Jun 23, 2010 20:29 ET
Statement by the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, in Response to the Convictions of the Final Accused in Project Osage
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 23, 2010) - "Today marks the conclusion to an important chapter in our history - the convictions on terrorism charges of the last of the accused in Project Osage, better known to many Canadians as the Toronto 18 cases. If it wasn't for the timely intervention of law enforcement and security officials, it is entirely possible that the plotters could have been successful and taken many innocent lives.
This case demonstrates that Canada is not immune from terrorist threats. Although we have been successful in disrupting terrorist plots, and convicting terrorists, we are always looking for new ways to strengthen our mutual safety and security. We must continue to remain vigilant.
While the legal process may continue for some of those found guilty, it is appropriate at this time to acknowledge the hard work and successful collaboration of CSIS, the RCMP, the Toronto Police Service, Peel Regional Police and other law enforcement partners, the federal Public Prosecution Service of Canada and the Department of Justice in uncovering the plot, laying charges and bringing strong cases before the courts. It is an example of how effectively different parts of our national security and justice systems work together to protect Canada and all those who live here.
On behalf of the Government of Canada and Canadians, I want to thank all of those who worked to bring Project Osage to successful conclusion."
For more information, please contact
Public Safety Canada
Media Relations
613-991-0657
Showing posts with label CSIS RCMP homegrown terror toronto case. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CSIS RCMP homegrown terror toronto case. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
TORONTO 18 SCARED OF WEAPONS
FROM: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=3070749
The Crown launched a multi-pronged assault yesterday on the credibility of Asad Ansari, one of the final two accused in the "Toronto 18" terrorism case.
Mr. Ansari, who has denied any role in the 2006 bomb plot and professed to be "scared of weapons," could not explain why police found a cache of files on a CD in his bedroom containing images of violent jihad.
"I can't answer the why," Mr. Ansari said during his cross-examination. "I can only say that I have these images."
The files include photographs of Osama bin Laden and masked militants hoisting AK-47s. In a number of shots, bearded men pose with rocket launchers; others feature a variety of guns and swords.
Mr. Ansari agreed the images glorified the concept of armed mujahideen, but said his aversion to firearms only applied "in real life."
Mr. Ansari, 25, is on trial for participating in a terrorist group that allegedly operated between 2005 and 2006. He admits to attending a winter camping trip organized by "Toronto 18" ringleader Fahim Ahmad, but denies he had any knowledge at the time that the camp was intended as a terrorist training ground.
Ahmad pleaded guilty to terrorism charges this month.
In general, Crown attorney Jason Wakely contended, "[Ahmad] was very open about his plans to attack."
"I guess, sure," Mr. Ansari replied. Yet he maintained Ahmad concealed those plans from him specifically, with discussions on topics such as jihad occurring only in the "theoretical" realm.
The jury has seen a video of the winter camp in Washago, Ont., filmed by Zakaria Amara, who was also charged in the terror plot. In the footage, masked men are seen running through the forest, hoisting a black flag and shooting guns, with Arabic chanting overlaid as a sound-track. Mr. Ansari says he was not present during the filming of any of the violent scenes. "Everything seemed benign and innocuous," he said of the camp.
Mr. Ansari has testified that Amara brought him the camp footage after the event had ended and asked for assistance in converting it to a digital format. This was incriminating evidence, Mr. Wakely pointed out, and "Amara trusted you with that."
"That's correct," the accused testified. Yet he says he never watched any of the footage while he was converting it, simply setting up the conversion process and then leaving the room to do other tasks. The Crown suggested this was false.
"The natural thing to do is to watch it," Mr. Wakely said, noting Mr. Ansari, who was out of school and not working, had little else to focus on at the time.
"I did not [watch]," Mr. Ansari asserted. While he agreed in retrospect it would have
made sense to view the camp video, "it was only happenstance" that he failed to do so.
The Crown also pointed to an intercepted telephone call in which Mr. Ansari speaks to Ahmad about malicious software found on Ahmad's computer.
"You were deliberately cryptic and guarded in this conversation," Mr. Wakely said, alleging Mr. Ansari was aware all the while that Ahmad was the subject of police surveillance, including a wiretap.
"No I did not," Mr. Ansari said. He says he was non-specific in discussing the malicious software because Ahmad "is an idiot when it comes to computers."
At one point in the conversation, Mr. Ansari alerts Ahmad to a program that is sending information out of his computer. "I can guess [where]," Ahmad says. Mr. Ansari, however, fails to follow up with the "obvious question" of where, Mr. Wakely noted.
Mr. Ansari, a self-described computer whiz, said he was not particularly interested in the "amateurish" program, adding it never occurred to him that it was installed by a law-enforcement agency.
The trial resumes today.
The Crown launched a multi-pronged assault yesterday on the credibility of Asad Ansari, one of the final two accused in the "Toronto 18" terrorism case.
Mr. Ansari, who has denied any role in the 2006 bomb plot and professed to be "scared of weapons," could not explain why police found a cache of files on a CD in his bedroom containing images of violent jihad.
"I can't answer the why," Mr. Ansari said during his cross-examination. "I can only say that I have these images."
