Captive in Canada

The incredible shrinking terror case

Source: Toronto Star - 18-apr-08

Charges stayed against seven (7) of the Toronto-18

Once labelled Canada’s first homegrown, Islamist terror plot, the case of the so-called Toronto 18 is quietly melting away.

With yesterday’s decision to stay charges against four more of those that it had once labelled dangerous terrorists, the federal government is now admitting that it never had a serious case against almost half of the men and youths charged two years ago.

So far, the Crown has stayed charges against seven of the 18 Toronto-area Muslim males. While technically, that means it could re-lay charges within a year, legal experts call such a move unlikely.

Full Story | April 18th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 143 views

My brother’s three months in solitary

Source: Toronto Star - 6-apr-08

In the end, his charges were stayed. ‘The authorities ruined my brother’s future, his reputation and abused him physically and psychologically - all for, according to them, absolutely no reason’

A time comes when silence is betrayal. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for victims of our nation and for those it calls enemy, for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers and sisters.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s been nearly two years since the raid on our house, since the day they took my brother and another relative. Since that day, my family and I have lived in silence. It’s an emotional topic for me and talking about it means reliving that pain all over again. But I feel obliged to let Canadians know about our experience and what we continue to experience each and every single day.

Full Story | April 7th, 2008 News, Opinions | no comments | Email it! | 172 views

Parody of Justice: Toronto 18 Suspects undergo Trial by Media

Source: Global Research - 3-Apr-08

by Beenish Gaya

Feels like June 2nd all over again

The trial of the only remaining youth in the Toronto 18 case commenced last week in a Brampton courtroom. The new details disclosed in the Crown factum filed in the case elicited depressingly new emotional lows in all of the accused and their families. Reminiscent of that fateful day in June, 2006, the media sensationalism started all over again, with the reporting of incomplete evidence and outrageous headlines. Having attended the entire preliminary hearing, I must confess my shock and disbelief at the fact that these allegations continue to be presented in a manner which precludes the public from seeing a complete or accurate picture.

Full Story | April 3rd, 2008 Opinions | 2 comments | Email it! | 228 views

Publication Ban in Canada Terror Trial

Source: Associate Press - 2-apr-08

TORONTO (AP) - The judge in the trial of a youth charged with plotting terror attacks in Ontario has ruled that a publication ban on the identities of his co-accused is necessary to ensure their fair trials.

Superior Court Justice John Sproat said in a ruling that publicity in the case could influence potential jurors. Sproat put an interim ban on the publishing of the defendants’ identities last week and made it permanent on Tuesday.

Full Story | April 2nd, 2008 News | 2 comments | Email it! | 400 views

Evidence in Toronto terror case not quite ’sensational’

Source: Toronto Star - 27-mar-08

What are we to make of the Crown’s case against the Toronto 18? The summary of evidence released this week in advance of the trial of one of the Muslim men and boys arrested two years ago on terror charges describes what will come out in court as “shocking and sensational.”

And if the 18 had been seriously planning to blow up buildings and behead politicians, these cases - when they finally do come to trial - would indeed be sensational.

But as with everything else that has emerged from the high-profile but secretive prosecution, this week’s revelations end up creating more questions than they answer.

Full Story | March 27th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 152 views

Terror schemes exaggerated, lawyer says

Source: Globe & Mail - 26-mar-08

BRAMPTON, ONT. — Call it the double-double defence: Would dangerous jihadists take a break from their winter training camp to warm up inside a Tim Hortons?

Defence lawyer Michael Moon raises the question in a new motion concerning the so-called Toronto 18 terror trial. Citing previously undisclosed evidence to be presented at trial, he argues that any schemes of the accused have been grossly exaggerated by informants, police and the news media – and even by the group’s own ringleaders.

“In fact this hapless F-Troop, who ventured into the deathly cold of winter without a proper tent … was reduced to sleeping in the vehicles at night to prevent freezing to death,” writes Mr. Moon in a new factum. He adds they went “trooping off to the Tim Hortons multiple times a day for coffee and use of the bathroom.”

Full Story | March 27th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 140 views

Defence in Toronto bomb plot case counters claims of terror training

Source: CBC News - 26-mar-08
A defence lawyer in the alleged Toronto-area bomb plot case filed a court document Wednesday attacking the Crown’s case as fanciful and based largely on the unsubstantiated allegations of an unreliable police informant.

The defence factum, a summary of the case that lawyers will argue during the trial, takes on some of the more dramatic allegations made in Crown documents submitted on Tuesday.

Full Story | March 26th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 130 views

First Trial Opens in Canada Terror Case

Source: Associated Press - 26-mar-08

TORONTO (AP) - A teenager charged with plotting terror attacks in Ontario pleaded not guilty to belonging to a terrorist group Tuesday, as some details of an alleged plan to storm Canada’s Parliament emerged publicly for the first time.

Full Story | March 26th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 120 views

Trial begins for youth charged in alleged Toronto bomb plot

Source: CBC News - 25-mar-08

The trial of one of 15 suspects charged in the alleged Toronto bomb plot of 2006 began Tuesday in a courtroom in Brampton, Ont. The Crown previewed the evidence it plans to present - calling it “shocking and sensational” - and requested a publication ban on evidence that could prejudice the right to a fair trial for his alleged co-conspirators.

The accused, who was charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and cannot be named, pleaded not guilty.

Full Story | March 25th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 104 views

Youth in terror case pleads not guilty

Source: Toronto Star - 25-mar-08

Crown seeks publication ban as homegrown terrorism case begins in Brampton

A youth charged with belonging to a homegrown terror cell under Canada’s new anti-terrorism legislation pleaded not guilty in a Brampton courtroom today.

Lawyers are now arguing about a publication ban. As expected, the day begin with an application by the government seeking a limited publication ban on the identities of the adults charged with belonging to the so-called Toronto 18. The identity of the youth is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The ban, the government says, is necessary to ensure the adults receive a fair trial when their case makes it before a jury. But media outlets wanting to cover the landmark case hope to block the move. “The whole course of this prosecution has essentially been secret since the arrest and this application threatens to continue that veil of secrecy,” said Paul Schabas, a lawyer who is representing several media outlets in a bid to block a ban.

Full Story | March 25th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 107 views

Terror trial for Toronto-area youth begins with partial publication ban

Source: Canadian Press - 25-mar-08

BRAMPTON, Ont. - The first trial for one of the suspects charged in the alleged Toronto terror plot of 2006 formally began Tuesday with a partial publication ban and a preview of evidence that the Crown calls “shocking and sensational.” The accused, who was charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and cannot be named, was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. He is charged with participating in and contributing to the activity of a terrorist group.

Full Story | March 25th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 107 views

Worlds apart, waiting for justice

Source: Toronto Star - 15-mar-08

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA-Frazzled, confused and desperate. That was how Mohammed Jawad appeared when guards carried him from his cell and into a U.S. military war crimes court for the first time this week. Wearing an orange uniform, reserved for the least compliant detainees at Guantanamo Bay, he sat with leg shackles - a war court first.

“I want journalists to hear me,” he pleaded with the aid of an interpreter, whose difficulty understanding the judge’s simple orders bordered on comical.

“I can’t get my rights (here) and they’re not being given to me. The whole world will know.”

Full Story | March 15th, 2008 News | no comments | Email it! | 97 views