*** Like I said, 'no comment'. Yet. MS ***
FROM: http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/05/18/asad-ansari-did-not-know-about-toronto-18s-alleged-plot-defence/
One of the remaining two accused in the “Toronto 18″ terrorism prosecution was in the dark about the alleged plot when he he took part in a winter training camp, a Superior Court jury heard today.
Ringleader Fahim Ahmad, who pleaded guilty last week, shared his terrorist ambitions with a select group, defence lawyer John Norris said, but Asad Ansari “was not among the trusted few.”
When he took part in the training camp in Washago, Ont., in December 2005, Mr. Ansari understood it simply to be a winter camping trip, the court heard. The group practiced paintball and shot guns; at one point, Ahmad delivered his now infamous “fall of Rome” speech, in which he called for the defeat of western society.
Mr. Norris, however, contends his client was not present for that speech.
“At no time was he aware of Mr. Ahmad’s terrorist plans or activities,” Mr. Norris told the jury.
Mr. Ansari, 25, and Steven Chand, 29, are the remaining two to be tried in the Toronto 18 case, and the first to be tried before a jury. The defence case continues this afternoon
Showing posts with label toronto 18 entrapment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toronto 18 entrapment. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
ASAD ANSARI TESTIFIES IN HIS OWN DEFENCE - TORONTO 18 TRIAL
*** Does anybody honestly think people don't read the news? There are 12 such people deciding this case right now - in addition to the trial by media that has already been long underway. Only the one who was there can truly say what happened as a matter of fact under law.
That and, 'no comment'. :) MS ***
FROM: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/05/18/toornto-18.html#ixzz0oK5Kvh9U
A man charged with aiding the so-called Toronto 18 terrorist cell has told an Ontario court that when he was invited on a winter camping trip by one of the group's leaders, he was unaware he was actually being asked to attend a training camp.
Asad Ansari, 25, is one of the last accused to be tried in the Toronto 18 case. Ansari testified in his own defence in a Brampton, Ont., court Tuesday morning.
He admitted attending the camp for a few days in December 2005 at Washago, Ont. But he said he went only because he was invited by his longtime friend Zakaria Amara.
Amara, one of two confessed leaders of the group, has already pleaded guilty to plotting to set off three one-tonne fertilizer bombs in downtown Toronto and at an unnamed military base to protest Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan.
Amara was given a life sentence.
In court, Ansari described himself at the time of al-Qaeda's Sept. 11 attacks against the United States as a typical young Muslim man, suddenly having to look for answers.
On the one hand, Ansari testified, he saw himself as a Canadian who believed in democracy and also believed that the Muslim world could learn a lot from the West.
On the other hand, he said, after Sept. 11 there was a palpable feeling among Muslims the world over that Western societies viewed all Muslims with suspicion. He said he and other young men like him suddenly began to question where they fit into the world.
At one point, after his banker fathered revealed he could not afford to send Ansari to university because he had lost a lot of the family's money in bad investments, Ansari testified that he seriously considered suicide.
In draft suicide notes to his mother, father and younger sister, he made references to "dying for the sake of Allah."
One of the options he considered but quickly discarded was volunteering to fight with the Islamist insurgency in Iraq, he told the court.
Ansari also testified he considered non-political options such as drowning or hanging himself.
Even after leaving thoughts of suicide behind, Ansari said, with his dream of earning a degree in computer science at Waterloo University shattered, he went into a long depression and felt like "a loser."
Ansari and Steven Chand are the last two of the Toronto 18 to be on trial.
Seventeen people alleged to have been members of the group were arrested on June 2, 2006. The 18th arrest followed three weeks later.
That and, 'no comment'. :) MS ***
FROM: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/05/18/toornto-18.html#ixzz0oK5Kvh9U
A man charged with aiding the so-called Toronto 18 terrorist cell has told an Ontario court that when he was invited on a winter camping trip by one of the group's leaders, he was unaware he was actually being asked to attend a training camp.
Asad Ansari, 25, is one of the last accused to be tried in the Toronto 18 case. Ansari testified in his own defence in a Brampton, Ont., court Tuesday morning.
He admitted attending the camp for a few days in December 2005 at Washago, Ont. But he said he went only because he was invited by his longtime friend Zakaria Amara.
Amara, one of two confessed leaders of the group, has already pleaded guilty to plotting to set off three one-tonne fertilizer bombs in downtown Toronto and at an unnamed military base to protest Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan.