The files include photographs of Osama bin Laden and masked militants hoisting AK-47s. In a number of shots, bearded men pose with rocket launchers; others feature a variety of guns and swords.
Mr. Ansari agreed the images glorified the concept of armed mujahideen, but said his aversion to firearms only applied "in real life."
Mr. Ansari, 25, is on trial for participating in a terrorist group that allegedly operated between 2005 and 2006. He admits to attending a winter camping trip organized by "Toronto 18" ringleader Fahim Ahmad, but denies he had any knowledge at the time that the camp was intended as a terrorist training ground.
Ahmad pleaded guilty to terrorism charges this month.
In general, Crown attorney Jason Wakely contended, "[Ahmad] was very open about his plans to attack."
"I guess, sure," Mr. Ansari replied. Yet he maintained Ahmad concealed those plans from him specifically, with discussions on topics such as jihad occurring only in the "theoretical" realm.
The jury has seen a video of the winter camp in Washago, Ont., filmed by Zakaria Amara, who was also charged in the terror plot. In the footage, masked men are seen running through the forest, hoisting a black flag and shooting guns, with Arabic chanting overlaid as a sound-track. Mr. Ansari says he was not present during the filming of any of the violent scenes. "Everything seemed benign and innocuous," he said of the camp.
Mr. Ansari has testified that Amara brought him the camp footage after the event had ended and asked for assistance in converting it to a digital format. This was incriminating evidence, Mr. Wakely pointed out, and "Amara trusted you with that."
"That's correct," the accused testified. Yet he says he never watched any of the footage while he was converting it, simply setting up the conversion process and then leaving the room to do other tasks. The Crown suggested this was false.
"The natural thing to do is to watch it," Mr. Wakely said, noting Mr. Ansari, who was out of school and not working, had little else to focus on at the time.
"I did not [watch]," Mr. Ansari asserted. While he agreed in retrospect it would have
made sense to view the camp video, "it was only happenstance" that he failed to do so.
The Crown also pointed to an intercepted telephone call in which Mr. Ansari speaks to Ahmad about malicious software found on Ahmad's computer.
"You were deliberately cryptic and guarded in this conversation," Mr. Wakely said, alleging Mr. Ansari was aware all the while that Ahmad was the subject of police surveillance, including a wiretap.
"No I did not," Mr. Ansari said. He says he was non-specific in discussing the malicious software because Ahmad "is an idiot when it comes to computers."
At one point in the conversation, Mr. Ansari alerts Ahmad to a program that is sending information out of his computer. "I can guess [where]," Ahmad says. Mr. Ansari, however, fails to follow up with the "obvious question" of where, Mr. Wakely noted.
Mr. Ansari, a self-described computer whiz, said he was not particularly interested in the "amateurish" program, adding it never occurred to him that it was installed by a law-enforcement agency.
The trial resumes today.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
14 YEARS TOO LENIENT FOR TERRORISM
*** It does appear he is a prime candidate for rehabilitation. Part of sentencing is to look at the mitigating factors, that is if we can take our blinders off. MS ***
FROM: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100519/saad-khalid-toronto18-appeal-100519/20100519?hub=Canada
Terrorism is the height of criminal behaviour -- eclipsing even first-degree murder -- and prison terms must reflect the severity of the offence, Crown lawyers will argue before Ontario's highest court.
The Crown is calling on the Ontario Court of Appeal to increase the sentence of Saad Khalid, a member of the so-called Toronto 18.
Khalid pleaded guilty last year to participating in a terror plot with the intention of causing an explosion. He was sentenced to 14 years, which amounts to seven more years in custody after credit for time served.
Court documents filed in advance of the hearing, scheduled for Thursday, show Crown lawyers will argue that is far too lenient for such a heinous crime.
"At present he will be eligible to walk free on parole five-and-a-half years after the date of his arrest, and be totally free of penal supervision four-and-a-half years later," the lawyers write.
"On the scale of relative severity, this crime is at the very apex, eclipsing even the most serious forms of ordinary criminal violence."
The Crown argues the starting point for sentencing for active participation in a terrorist plot intent on causing death and "indiscriminate harm" to hundreds of innocent people should be life imprisonment.
Khalid was not the leader of the plot he was convicted in, so in this case the Crown says a further four to six years should be added to Khalid's sentence, making it 18 to 20, which they had asked for at the sentencing hearing.
"The moral blameworthiness and potential impact of this crime are an order of magnitude greater than that found in a single pre-meditated homicide, for which a life sentence is automatic," the Crown writes.
"It is just and proportionate that an individual who plots a crime as this will be permanently under the supervision of the state."
The Crown also contends the trial judge erred in not making an order under the Criminal Code for terrorism offences that the offender has to serve half the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less, before being released on full parole.
Khalid's lawyers suggest in court documents that the trial judge didn't actually make any errors in sentencing, rather the Crown just didn't get their way.
"Ultimately the appellant's complaint amounts to no more than that they believe the respondent's sentence was not long enough," his lawyers write.
There were plenty of mitigating factors that justify Khalid's sentence length, his lawyers write.
