View topic - 'Toronto 18' terror trial starts :: Free Dominion - Principled Conservative - Party and Canadian Politics

Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 8:39 am Post subject: 'Toronto 18' terror trial starts

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=552844

'Toronto 18' terror trial startsMelissa Leong, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, May 30, 2008

BRAMPTON, Ont. -- Chilling details of a terrorist plot to bomb Canadian targets emerged in court Friday as the first witness in Canada's largest anti-terror operation took the stand.

Justice John Sproat began hearing evidence at the trial of a 20-year-old man, who was a youth at the time of the alleged incidents and cannot be named.

A short video was played in court showing one of the adults charged in the alleged plot triggering a remote detonator from his cellphone. Sparks can be seen in what appears to be a toaster.

"You could be miles or countries away when you turn on [the device], whether it be a TV ... or used as a detonator," testified RCMP Cpl. John Mecher of the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.

According to documents filed in court Friday, in March 2006, one of the accused ordered three electronic devices which investigators believe could be used to remotely trigger a bomb.

Shortly after, police say, the accused visited the Meadowvale Public Library in Mississauga, Ont., and used its computers to search topics such as, "ammonium nitrate turf fertilizer" and "ways of getting ammonium nitrate."

The Crown says members of the so-called "Toronto 18" purchased three tonnes of ammonium nitrate to make explosives -- one of the accused allegedly claimed their objective was on a "greater scale" than the London bombings in 2005.

But Mitchell Chernovsky, the lawyer representing the youth, said his client had nothing to do with the alleged bomb plot.

In an agreed statement of fact filed in court, it said the youth attended two camps -- one near Washago, Ont. in December 2005, and another at the Rockwood Conservation Area in May 2006.

The Crown says the youth wore camouflage at the camps, participated in military-style exercises and was present for "terrorist indoctrination."

The Crown also alleges the youth stole walkie-talkies and camping equipment in January and February of 2006 to use at the second training camp.

Mr. Chernovsky asked Cpl. Mecher if the officers surveying the camp heard any "yelling of terrorist chants and death of the infidels?"

Cpl. Mecher said they did not. Mr. Chernovsky also asked if the CBC, RCMP, the nuclear power plant in Pickering, Ont. or the Canadian Security Intelligence Service were ever notified that they were allegedly potential targets.

"I'm going to suggest that if these people weren't notified, this plan was always a fantasy," said Mr. Chernovsky.

Cpl. Mecher, who was in charge of securing evidence in the case, told the court that investigators recovered spent shell casings and a tree trunk used as target practice from the alleged training camp.

Mr. Chernovsky also asked whether officers found any evidence in relation to an alleged trip that the group made to purchase property north of Toronto "as a base to attack Canada."

"[An accused] was going to attack Canada from 10 hours north of Toronto ... that's in the middle of the Canadian Shield," he said.

It has been almost two years since police executed a massive anti-terrorist sweep, arresting 13 men and four youths. An 18th individual was arrested a month later.

Seven of the accused have had their charges stayed. The youth on trial is the only remaining youth facing charges.

None of the names of the adult accused can be published.

The court, which was subject to strict security, was filled mostly with journalists. The youth's father was the only family member in attendance.

National Post
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Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 8:59 am Post subject:

Some background:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1643104/posts
Terror Strike Toronto ( Aborted! )
various FR links | 06-04-06 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
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Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 11:14 am Post subject:

Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 12:03 pm Post subject:

Likely they will all be freed with a big kiss, an apology, a large sum of cash apiece, and a stern warning to the police that only Americans get blown up -- this can NEVER happen in Canada.

These toddlers, he will say sternly, were just quietly playing in their sandbox (sanitized for their protection) when the Cops broke in and arrested them all! How dare you Cops accuse these premature infants when they are too young to even talk!

And besides, I will have you know, he will conclude, that the REAL threat to Canada is Rich People Having Things These Unborn Babies You See Before You Did Not Have.

*How Dare You*, he will shout. *Mommies, you are free to take your babies home.*
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Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 12:03 pm Post subject:

Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 2:16 pm Post subject:

Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 6:25 pm Post subject:

This should be an important issue here.
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Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 6:47 pm Post subject:

Posted: 05/ 31/ 08 6:51 pm Post subject:

Posted: 06/ 01/ 08 12:27 am Post subject:

Posted: 06/ 06/ 08 7:58 am Post subject:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=566244

Terror cell wanted to 'get rid of oppressors'Melissa Leong, National Post
Published: Thursday, June 05, 2008

The men accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Canada said they were fighting to "get rid of the oppressors" and intended something on a "greater scale" than the London Bombings, a court heard Thursday.

