Captive in Canada

Four have terror charges stayed

Source: Toronto Star - 15-apr-08

Charges have been stayed against four adults accused of belonging to a home-grown terror cell, three of whom were required to sign peace-bonds in a Brampton court this morning.

A stay in the proceedings marks one of the final chapters of what has been a lengthy ordeal since their arrests during a massive police sweep in the summer of 2006 that netted 14 men and four youths.

This marks another setback in the government’s landmark case against the so-called Toronto 18. Now, there are 11 who stand accused of belonging to what was originally called an al-Qaeda inspired cell.

Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 45, Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 23, and Ibrahim Aboud, 21, who were charged with participating in a terrorist group as well as training for terrorist purposes signed peace bonds.

Yasin Abdi Mohamed, 26, was charged with participating in the group and importing firearms for the benefit of a terrorist group. He did not sign the peace bond, but along with the other three had his charges stayed.

The men appeared relieved as they left the courtroom, flanked by family and friends. Some thanked the judge at the close of proceedings.

“I am innocent,” Jamal told reporters outside the courthouse, saying his reputation is in tatters after being originally portrayed as one of the group’s leaders because of his age.

“I have nothing to do with this terrorism thing,” he said, adding that he did attend a winter camp where he played paintball and marched around in the snow. “Everybody is allowed to do that.”

Similarly, lawyer Raymond Motee who represents Aboud said his client has been labelled a terrorist simply for attending a winter camp.

“My client went to a winter camp for five days with some of his friends, and his life irrevocably changed into a Kafkaesque nightmare,” Motee told reporters, speaking on behalf of his client.

“There has been a stigma attached to his name from the day that he was arrested, and that stigma will continue to follow him around like a perpetual shadow.”

Motee said his client knows that “his name is on a list somewhere” and that law enforcement agencies worldwide will continue to monitor his movements, adding, “Big Brother will be watching.”

Ontario Court Justice Peter Wilkie presided over the morning proceedings and Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno was on the bench this afternoon.

A peace bond allows the court to impose strict conditions on an individual if it deems there are reasonable grounds to believe a terror-related offence will be committed. It has been celebrated by some as a necessary tool in fighting terrorism and criticized by others who say it restrains civil liberties on mere suspicion. People accused of a crime often agree to peace bonds to convince the Crown to withdraw or stay charges.

In effect, the charges have been suspended, but the Crown can reinstate them within one year.

The three men who signed the peace bond, all of whom are from Mississauga, now face various restrictions for the year. Some of the conditions include not associating with co-accused, surrendering their passports, abiding by a curfew and not possessing any firearm or explosive substance.

The defence and the Crown agreed that in signing the peace bonds the men were not admitting to any wrongdoing.

Court heard that some of the group’s members attended 12-day camp in December 2005 and participated in firearms training, obstacle courses, military marches, paintball games and listened to speeches by some that exhorted battle against the West.

Court heard that Jamal was present for five days and played paintball games, participated in marches, wore camouflage; Aboud attended for five days and played paintball and shot a pellet gun; Ghany was there for three days and helped set up the camp and played paintball.

Defence lawyer Rocco Galati said despite the staying of the charges, his client, Ghany, will be stigmatized for the rest of his life.

“I know my client should never have been charged in the first case,” said Galati, who pointed out that Ghany is a model citizen who was once a Boy Scout, a Big Brother and top scholar.

“I think a lot of western prosecutions on alleged terrorism charges are simply horse and pony shows in furtherance of George Bush’s oil war and to sustain Canada’s commitment in Afghanistan,” said Galati.

When pressed on why it had taken so long for the charges against his client to be, in effect, dropped, he responded: “I don’t believe that in a time of unsubstantiated alarm, religious and racial hypertension that you’re going to have a criminal justice system operate in the calm, logical and dispassionate manner it’s supposed to.”

Edward Sapiano, who represents Mohamed, later told the Star in a telephone interview: “When the government withdraws or stays charges against my client I have nothing but positive things to say about the government.”

He chalked up the day’s events to having senior prosecutors brought in on the case who “clearly scrutinized” the evidence and “made the right decision to cut my guys loose.”

Jamal’s lawyer, Anser Farooq, said an inquiry should be held into the government’s handling of the case, particularly since his client spent 17 months in jail, 13 of them in solitary confinement.

“The public should know why 18 Muslim men were arrested and why it went the way it did,” he told reporters.

“It’s close to two years and the public has a right to know why it’s taking as long as it’s taking and what’s going on with it,” said Farooq.

“Two or three (of the adults accused) are still in isolation and that has faded from public memory. It is not appropriate to have individuals locked in isolation for that period of time without the public asking why is this necessary,” Farooq said.

Having charges stayed against another four accused appears to be yet another blow to the government’s case.

At stake is the reputation of Canada’s spy service and the federal police force, particularly since news of the alleged cell captured worldwide attention. Their arrest marked the first time an alleged terrorist organization was charged in Canada using criminal laws implemented after the 9/11 attacks.