He was young -- 19 years old -- at the time of the offence, he pleaded guilty, and he demonstrated sincere remorse, they note. A psychiatrist found he poses no acute risk to himself or others and he has sought out spiritual counselling to understand and change his thinking.
"At the time he was sentenced, he was not the same person he was when he committed the offence," his lawyers write.
He has received a great deal of support from the community, has two offers of immediate employment upon his release and 64 relatives, friends and acquaintances have contributed more than $63,000 to an educational trust fund, his lawyers say.
FROM: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100519/saad-khalid-toronto18-appeal-100519/20100519?hub=Canada
Terrorism is the height of criminal behaviour -- eclipsing even first-degree murder -- and prison terms must reflect the severity of the offence, Crown lawyers will argue before Ontario's highest court.
The Crown is calling on the Ontario Court of Appeal to increase the sentence of Saad Khalid, a member of the so-called Toronto 18.
Khalid pleaded guilty last year to participating in a terror plot with the intention of causing an explosion. He was sentenced to 14 years, which amounts to seven more years in custody after credit for time served.
Court documents filed in advance of the hearing, scheduled for Thursday, show Crown lawyers will argue that is far too lenient for such a heinous crime.
"At present he will be eligible to walk free on parole five-and-a-half years after the date of his arrest, and be totally free of penal supervision four-and-a-half years later," the lawyers write.
"On the scale of relative severity, this crime is at the very apex, eclipsing even the most serious forms of ordinary criminal violence."
The Crown argues the starting point for sentencing for active participation in a terrorist plot intent on causing death and "indiscriminate harm" to hundreds of innocent people should be life imprisonment.
Khalid was not the leader of the plot he was convicted in, so in this case the Crown says a further four to six years should be added to Khalid's sentence, making it 18 to 20, which they had asked for at the sentencing hearing.
"The moral blameworthiness and potential impact of this crime are an order of magnitude greater than that found in a single pre-meditated homicide, for which a life sentence is automatic," the Crown writes.
"It is just and proportionate that an individual who plots a crime as this will be permanently under the supervision of the state."
The Crown also contends the trial judge erred in not making an order under the Criminal Code for terrorism offences that the offender has to serve half the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less, before being released on full parole.
Khalid's lawyers suggest in court documents that the trial judge didn't actually make any errors in sentencing, rather the Crown just didn't get their way.
"Ultimately the appellant's complaint amounts to no more than that they believe the respondent's sentence was not long enough," his lawyers write.
There were plenty of mitigating factors that justify Khalid's sentence length, his lawyers write.
He was young -- 19 years old -- at the time of the offence, he pleaded guilty, and he demonstrated sincere remorse, they note. A psychiatrist found he poses no acute risk to himself or others and he has sought out spiritual counselling to understand and change his thinking.
"At the time he was sentenced, he was not the same person he was when he committed the offence," his lawyers write.
He has received a great deal of support from the community, has two offers of immediate employment upon his release and 64 relatives, friends and acquaintances have contributed more than $63,000 to an educational trust fund, his lawyers say.
FLAG DID NOT TIP OFF TORONTO 18 ACCUSED
FROM: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Flag+didn+Toronto+suspect+terrorist+training+camp/3047691/story.html
Shortly after arriving at a winter campsite in Washago, Ont., more than four years ago, Asad Ansari saw a black flag overlaid with white Arabic script.
Under cross-examination by Crown attorney Jason Wakely Wednesday, Ansari, who stands accused of participating in a terrorist group, admitted he knew similar flags were frequently used as symbols of violent jihad — but says he never made the connection while at the camp.
"That thought didn't cross my mind at the time," Ansari said, noting he believed the flag to be a holy Islamic symbol.
He admitted he had seen similar flags "in the news . . . mainly (in) stories about terrorism."
Asked whether he was aware of this connection in late 2005, when he attended the camp, Ansari said he was, adding the symbol had been "co-opted by violent jihadists."
Ansari contends he never knew the Washago camp was intended as a terrorist training ground for the "Toronto 18," a group of alleged terror plotters who were rounded up in a police sting in the spring of 2006.
Rather, he has told the court, he believed he was simply attending a winter camping trip with friends.
When he saw the flag, Ansari testified: "(I did not say) whoa, I'm at a terrorist training camp."
Earlier Wednesday, the jury heard a series of intercepted phone calls between Ansari and Toronto 18 ringleader Fahim Ahmad, who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges last week.
The Crown alleges the homegrown terror cell recruited Ansari for his technical savvy, but the defence maintains he knew nothing of the plot to attack targets in Toronto and Ottawa when he agreed to work on Ahmad's computer in early 2006.
Star Crown witness Mubin Shaikh has testified that Ansari told him he intentionally deleted a video of the Washago camp — in which participants can be seen shooting guns and wrestling, with Arabic chanting overlaid as a soundtrack — from Ahmad's computer, in addition to deleting MSN chat logs.
Defence lawyer John Norris asked his client whether he had ever spoken to Shaikh about the nature of his work on Ahmad's computer.
"I did not," Ansari replied.
The defence contends Ansari was repairing Ahmad's computer, which had become infected with malicious software, as a favour to his friend.