Amara was given a life sentence.
In court, Ansari described himself at the time of al-Qaeda's Sept. 11 attacks against the United States as a typical young Muslim man, suddenly having to look for answers.
On the one hand, Ansari testified, he saw himself as a Canadian who believed in democracy and also believed that the Muslim world could learn a lot from the West.
On the other hand, he said, after Sept. 11 there was a palpable feeling among Muslims the world over that Western societies viewed all Muslims with suspicion. He said he and other young men like him suddenly began to question where they fit into the world.
At one point, after his banker fathered revealed he could not afford to send Ansari to university because he had lost a lot of the family's money in bad investments, Ansari testified that he seriously considered suicide.
In draft suicide notes to his mother, father and younger sister, he made references to "dying for the sake of Allah."
One of the options he considered but quickly discarded was volunteering to fight with the Islamist insurgency in Iraq, he told the court.
Ansari also testified he considered non-political options such as drowning or hanging himself.
Even after leaving thoughts of suicide behind, Ansari said, with his dream of earning a degree in computer science at Waterloo University shattered, he went into a long depression and felt like "a loser."
Ansari and Steven Chand are the last two of the Toronto 18 to be on trial.
Seventeen people alleged to have been members of the group were arrested on June 2, 2006. The 18th arrest followed three weeks later.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
JUDGE RULES NO ENTRAPMENT AGENT #2 TORONTO 18 CASE
*** Vindication is yours and rightfully so (formerly-known-as-Shaher), rightfully so. _\ MS ***
FROM: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i_nM1GY1NWXggMbz7Z02_j1BmTyg
BRAMPTON, Ont. — A judge has ruled that a man found guilty of terror offences as part of the so-called Toronto 18 was not entrapped.
Shareef Abdelhaleem, 34, was found guilty last month of participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. No conviction was entered at the time because his defence brought a motion seeking a stay on the basis of entrapment.
Today, a judge told a Brampton, Ont., court that entrapment was not an issue in the case and there was virtually no evidence to support Abdelhaleem's position.
The judge, in entering the conviction, also described Abdelhaleem's testimony as rambling and nonsensical.
Abdelhaleem's lawyer had argued his client was "dragged in" to the Toronto 18 bomb plot by a former friend seeking revenge through his work as a police agent.
The Crown contended Abdelhaleem was a willing and active participant in the plot to detonate massive bombs at the Toronto offices of CSIS, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base.
For the motion to have succeeded the defence had to prove that police created a crime that otherwise wouldn't have occurred or that they induced the commission of a crime.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
FROM: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i_nM1GY1NWXggMbz7Z02_j1BmTyg
BRAMPTON, Ont. — A judge has ruled that a man found guilty of terror offences as part of the so-called Toronto 18 was not entrapped.
Shareef Abdelhaleem, 34, was found guilty last month of participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. No conviction was entered at the time because his defence brought a motion seeking a stay on the basis of entrapment.
Today, a judge told a Brampton, Ont., court that entrapment was not an issue in the case and there was virtually no evidence to support Abdelhaleem's position.
The judge, in entering the conviction, also described Abdelhaleem's testimony as rambling and nonsensical.
Abdelhaleem's lawyer had argued his client was "dragged in" to the Toronto 18 bomb plot by a former friend seeking revenge through his work as a police agent.
The Crown contended Abdelhaleem was a willing and active participant in the plot to detonate massive bombs at the Toronto offices of CSIS, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base.
For the motion to have succeeded the defence had to prove that police created a crime that otherwise wouldn't have occurred or that they induced the commission of a crime.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Monday, February 1, 2010
TORONTO 18 ENTRAPMENT HEARING (RE: AGENT # 2) ENDS
FROM: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Toronto+plotter+addresses+court+entrapment+hearing+ends/2510137/story.html
In a "controlled experiment," a Superior Court judge Monday granted bomb plotter Shareef Abdelhaleem permission to personally address the court on the last day of his entrapment hearing.
Abdelhaleem, a member of the so-called Toronto 18 terrorist group, had already testified on his own behalf, but suggested he could deliver final arguments more effectively than his lawyer because he knew the "nuances of the data."
Both the judge and defence agreed it was a "bad idea," but ultimately allowed Abdelhaleem to press forward.