The men, mostly in their 20s, were alleged to be part of a cell that planned to storm Parliament Hill, take politicians hostage and behead the Prime Minister.

They are also alleged to have attended a so-called terrorist training camp and are accused of plotting to bomb sites such as the Toronto Stock Exchange and offices of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Police allegedly intercepted an order for three tonnes of ammonium nitrate destined for truck bombs.

But the case against the suspects has slowly unravelled since it first garnered international headlines - in the 10 days following the arrests, at least 4,710 articles appeared in media outlets including CNN, BBC News, Al-Jazeera, The Bangkok Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The New York Times.

Last year, charges were stayed against three youths - two of whom also signed peace bonds for terrorism-related offences. Of the 14 adults, four were granted bail - lawyers for some of the others say their clients will also seek bail as they await trial.

When the trial for the fourth youth opened last month, the Crown said members practised military-style exercises in camouflage gear and undertook firearms training with a 9-mm firearm while attending a 12-day camp near the town of Washago, Ont.

But a far less menacing and near-comical portrait emerged when a defence lawyer told the court that the terror suspects ventured off to the camp in the dead of winter without a proper tent and insufficient supplies. They were reduced to sleeping in their cars and marching around to stay warm, he said, adding they trekked off to Tim Hortons several times a day for coffee runs and washroom breaks.

Prosecutors declined to speak with reporters about the strength of their case.

Dan Brien of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which prosecutes all federal offences on behalf of the Attorney General, also refused to comment on specifics of the case. However, after the charges were stayed he said the department “believes that the public interest is best served by proceeding in this manner.”

For Jamal, the oldest of the suspects, today’s events are particularly significant, and somewhat bittersweet. Of the trio, he spent the most time behind bars, was originally charged with participating in the bomb plot, and received intense media attention.

Following the arrests on June 2, 2006, Jamal was portrayed as a key player in the group, who acted as a spiritual advisor to the others.

His work as a caretaker at the Al-Rahman Islamic Centre in Mississauga, where he reportedly made no secret of his anti-Western views, raised suspicions that he was recruiting teens and young men for Jihad.

Because he originally faced an explosives charge, he appeared to be instrumental in the group’s alleged ambitions. That charge was dropped in September 2007, helping to pave the way for his eventual release.

After 17 months in jail - many of them in solitary confinement - Jamal was granted bail in November 2007. As he left the courthouse that day, flanked by his wife and four young sons, he told a crush of reporters that he hoped to clear his name and restore his tarnished reputation. Today, he appears closer to doing that.

Ghany, however, hasn’t garnered the same amount of ink in the press - this, despite being the brother-in-law of one of the group’s alleged ringleaders, Zakaria Amara.

Apart from his familial relations and his dramatic arrest while driving on the Gardiner Expressway, the McMaster University graduate has maintained a relatively low-profile since being released on bail in late July 2006.

Aboud, a Ryerson University student, was the 18th suspect charged. Unlike his co-accused, who were all arrested on the same day, he was taken into custody on Aug. 2, 2006. He was released three weeks later.

Unlike the others, Mohamed was already in jail when news of the arrests broke in 2006. He was originally charged with non-terrorist offences after being stopped in August 2005, at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie.

He and co-accused Ali Dirie were in a car rented by Fahim Ahmad, who was being watched by authorities for alleged ties to terrorism. Ahmad is also alleged to be one the group’s leaders.

At the border, officers found a loaded handgun on Mohamed and two loaded handguns on Dirie. Both were charged and were given agreed-upon sentences of two years.

While serving time, their names surfaced as alleged members of the Toronto cell and both men were charged with terror-related offences, including importing firearms for the benefit of a terrorist group.

Much of the Crown’s case against these men, which surfaced during preliminary inquiries held for the youth and the adults, cannot be reported on because of sweeping publication bans.

The preliminary hearing for the adults, which was presided over by Justice Wilkie, was abruptly halted in September when the Crown filed a direct indictment, meaning the case will go directly to trial. Some believed the surprise move, which came in the middle of key evidence being given by police informant Mubin Shaikh, was made to avoid the potential embarrassment of some of the accused being discharged at the end.

Some counsel for the accused argued they had been dealt a sucker punch, pointing out that both sides had hammered out an agreement in which the defence made a number of concessions in return for the chance to question key witnesses.

Some of those witnesses, including a second police mole, never took the stand. His testimony was considered crucial because he allegedly took part in the delivery of the ammonium nitrate. Since police were aware of the alleged purchase, they arranged to switch the ammonium nitrate for a harmless substance before delivery.

Reporters will finally be permitted to flesh out the government’s case against the Toronto 18 when the trial for the remaining youth begins to pick up steam.

Lawyers are currently debating various motions and it will be next month before the first witness takes the stand. By law, none of the youths arrested can be identified.

Related: Abdul Qayyum Jamal • Ahmad Mustafa Ghany • Ibrahim Aboud • Yasin Mohamed

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