In one of the intercepted phone calls, Ansari and Ahmad discuss a file called "firefight" on Ahmad's computer. The file contained text about "urban guerrilla warfare," Ansari told the court.
"Where did you get it from?" Ansari asks Ahmad during the call.
"Uh, you know," Ahmad responds, later adding it is from "their own site."
Ansari told the jury he did not know what Ahmad meant by that.
Ansari, 25, and Steven Chand, 29, are the remaining two to be tried in the Toronto 18 case. It is the first time terrorism charges will be tested by a Canadian jury.
Shortly after arriving at a winter campsite in Washago, Ont., more than four years ago, Asad Ansari saw a black flag overlaid with white Arabic script.
Under cross-examination by Crown attorney Jason Wakely Wednesday, Ansari, who stands accused of participating in a terrorist group, admitted he knew similar flags were frequently used as symbols of violent jihad — but says he never made the connection while at the camp.
"That thought didn't cross my mind at the time," Ansari said, noting he believed the flag to be a holy Islamic symbol.
He admitted he had seen similar flags "in the news . . . mainly (in) stories about terrorism."
Asked whether he was aware of this connection in late 2005, when he attended the camp, Ansari said he was, adding the symbol had been "co-opted by violent jihadists."
Ansari contends he never knew the Washago camp was intended as a terrorist training ground for the "Toronto 18," a group of alleged terror plotters who were rounded up in a police sting in the spring of 2006.
Rather, he has told the court, he believed he was simply attending a winter camping trip with friends.
When he saw the flag, Ansari testified: "(I did not say) whoa, I'm at a terrorist training camp."
Earlier Wednesday, the jury heard a series of intercepted phone calls between Ansari and Toronto 18 ringleader Fahim Ahmad, who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges last week.
The Crown alleges the homegrown terror cell recruited Ansari for his technical savvy, but the defence maintains he knew nothing of the plot to attack targets in Toronto and Ottawa when he agreed to work on Ahmad's computer in early 2006.
Star Crown witness Mubin Shaikh has testified that Ansari told him he intentionally deleted a video of the Washago camp — in which participants can be seen shooting guns and wrestling, with Arabic chanting overlaid as a soundtrack — from Ahmad's computer, in addition to deleting MSN chat logs.
Defence lawyer John Norris asked his client whether he had ever spoken to Shaikh about the nature of his work on Ahmad's computer.
"I did not," Ansari replied.
The defence contends Ansari was repairing Ahmad's computer, which had become infected with malicious software, as a favour to his friend.
In one of the intercepted phone calls, Ansari and Ahmad discuss a file called "firefight" on Ahmad's computer. The file contained text about "urban guerrilla warfare," Ansari told the court.
"Where did you get it from?" Ansari asks Ahmad during the call.
"Uh, you know," Ahmad responds, later adding it is from "their own site."
Ansari told the jury he did not know what Ahmad meant by that.
Ansari, 25, and Steven Chand, 29, are the remaining two to be tried in the Toronto 18 case. It is the first time terrorism charges will be tested by a Canadian jury.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
CANADA SPIES TRACKING OVER 200 TERROR SUSPECTS
*** I fear that lack of political will and wilful ignorance by the public is directly responsible for our current state of affairs. MS ***
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100511/canada/international_us_security_canada_spies
Canada is tracking more than 200 people linked to al Qaeda and other organizations considered to be terrorist, the head of the nation's spy service said in a rare public appearance on Tuesday.
Richard Fadden, head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), also said he was particularly concerned by radicalized youths, whose families may have been in Canada for several generations, but who have become disenchanted with Canadian society.
"Confronting the threat from al Qaeda, its affiliates and its adherents remains our number one priority," he told a parliamentary committee.
"As of this month CSIS is investigating over 200 individuals in this country whose activities meet the (official) definition of terrorism."
As an indication of the potential threat to Canada, Fadden also mentioned the so-called Toronto 18, a group of mainly young men who were accused of plotting al Qaeda-inspired attacks on Canadian landmarks.
He said the Toronto 18 were an example of "second or third generation Canadians, who in some ways are relatively well integrated" but who had become "appallingly disenchanted with the way we want to structure our society."
He added: "There are a number of such groups that we are investigating."
CSIS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been involved in a string of high-profile anti-terror cases in recent years, sometimes coming under strong criticism.
In the most infamous case, an inquiry found the RCMP falsely told their U.S. counterparts that software engineer Maher Arar had extremist links. The United States deported him to Syria in 2002, where he says he was tortured.
CSIS is also under fire over the separate case of three Canadians of Middle Eastern descent who say they were arrested in Syria and asked questions that could only have come from officials in Ottawa.
Fadden defended the links CSIS had with around 275 different agencies in 150 nations, saying such ties were crucial in the war on terror.
"To shy away from such engagement would in my view a form of unilateral disarmament in a dangerous world," he said.
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100511/canada/international_us_security_canada_spies
Canada is tracking more than 200 people linked to al Qaeda and other organizations considered to be terrorist, the head of the nation's spy service said in a rare public appearance on Tuesday.
Richard Fadden, head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), also said he was particularly concerned by radicalized youths, whose families may have been in Canada for several generations, but who have become disenchanted with Canadian society.
