe 'terror-training camp', National PostNational PostThe National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, June 5, 2006 - After escaping war in Somalia, terror suspects grew up in Toronto, National PostNational PostThe National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, June 5, 2006 - Charges stayed against teen in Ontario bomb plot case, CBC NewsCBC NewsCBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
, February 23, 2007