"You do it once and you make sure they can never recover again," one of the alleged leaders of the so-called terror cell was heard saying in a March 3, 2006 conversation intercepted by police.

Wiretap evidenced played in court provided a glimpse into the ideology behind the alleged deadly scheme. It is the first time in open court that the accused men are heard talking about their reasons for engaging in "a global fight."

Police bugged a vehicle belonging to Mubin Shaikh, a paid informant, and recorded the men expressing their anger over Canadian troops being in Afghanistan.

"These soldiers are fighting there, why can't you attack them here?" One man said.

In another recorded conversation, the accused leader said, "If they're your enemy, they're your enemy everywhere you see them."

He continued: "So, if the Jews are your enemy in Israel, it doesn't mean Jews are not your enemy here. Every single Jew is your enemy."

If that rule applies, some could think you could just kill any Jewish man walking down the street, another group member said.

"If the guy walking down the street says, pro Zion, pro Zion...wears a big Jewish thing saying, yeah, pro Israeli state... Okay now you're a target.

"If you are to do...to that guy you wouldn't be held accountable like by ‘Allah' or anything... and you would be rewarded for it because he is an enemy."

The wiretaps and the testimony of Mr. Shaikh, who is expected to take the stand next week, make up the bulk of the Crown's evidence against a 20-year-old man on trial. He cannot be identified because he was a youth at the time of the alleged crimes. His 10 adult co-accused, all charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act, also cannot be identified due to a publication ban.

According to prosecutors, the group allegedlly conspired to attack Canadian targets, storm Parliament Hill and tried to acquire explosives.

The court heard that the alleged leader had spent "every last penny" - or about $4,000 - on a shipment of 13 firearms from Mexico. The total cost of $10,000 was due at the end of March or the supplier would have to sell them on the street, he said in a wiretap.

As the result, he met with a man who was running an elaborate scam and their conversation was captured by police.

The so-called fraudster, identified as Talib, was using "white," "blond," women, possibly "crack heads," to take out bank loans with fraudulent information, the court heard. They would then cash the cheques at a payday lending store.

The alleged leader then proceeded to lecture him about their beliefs, including the merits of martyrdom. Talib listened patiently and seemed unfazed.

Talib replied: "I can do literally whatever you want as long as I have a dollar in my pocket."

National
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Posted: 06/ 06/ 08 8:05 am Post subject:

This court keeps it up and the CHRC is likely to want to have a word or two with them....!!!

Annoying Muslims like that.....sheeesh...... Shaking Finger

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Posted: 06/ 11/ 08 5:53 am Post subject:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=577655

Mole used gun connections to infiltrate 'Toronto 18': trial
Melissa Leong, National Post
Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Nathan Denette/National Post
Brampton -- A police informant told a court Tuesday that he infiltrated an alleged terror cell by showing them that he could get firearms and provide military training to recruits.

Mubin Shaikh, the mole who became a trusted member of the so-called "Toronto 18," began his much-anticipated testimony Tuesday at the trial of one of its youngest alleged members.

The group's accused leader told him of plans to allegedly attack Canadian targets including power grids, Parliament Hill, the CBC building and the headquarters for the RCMP and CSIS.

Four youths, including the 20-year-old defendant, and 14 adults were charged with terrorism-related offences in the summer of 2006. None of them can be named because of a publication ban.

Mr. Shaikh, a Toronto-born former army cadet, said CSIS asked him to attend a banquet on Nov. 27, 2005, to befriend a group of young men. Once there, he politely asked to sit with them, having recognized some of their faces from photos shown to him by CSIS agents.

He told the court about the "pivotal moment" of their meeting; when the alleged leader talked about what would happen if CSIS showed up at his house, "he made a shooting gesture," Mr. Shaikh said.

At that point, Mr. Shaikh showed the men his firearms license: "I felt it was a way to show them that I understood what he meant by his gesture. I was interested. I was ready. I had sympathy with his outlook."

The alleged leader looked at his No. 2 guy who then asked: "Is Jihad an individual obligation or a communal obligation?"

Mr. Shaikh said he took it to mean: "Are you just a cheerleader from the sidelines or are you playing the game?" Mr. Shaikh said it was an individual obligation.