"Confronting the threat from al Qaeda, its affiliates and its adherents remains our number one priority," he told a parliamentary committee.
"As of this month CSIS is investigating over 200 individuals in this country whose activities meet the (official) definition of terrorism."
As an indication of the potential threat to Canada, Fadden also mentioned the so-called Toronto 18, a group of mainly young men who were accused of plotting al Qaeda-inspired attacks on Canadian landmarks.
He said the Toronto 18 were an example of "second or third generation Canadians, who in some ways are relatively well integrated" but who had become "appallingly disenchanted with the way we want to structure our society."
He added: "There are a number of such groups that we are investigating."
CSIS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been involved in a string of high-profile anti-terror cases in recent years, sometimes coming under strong criticism.
In the most infamous case, an inquiry found the RCMP falsely told their U.S. counterparts that software engineer Maher Arar had extremist links. The United States deported him to Syria in 2002, where he says he was tortured.
CSIS is also under fire over the separate case of three Canadians of Middle Eastern descent who say they were arrested in Syria and asked questions that could only have come from officials in Ottawa.
Fadden defended the links CSIS had with around 275 different agencies in 150 nations, saying such ties were crucial in the war on terror.
"To shy away from such engagement would in my view a form of unilateral disarmament in a dangerous world," he said.
Friday, January 29, 2010
NEXT TIME I WALK AND LET THE BOMBS GO OFF : TORONTO 18 MEMBER
*** Either you walk away or you step up. MS ***
FROM: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2010/01/29/next-time-i-ll-walk-away-from-bomb-plot-toronto-18-member.aspx
BRAMPTON — In a passionate outburst before a Superior Court judge yesterday, "Toronto 18" member Shareef Abdelhaleem vowed that should he ever hear of another bomb plot, he would simply "walk away" and allow events to take their course.
"I tried my best to reduce everything," testified Abdelhaleem, who insisted yesterday his participation in the Toronto 18 plot was aimed at mitigating harm to civilians.
"Next time -- well, there will be no next time -- but next time I hear someone trying to blow something up, I'm just going to walk away," Abdelhaleem told the court.
If the hypothetical plot then succeeded, he said, he would walk into a police station and inform authorities: "I knew all about this and did absolutely nothing to stop it."
He said he would tell families who lost loved ones the same thing.
Abdelhaleem was found guilty last week of participating in a 2006 terrorist plot to bomb three targets in southern Ontario, including a regional Canadian Security Intelligence Service facility, a military base and the Toronto Stock Exchange. The defence argues he was entrapped by police, and Abdelhaleem has been testifying at a hearing on that matter.
Abdelhaleem says he gained an inside line on the bomb plot so he could have the power to stop it -- actions he believes the Crown is now persecuting him for.
Under cross-examination by Crown attorney Croft Michaelson, Abdelhaleem admitted he helped bomb plot leader Zakaria Amara in his plans to acquire three tonnes of ammonium nitrate -- even placing chemical orders on his own initiative at times -- while at the same time failing to voice opposition to the bombings themselves.
But Abdelhaleem attempted to focus the court's attention on his efforts to reduce the amount of harm done by the attacks, dismissing as "outrageous" Amara's alleged plan to include metal shards in the bombs to cause more civilian casualties. Abdelhaleem said he felt obliged to stop that from happening.
"I didn't know what I was going to do. I had no plan," he told the court. But he testified that if Amara moved that part of the plot forward, "I was going to sabotage it somehow."
Abdelhaleem, 34, said he also encouraged the group to make smaller bombs to "reduce" the explosive impact.
"I was not taking an initiative to blow something up," he told the judge, noting he was determined to get the address of the terrorist group's chemical storehouse so "if I were to intervene, I'd know where the store was."
One idea Abdelhaleem says he considered was putting a humidifier inthe storehouse to destroy the bomb chemicals, which were supposed to be kept free of moisture, once they arrived.
Abdelhaleem, who referred to himself as a "middleman" between Amara and undercover police agent Shaher Elsohemy, told the court he volunteered to play that role because he believed he was doing nothing to advance the plot and thus doing nothing wrong, "so if I'm seen with Amara, that would be OK."
It was also a way to protect Mr. Elsohemy-- whom he considered a friend at the time -- and to gain information about the chemical storehouse, Abdelhaleem testified.
An adamant and animated Abdelhaleem, speaking in a quick burst, told the judge he wanted to "highlight and bold" that point.
FROM: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2010/01/29/next-time-i-ll-walk-away-from-bomb-plot-toronto-18-member.aspx
BRAMPTON — In a passionate outburst before a Superior Court judge yesterday, "Toronto 18" member Shareef Abdelhaleem vowed that should he ever hear of another bomb plot, he would simply "walk away" and allow events to take their course.
"I tried my best to reduce everything," testified Abdelhaleem, who insisted yesterday his participation in the Toronto 18 plot was aimed at mitigating harm to civilians.
"Next time -- well, there will be no next time -- but next time I hear someone trying to blow something up, I'm just going to walk away," Abdelhaleem told the court.