During a passionate address lasting the better part of an hour, Abdelhaleem argued his role as a middleman in the bomb plot was manufactured by RCMP agent Shaher Elsohemy, whose testimony made up the bulk of the Crown's case.
"The agent created that role. It didn't exist before," Abdelhaleem said.
His argument, wide-ranging and difficult to follow at times even for the judge — who repeatedly asked for clarifications — centered on a pair of meetings between Abdelhaleem and Elsohemy in the spring of 2006, weeks before authorities swooped in to foil the bomb plot.
During the first meeting in April, before Abdelhaleem had committed to join the terrorist group, Elsohemy "induced" him to attend a separate meeting with plot leader Zakaria Amara, Abdelhaleem suggested.
"He came to me and he said please be there so that I will not be photographed with Amara," Abdelhaleem said, noting he became a "sacrificial lamb" by agreeing to act as a go-between for Amara and Elsohemy. The goal, he said, was to protect the identity of Elsohemy, who had a young family.
Prior to that date, the court has heard, Abdelhaleem opposed the bomb plot, believing it to be Islamically unsound.
Before another scheduled meeting with Amara in May, Abdelhaleem said he urged Elsohemy not to attend because of the aforementioned concerns for his friend's safety.
"We fought for an hour," Abdelhaleem said, noting this refuted the Crown's theory that he was a "willing collaborator and trusted confidante" in the bomb plot. Rather, he emphasized, he was drawn in as a middleman through his association with Elsohemy.
"I couldn't have been in the middle for my sake. That doesn't make logical sense," a seemingly agitated Abdelhaleem told the court.
Abdelhaleem also attacked the Crown's theory that he was a key player in the bomb plot because he initiated orders for explosive chemicals through Elsohemy, who was posing as a source for such materials.
Abdelhaleem argues he was simply conveying messages from Amara.
In various police intercepts of conversations, however, Elsohemy is heard asking Abdelhaleem questions to the effect of: "How much ammonium nitrate do you want?"
Abdelhaleem said he believed it was understood that "you" referred to Amara. In retrospect, he says, it was a clear attempt by Elsohemy — who was wearing a wire — to implicate Abdelhaleem as a leader.
"It was one of his tricks to try to implicate me," said Abdelhaleem, who has testified Elsohemy harboured a grudge for a past fight between their families. "It was so obvious."
The Toronto 18 terrorism plot involved detonating powerful truck bombs at the Toronto Stock Exchange, the CSIS regional office in Toronto and a military base between Toronto and Ottawa. The scheme was foiled in June 2006 after an extensive police investigation.
In a "controlled experiment," a Superior Court judge Monday granted bomb plotter Shareef Abdelhaleem permission to personally address the court on the last day of his entrapment hearing.
Abdelhaleem, a member of the so-called Toronto 18 terrorist group, had already testified on his own behalf, but suggested he could deliver final arguments more effectively than his lawyer because he knew the "nuances of the data."
Both the judge and defence agreed it was a "bad idea," but ultimately allowed Abdelhaleem to press forward.
During a passionate address lasting the better part of an hour, Abdelhaleem argued his role as a middleman in the bomb plot was manufactured by RCMP agent Shaher Elsohemy, whose testimony made up the bulk of the Crown's case.
"The agent created that role. It didn't exist before," Abdelhaleem said.
His argument, wide-ranging and difficult to follow at times even for the judge — who repeatedly asked for clarifications — centered on a pair of meetings between Abdelhaleem and Elsohemy in the spring of 2006, weeks before authorities swooped in to foil the bomb plot.
During the first meeting in April, before Abdelhaleem had committed to join the terrorist group, Elsohemy "induced" him to attend a separate meeting with plot leader Zakaria Amara, Abdelhaleem suggested.
"He came to me and he said please be there so that I will not be photographed with Amara," Abdelhaleem said, noting he became a "sacrificial lamb" by agreeing to act as a go-between for Amara and Elsohemy. The goal, he said, was to protect the identity of Elsohemy, who had a young family.
Prior to that date, the court has heard, Abdelhaleem opposed the bomb plot, believing it to be Islamically unsound.
Before another scheduled meeting with Amara in May, Abdelhaleem said he urged Elsohemy not to attend because of the aforementioned concerns for his friend's safety.