The No. 2 guy later hugged Mr. Shaikh, to show him that he was armed, Mr. Shaikh told the court.

"He produced a magazine with rounds in it," he said. "He takes one round out and he shows me the hollowed out point. See these? These are cop killers."

In subsequent meetings, the alleged leader spoke openly with the mole, the court heard. Prosecutors have already played hours of wiretaps featuring the accused leader talking with Mr. Shaikh about an alleged scheme to obtain firearms, purchase a safe house and hold training sessions.

Days after their first meeting, the accused leader said he wanted to "cripple the infrastructure" to "render them non-functional," to "create chaos," Mr. Shaikh testified.

"He recognized that he did not have enough people of that readiness to meet that objective."

Mr. Shaikh said he was then asked to train recruits. "The main thrust of it was military manoeuvres, to be tactical, battle-oriented."

The Crown alleges that from Dec. 18, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2005, the group participated in a terrorist training camp near Washago, Ont. where group members wore camouflage and practiced shooting with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Mr. Shaikh told the court that he was eventually nicknamed, Abu Jandal, or "father of soldiers."

Shortly after their initial meeting, the No. 2 guy took Mr. Shaikh "shopping" for firearms. Mr. Shaikh purchased a $420 rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

"I did what I could considering the circumstances. The guy just told me to buy a rifle. There are ways that they are going to test me. I just went along with what he was saying."

He would later return the weapon to police. He told the group that he had to get rid of it after CSIS had come to his house asking questions about the purchase.

Mr. Shaikh said that at one point he was chastised by his police handlers after he pointed out a car that was following the alleged leader.

"I wanted to be able to convince myself that I took as many steps as I could to let them know what kind of trouble that he was in."

The trial continues.

National Post
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Posted: 06/ 11/ 08 5:56 am Post subject:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=577856

'We weren't out there picking daisies'Informant 'sort of like the godfather' to the accused

Joseph Brean, National Post
Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Nathan Denette/National Post
BRAMPTON -- From the moment he corrected the court clerk on her pronunciation of "Allah" in his witness oath, it was clear that Mubin Shaikh has a way with words.

"Two birds with one bomb," he said, pointing out that the alleged terrorist plot to bomb the CSIS office in downtown Toronto, which he helped disrupt as a paid RCMP mole, would also hit the CBC across the street.

At the alleged terrorist training camp north of Toronto in December, 2005, which gave rise to charges against the male youth now on trial, Mr. Shaikh tied a tarpaulin to "a protruding spike-like growth" on a tree, possibly a branch, and "voila," he testified, a tent.

A jihadist lecture was interrupted by "the usual comments and quips, what do you call them, inaudible retorts."

Short and powerfully built, and neatly dressed in Islamic attire, Mr. Shaikh affected a smirk and a hint of Brando when he described himself as "sort of like the godfather" to the RCMP's targets, an alliance of two circles of young Muslim men, one from the east of Toronto, the other from the west.

When he described an alleged conspirator's car, it was a "Lexusssss."

He was called upon to spell such unwieldy words as "fard kifayah" and "Giovanni", and took to the job so well that he even started spelling English words, such as "limb" and "Flaherty," which, strictly speaking, is Irish.

Mindful of his former cocaine habit from which his RCMP handlers once had to rescue him for a stint in rehab, the gallery tittered when he described the "spiel" he was given upon his acceptance into the group's confidence.

"I felt I was being recruited. People have sold me products before, I know when I'm being sold a product," Mr. Shaikh said.

Sometimes Mr. Shaikh referred to himself in the third person. At other times, his memory failed. "It's well known in historiography that as time goes on, memories weaken," he explained.

And by being completely frank about the alleged training camp, he seems to have come up with the trial's catchphrase.

"We weren't there picking daisies, that's for sure," he said. "I'm disturbed that people were playing this off like we were having fun paint-balling."

Although much of his involvement is already known through preliminary legal processes in the other trials, hearing Mr. Shaikh testify made clear his full value to the police.

It was easy to see what the alleged plotters saw in him.

The alleged plotters respected a good talker, as evidenced by a video shown in court of the cell's alleged ringleader delivering an impassioned sermon at the camp, in which he compared the countryside near Orillia, Ont., to Chechnya, and railed about a victory over the modern "Rome" that may seem distant, and may even be generations away, but which binds them here today.

"This training is striking," the alleged ringleader said.