If the hypothetical plot then succeeded, he said, he would walk into a police station and inform authorities: "I knew all about this and did absolutely nothing to stop it."
He said he would tell families who lost loved ones the same thing.
Abdelhaleem was found guilty last week of participating in a 2006 terrorist plot to bomb three targets in southern Ontario, including a regional Canadian Security Intelligence Service facility, a military base and the Toronto Stock Exchange. The defence argues he was entrapped by police, and Abdelhaleem has been testifying at a hearing on that matter.
Abdelhaleem says he gained an inside line on the bomb plot so he could have the power to stop it -- actions he believes the Crown is now persecuting him for.
Under cross-examination by Crown attorney Croft Michaelson, Abdelhaleem admitted he helped bomb plot leader Zakaria Amara in his plans to acquire three tonnes of ammonium nitrate -- even placing chemical orders on his own initiative at times -- while at the same time failing to voice opposition to the bombings themselves.
But Abdelhaleem attempted to focus the court's attention on his efforts to reduce the amount of harm done by the attacks, dismissing as "outrageous" Amara's alleged plan to include metal shards in the bombs to cause more civilian casualties. Abdelhaleem said he felt obliged to stop that from happening.
"I didn't know what I was going to do. I had no plan," he told the court. But he testified that if Amara moved that part of the plot forward, "I was going to sabotage it somehow."
Abdelhaleem, 34, said he also encouraged the group to make smaller bombs to "reduce" the explosive impact.
"I was not taking an initiative to blow something up," he told the judge, noting he was determined to get the address of the terrorist group's chemical storehouse so "if I were to intervene, I'd know where the store was."
One idea Abdelhaleem says he considered was putting a humidifier inthe storehouse to destroy the bomb chemicals, which were supposed to be kept free of moisture, once they arrived.
Abdelhaleem, who referred to himself as a "middleman" between Amara and undercover police agent Shaher Elsohemy, told the court he volunteered to play that role because he believed he was doing nothing to advance the plot and thus doing nothing wrong, "so if I'm seen with Amara, that would be OK."
It was also a way to protect Mr. Elsohemy-- whom he considered a friend at the time -- and to gain information about the chemical storehouse, Abdelhaleem testified.
An adamant and animated Abdelhaleem, speaking in a quick burst, told the judge he wanted to "highlight and bold" that point.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
TORONTO 18 BOMB PLOT : DEFUSION VS CONFUSION
FROM: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/757193--accused-in-toronto-18-planned-to-derail-bomb-plot-court-hears
Shareef Abdelhaleem testified Thursday morning that he purposely positioned himself as the middleman of a potentially deadly terrorist plot because he wanted to learn key details about it in case he decided to sabotage it.
The member of the so-called Toronto 18 said he was as an “outsider”, and not part of the ‘bombing club,’ which he said was made up of mastermind Zakaria Amara and undercover police agent Shaher Elsohemy, who was to supply bomb making material.
The 34-year-old told the Brampton court that he did not agree with Amara’s plan to put metal chips in bombs, so as to maximize casualties, which is why he considered sabotaging the plan.
“Amara wanted to do some outrageous things, put nails and shards and everything else, I was the one who told him not to,” said Abdelhaleem.
“I don’t know what I was going to do, I had no plan… If I heard any of that stupidness about putting shards…. I was going to sabotage it somehow.”
But in order to sabotage the plans, Abdelhaleem said, he needed intimate details about it. That’s why, he explained, he wanted to be present at meetings between Amara and Elsohemy, so he could learn details such as the address of the warehouse where the ammonium nitrate fertilizer was to be delivered.
“I just knew at that point, if I had the address I’d be at an advantage,” Abdelhaleem told the court, arguing he was entrapped by his friend turned police agent. “If I were to intervene, I'd know where the store was.”
The Mississauga man said he even made suggestions about how to store the fertilizer, such as removing it from its original packages and transferring it into garbage bags, placing the bags inside cardboard boxes and stacking them high.
But again, he said that was in the event he decided to derail the bomb plot, perhaps by running a humidifier in the warehouse, which would ruin the fertilizer, making it useless for explosives.
Abdehaleem also testified that he never asked his father for a fatwa, or religious ruling, to justify blowing up buildings in downtown Toronto.
In earlier proceedings, Elsohemy testified that Abdelhaleem had said his father had told him it was Islamically acceptable to launch a terror attack in Canada.
But Abdelhaleem testified that he told Elsohemy, on two occasions, that his father never issued a fatwa, saying he knew his father was against terrorism.
One week ago, Abdelhaleem was found guilty of participating in a 2006 explosives plot to bomb the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Toronto offices of Canada’s spy agency and a military base off Highway 401.
Before a conviction is registered, the judge must rule on whether Abdelhaleem was entrapped.
Abdelhaleem was among 18 people charged in the summer of 2006 with belonging to a cell that organized terrorist training camps and planned to blow up buildings with three tones of ammonium nitrate.
Last week, Amara was sentenced to life in prison.
The hearing continues.
Shareef Abdelhaleem testified Thursday morning that he purposely positioned himself as the middleman of a potentially deadly terrorist plot because he wanted to learn key details about it in case he decided to sabotage it.