"We fought for an hour," Abdelhaleem said, noting this refuted the Crown's theory that he was a "willing collaborator and trusted confidante" in the bomb plot. Rather, he emphasized, he was drawn in as a middleman through his association with Elsohemy.
"I couldn't have been in the middle for my sake. That doesn't make logical sense," a seemingly agitated Abdelhaleem told the court.
Abdelhaleem also attacked the Crown's theory that he was a key player in the bomb plot because he initiated orders for explosive chemicals through Elsohemy, who was posing as a source for such materials.
Abdelhaleem argues he was simply conveying messages from Amara.
In various police intercepts of conversations, however, Elsohemy is heard asking Abdelhaleem questions to the effect of: "How much ammonium nitrate do you want?"
Abdelhaleem said he believed it was understood that "you" referred to Amara. In retrospect, he says, it was a clear attempt by Elsohemy — who was wearing a wire — to implicate Abdelhaleem as a leader.
"It was one of his tricks to try to implicate me," said Abdelhaleem, who has testified Elsohemy harboured a grudge for a past fight between their families. "It was so obvious."
The Toronto 18 terrorism plot involved detonating powerful truck bombs at the Toronto Stock Exchange, the CSIS regional office in Toronto and a military base between Toronto and Ottawa. The scheme was foiled in June 2006 after an extensive police investigation.
TORONTO 18 : ENTRAPMENT MOTION CONCLUDES
*** Blah blah blah - the Judge is no fool - he knows what entrapment is and I assure you, he will rule accordingly. MS ***
FROM: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/83257497.html
BRAMPTON, Ont. - The lawyer for a man found guilty of terrorism offences says his client was entrapped by a police agent and "dragged in" to the Toronto 18 plot.
Shareef Abdelhaleem, 34, was found guilty of participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. No conviction was entered though because his defence brought a motion seeking a stay on the basis of entrapment.
In his closing submissions today William Naylor says police agent Shaher Elsohemy was acting out of vengeance in getting his former friend Abdelhaleem involved in the plot.
The judge reminded Naylor he must prove that the police induced Abdelhaleem to get involved, and Naylor said the evidence is "subtle."
Elsohemy testified that Abdelhaleem was opposed to the plan at first, but after he underwent heart surgery he agreed to it.
FROM: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/83257497.html
BRAMPTON, Ont. - The lawyer for a man found guilty of terrorism offences says his client was entrapped by a police agent and "dragged in" to the Toronto 18 plot.
Shareef Abdelhaleem, 34, was found guilty of participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. No conviction was entered though because his defence brought a motion seeking a stay on the basis of entrapment.
In his closing submissions today William Naylor says police agent Shaher Elsohemy was acting out of vengeance in getting his former friend Abdelhaleem involved in the plot.
The judge reminded Naylor he must prove that the police induced Abdelhaleem to get involved, and Naylor said the evidence is "subtle."
Elsohemy testified that Abdelhaleem was opposed to the plan at first, but after he underwent heart surgery he agreed to it.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
NO ENTRAPMENT IN TORONTO 18 CASE
*** Posted as an FYI since some people still don't get it. To be fair, this only applies to the youth proceedings but the message applies broadly to the remaining accused also. MS ***
http://www.thestar.com/article/607827 (Published On Wed Mar 25 2009)
No entrapment, judge rules in terrorism case
Police mole vindicated as court clears actions with accused youth
After years of "trash talk" and criticism for infiltrating an alleged homegrown terror cell, police mole Mubin Shaikh said he felt vindicated after a judge yesterday ruled that he acted appropriately and did not entrap one of the accused youths.
"My life has revolved around this point of entrapment and a lot of people have come out to say a lot of bad things about me," said Shaikh, referring to comments that have surfaced online in the Muslim community and within mosques.
"I knew right from the beginning that I was doing the right thing. ... I didn't put my neck out for the community to trash me," Shaikh said outside the courthouse, adding he "put up with a lot of trash talk."
The 33-year-old man said he was pleased the judge noted in his ruling that he believed Shaikh was motivated by his "moral and religious convictions."
When delivering his decision in a Brampton court, Superior Court Justice John Sproat did not read his 53-page ruling, but did state, "There has not been any entrapment and there has not been any abuse of process."
Shaikh's status at a terrorist training camp in December 2005 came under unusual scrutiny, given the unprecedented nature of this landmark case involving 14 men and four youths. The suspects, known as the Toronto 18, were charged in 2006 with belonging to a cell plotting to detonate truck bombs.