An inspiring leader like that posed a difficulty for the RCMP, for which Mr. Shaikh provided a potential solution.

Not only did he possess a firearms licence and, as he put it, "professional competence with certain military training," but he could talk the talk.

Mr. Shaikh recalled the test that got him accepted by the group's leading figures, the question as to whether jihad is an obligation of the individual, fard ayn, or the group, fard kifayah.

"The question presupposes a number of things. Are you just a cheerleader from the sidelines or are you playing the game. For me to say jihad is fard ayn, which I don't believe, tells him that I am individually in agreement with being a jihadi," Mr. Shaikh said, adding that his deception on this point of moral philosophy worked "very nicely."

He explained that, in the jihadist context, "acquire" has a specific meaning that derives from a document called Blood Wealth and Honour of the Disbelievers.

As Mr. Shaikh put it, when he discussed "acquiring" camping gear with the group, it meant "to quote unquote take unlawfully items in support of camping. Unlawfully. Not through legal purchases."

National
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Posted: 06/ 11/ 08 6:07 am Post subject:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=569571

Terrorism suspect feared he was 'sitting duck,' trial hears
'Toronto 18'
Melissa Leong, National Post
Published: Saturday, June 07, 2008

BRAMPTON, ONT. - Weeks before tactical units descended on 18 terror suspects in the Toronto area, some of the men worried that police were onto them and that they were "going to jail any day," a court heard yesterday.

The alleged leader said in wiretaps that he had been referred to in media reports as a "terrorist" and feared he was a "sitting duck" for police.

But despite their worries, the group embarked on what prosecutors have described as a second training camp for its elite members.

The recorded conversations between the suspects have ranged from inane chatter -- "I'm not a soup person." "You should become a soup person" -- to plotting the remote detonation of bombs and acquiring firearms to fight "the oppressors."

The wiretaps have even included one of the accused talking about a girl he was interested in, calling her a "girl scrapper" because she performed Thai martial arts.

"She would definitely be a … serious Jihadi girl fighter. She's into Muay Thai and stuff," he said.

Before the court is a 20-year-old man accused of attending two training camps and stealing property for the benefit of the group. The defendant was a youth at the time of the alleged crimes and cannot be identified.

A total of four youths and 14 men were charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act in the summer of 2006. Charges against seven of the suspects have since been stayed. None of them can be named in relation to the trial due to a publication ban.

The defendant before the court has not been a speaker in any of the wiretap evidence heard this week. But the Crown is playing the recordings to try to establish that a terrorist group existed and that the youth knowingly participated in it.

The court has heard that by late April, 2006, the intercepted discussions of the group had turned from quipping about a "Mujahid's cookbook" of homemade chemical weapons, to more sober talk.

"They're gonna nail us all," one of the accused said.

Crown attorney Marco Mendocino said their unease followed the arrest of two men from Atlanta who were charged with terror offences.

The U. S. Department of Justice claimed the American men, Syed Haris Ahmed and his friend, Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, spent a week in Toronto in 2005 and met with members of the alleged terror cell.

The accused leader called an associate in jail on April 29, 2006, and read him a newspaper article about the bust.

"They came and they met three guys in Toronto that are under international watch… And everybody's saying extremist, extremist, extremist," he said in the wiretap. "It's like, yo, the verdict's already passed in the stupid articles, they're already quoting us as that."

He then suggested that he only greeted the Americans at a local mosque, but might soon end up in jail.

"Yo, I think I'm gonna be joining you within a week," he said.

Yesterday, prosecutors played wiretaps that suggested the men prepared for a camp in May, resuming banal talk of what to bring, such as doughnuts, a barbecue and coal.

Mitchell Chernovsky, the lawyer for the youth, said the laughing and joking heard in some of the recordings suggests that their plans "are all nonsense."

That was a theme picked up on one of the wiretaps by one of the accused, a soft-spoken man who acknowledged that the group needed to get serious.

" 'Cause you see how on our last trip we were also joking and laughing a lot too.… We gotta tone down and be serious, especially in front of them," he told the alleged leader months after the group made a trip to Washago, Ont.

In another exchange about a residence the group was planning to rent, the same man hears that the property is overrun with rats and wonders if it was permissible in their religion to kill rats.

"You know is there any … good things about rats?"

The alleged leader replied, "Other than it's a creature of Allah" before saying it was permissible to kill rats.

The other man then replies, "OK but like spiders and stuff you should leave alone right?"
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