The member of the so-called Toronto 18 said he was as an “outsider”, and not part of the ‘bombing club,’ which he said was made up of mastermind Zakaria Amara and undercover police agent Shaher Elsohemy, who was to supply bomb making material.
The 34-year-old told the Brampton court that he did not agree with Amara’s plan to put metal chips in bombs, so as to maximize casualties, which is why he considered sabotaging the plan.
“Amara wanted to do some outrageous things, put nails and shards and everything else, I was the one who told him not to,” said Abdelhaleem.
“I don’t know what I was going to do, I had no plan… If I heard any of that stupidness about putting shards…. I was going to sabotage it somehow.”
But in order to sabotage the plans, Abdelhaleem said, he needed intimate details about it. That’s why, he explained, he wanted to be present at meetings between Amara and Elsohemy, so he could learn details such as the address of the warehouse where the ammonium nitrate fertilizer was to be delivered.
“I just knew at that point, if I had the address I’d be at an advantage,” Abdelhaleem told the court, arguing he was entrapped by his friend turned police agent. “If I were to intervene, I'd know where the store was.”
The Mississauga man said he even made suggestions about how to store the fertilizer, such as removing it from its original packages and transferring it into garbage bags, placing the bags inside cardboard boxes and stacking them high.
But again, he said that was in the event he decided to derail the bomb plot, perhaps by running a humidifier in the warehouse, which would ruin the fertilizer, making it useless for explosives.
Abdehaleem also testified that he never asked his father for a fatwa, or religious ruling, to justify blowing up buildings in downtown Toronto.
In earlier proceedings, Elsohemy testified that Abdelhaleem had said his father had told him it was Islamically acceptable to launch a terror attack in Canada.
But Abdelhaleem testified that he told Elsohemy, on two occasions, that his father never issued a fatwa, saying he knew his father was against terrorism.
One week ago, Abdelhaleem was found guilty of participating in a 2006 explosives plot to bomb the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Toronto offices of Canada’s spy agency and a military base off Highway 401.
Before a conviction is registered, the judge must rule on whether Abdelhaleem was entrapped.
Abdelhaleem was among 18 people charged in the summer of 2006 with belonging to a cell that organized terrorist training camps and planned to blow up buildings with three tones of ammonium nitrate.
Last week, Amara was sentenced to life in prison.
The hearing continues.
TORONTO 18 BOMB PLOT : COCAINE VS AMMONIUM NITRATE
FROM: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/756935--walkom-no-saint-but-no-hardliner-either?bn=1
By his own admission, Toronto 18 terrorist Shareef Abdelhaleem is a cokehead and a wastrel.
The last time he paid income tax (which, as far as he can remember was about seven years ago), the 34-year-old Mississauga man earned $357,000 doing freelance computer work. But, he told a Brampton court Wednesday, he spent most of that on the luxuries of life – "drinking, drugs, women."
As a teenager, he was kicked out of his home several times. He spent four years in a University of Toronto computer science program but never graduated.
Oh yes. And, as he acknowledged in court, he took part in plans to blow up buildings in downtown Toronto – all of which earned him a guilty verdict last week in this judge-only trial.
Abdelhaleem is the first of the so-called Toronto 18 terror group to testify in court. The picture he presents of himself (which jibes with the one given last week by the Crown's chief witness against him) is anything but black and white.
He is certainly no hard-eyed Islamist ideologue. Some of the 9/11 bombers were said to have adopted Western vices as a guise. Not Abdelhaleem. His vices were genuine. Well before he became involved in the bomb plot, he said, he was a druggie. On the days leading up to a serious 2006 heart operation, he continued to take cocaine even though he feared this might cause surgical complications.
After his operation and while the bomb plot was being prepared, he said, he would go on regular cocaine binges, speeding along for a few days until he crashed from exhaustion. Then he would start all over again.
He popped prescription painkillers until his doctor cut him off. The high they gave him, he told the judge, "was pretty good."
But at the same time, he was hardly an innocent. He knew about convicted bomb plot mastermind Zakaria Amara's plans to wreak havoc but didn't tell the police. "I'm not a rat. Period." he explained.
Nor did he think Amara was just playing games. As he told the court, he assumed the worst – that Amara would go through with his plans and that many would die.
In what might seem a bizarre twist of logic, he said he tried to convince Amara and fellow plotter Shaher Elsohemy (who, in the end, turned out to be an RCMP mole) to set off smaller 100-kilogram bombs rather than the one-tonne versions they were contemplating.
The reason, he told court, was that this would allow Amara to "get it out of his system" without doing too much damage.
The entrapment hearing taking place this week is to determine whether the RCMP, through its agent Elsohemy, encouraged Abdelhaleem to commit a crime.
The court has already heard that after Elsohemy became involved, the RCMP decided to move their counter-terror operations into high gear by providing the plotters not only with apparent bomb-making materials but with a place to store them. The Mounties also directed their mole to pressure the plotters into acting quickly.
On Wednesday, Abdelhaleem testified that the mole asked him to rent a house that could be used to make bombs. The defendant said he pretended to go along with the idea but had no intention of following through. As he explained, he didn't want to have his signature on a rental form for a bomb factory – he wasn't that stupid.