To date, four adults and three youths have had their charges stayed. The remaining youth, who is now 21, was found guilty of terrorism-related offences in September, but his lawyers brought forth a motion alleging he was lured into the group by Shaikh and should have the charge stayed.
In his ruling, 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. "The information and indoctrination presented to (the accused) was not influenced or affected by any state action."
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.
Defence counsel Mitchell Chernovsky and Faisal Mirza had argued that by taking on the role of a trainer, encouraging their client to perform better and training him in the use of a firearm, Shaikh was teaching the teen how to be a criminal.
They portrayed their client at the time as an impressionable 17-year-old convert to Islam desperate for acceptance and religious guidance.
But Sproat ruled the teen's age was "not much of an impediment to understanding the simple truth that a handgun was being fired, military-style exercises were being conducted and (the alleged ringleader) was exhorting the attendees to kick off a battle in which they would kill and perhaps be killed."
Crown prosecutors John Neander and Marco Mendicino argued that at the time of the camp, Shaikh was working as a confidential informer for the RCMP and only became an agent in February 2006.
They also portrayed Shaikh as someone who tried to moderate the tone of the camp and encouraged the teen to seek appropriate religious guidance.
Lawyers are due to return to court on April 7 to argue whether the teen should be sentenced as an adult or youth. If sentenced as an adult, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Ten adults have yet to stand trial and Shaikh is expected to be the Crown's main witness.
*** The youth was sentenced to basically, time served and was released thereafter. SIX await trial now (four plead guilty). MS ***
http://www.thestar.com/article/607827 (Published On Wed Mar 25 2009)
No entrapment, judge rules in terrorism case
Police mole vindicated as court clears actions with accused youth
After years of "trash talk" and criticism for infiltrating an alleged homegrown terror cell, police mole Mubin Shaikh said he felt vindicated after a judge yesterday ruled that he acted appropriately and did not entrap one of the accused youths.
"My life has revolved around this point of entrapment and a lot of people have come out to say a lot of bad things about me," said Shaikh, referring to comments that have surfaced online in the Muslim community and within mosques.
"I knew right from the beginning that I was doing the right thing. ... I didn't put my neck out for the community to trash me," Shaikh said outside the courthouse, adding he "put up with a lot of trash talk."
The 33-year-old man said he was pleased the judge noted in his ruling that he believed Shaikh was motivated by his "moral and religious convictions."
When delivering his decision in a Brampton court, Superior Court Justice John Sproat did not read his 53-page ruling, but did state, "There has not been any entrapment and there has not been any abuse of process."
Shaikh's status at a terrorist training camp in December 2005 came under unusual scrutiny, given the unprecedented nature of this landmark case involving 14 men and four youths. The suspects, known as the Toronto 18, were charged in 2006 with belonging to a cell plotting to detonate truck bombs.
To date, four adults and three youths have had their charges stayed. The remaining youth, who is now 21, was found guilty of terrorism-related offences in September, but his lawyers brought forth a motion alleging he was lured into the group by Shaikh and should have the charge stayed.
In his ruling, 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. "The information and indoctrination presented to (the accused) was not influenced or affected by any state action."
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.
Defence counsel Mitchell Chernovsky and Faisal Mirza had argued that by taking on the role of a trainer, encouraging their client to perform better and training him in the use of a firearm, Shaikh was teaching the teen how to be a criminal.
They portrayed their client at the time as an impressionable 17-year-old convert to Islam desperate for acceptance and religious guidance.
But Sproat ruled the teen's age was "not much of an impediment to understanding the simple truth that a handgun was being fired, military-style exercises were being conducted and (the alleged ringleader) was exhorting the attendees to kick off a battle in which they would kill and perhaps be killed."
Crown prosecutors John Neander and Marco Mendicino argued that at the time of the camp, Shaikh was working as a confidential informer for the RCMP and only became an agent in February 2006.
They also portrayed Shaikh as someone who tried to moderate the tone of the camp and encouraged the teen to seek appropriate religious guidance.
Lawyers are due to return to court on April 7 to argue whether the teen should be sentenced as an adult or youth. If sentenced as an adult, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Ten adults have yet to stand trial and Shaikh is expected to be the Crown's main witness.
*** The youth was sentenced to basically, time served and was released thereafter. SIX await trial now (four plead guilty). MS ***
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