However, the main defence he articulated was that – except perhaps for his failure to notify police – he didn't think he was doing anything illegal. Referring to his role as the intermediary between the plot leader and the mole, he called himself a mailman ... strictly there passing messages ...
In Abdelhaleem's mind, as long as he confined himself to this middleman job, he'd be on the right side of the law. "I wasn't doing anything," he told the court. "I didn't think mere words were a crime."
By his own admission, Toronto 18 terrorist Shareef Abdelhaleem is a cokehead and a wastrel.
The last time he paid income tax (which, as far as he can remember was about seven years ago), the 34-year-old Mississauga man earned $357,000 doing freelance computer work. But, he told a Brampton court Wednesday, he spent most of that on the luxuries of life – "drinking, drugs, women."
As a teenager, he was kicked out of his home several times. He spent four years in a University of Toronto computer science program but never graduated.
Oh yes. And, as he acknowledged in court, he took part in plans to blow up buildings in downtown Toronto – all of which earned him a guilty verdict last week in this judge-only trial.
Abdelhaleem is the first of the so-called Toronto 18 terror group to testify in court. The picture he presents of himself (which jibes with the one given last week by the Crown's chief witness against him) is anything but black and white.
He is certainly no hard-eyed Islamist ideologue. Some of the 9/11 bombers were said to have adopted Western vices as a guise. Not Abdelhaleem. His vices were genuine. Well before he became involved in the bomb plot, he said, he was a druggie. On the days leading up to a serious 2006 heart operation, he continued to take cocaine even though he feared this might cause surgical complications.
After his operation and while the bomb plot was being prepared, he said, he would go on regular cocaine binges, speeding along for a few days until he crashed from exhaustion. Then he would start all over again.
He popped prescription painkillers until his doctor cut him off. The high they gave him, he told the judge, "was pretty good."
But at the same time, he was hardly an innocent. He knew about convicted bomb plot mastermind Zakaria Amara's plans to wreak havoc but didn't tell the police. "I'm not a rat. Period." he explained.
Nor did he think Amara was just playing games. As he told the court, he assumed the worst – that Amara would go through with his plans and that many would die.
In what might seem a bizarre twist of logic, he said he tried to convince Amara and fellow plotter Shaher Elsohemy (who, in the end, turned out to be an RCMP mole) to set off smaller 100-kilogram bombs rather than the one-tonne versions they were contemplating.
The reason, he told court, was that this would allow Amara to "get it out of his system" without doing too much damage.
The entrapment hearing taking place this week is to determine whether the RCMP, through its agent Elsohemy, encouraged Abdelhaleem to commit a crime.
The court has already heard that after Elsohemy became involved, the RCMP decided to move their counter-terror operations into high gear by providing the plotters not only with apparent bomb-making materials but with a place to store them. The Mounties also directed their mole to pressure the plotters into acting quickly.
On Wednesday, Abdelhaleem testified that the mole asked him to rent a house that could be used to make bombs. The defendant said he pretended to go along with the idea but had no intention of following through. As he explained, he didn't want to have his signature on a rental form for a bomb factory – he wasn't that stupid.
However, the main defence he articulated was that – except perhaps for his failure to notify police – he didn't think he was doing anything illegal. Referring to his role as the intermediary between the plot leader and the mole, he called himself a mailman ... strictly there passing messages ...
In Abdelhaleem's mind, as long as he confined himself to this middleman job, he'd be on the right side of the law. "I wasn't doing anything," he told the court. "I didn't think mere words were a crime."
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
TORONTO 18 BOMB PLOT : THE COPS MADE ME DO IT
FROM: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/756727--bomb-plotter-blames-police-in-toronto-18-case?bn=1
Toronto 18 bomb plotter Shareef Abdelhaleem testified in a Brampton court Wednesday that he was originally opposed to the explosives plot because he was against terrorism, but that an undercover police agent “was very excited” about the prospect and of making money from such an attack.
The 34-year-old, who is arguing he was entrapped by friend turned informant Shaher Elsohemy, said that when details of the bomb plot were laid out for them by Zakaria Amara, he was opposed to it.
“I reiterated basically why I think Zak was wrong and everything else, this and that. That was my part. Elsohemy seemed to be for it. He was very excited,” recalled Abdelhaleem about a discussion the trio had in early April 2006.
“He was excited in two ways: doing something meaningful, I guess, doing something for God, and the prospect that he wouldn’t have to drive a s---ty car anymore. ... We were talking about making money off the stock market, he was very excited about that.”
Abdelhaleem, who took the stand for the first time in open court, said he raised the issue of making money from a terrorist attack, pointing out to Elsohemy that some people made money after 9/11 but that the discussion “was quickly dismissed.”
He also admitted that he sought advice about how to play the stock market and hide money in an offshore account, but the idea “died out.”
Abdelhaleem told the court that he had talked about going for jihad in Afghanistan and wanted to receive in training in Pakistan. But he dismissed it as idle chatter and as something that many Muslims talk about.
He went on to explain that there is a distinction between jihad and terrorism.
“A jihadist has a certain rules of engagement with whoever he’s performing jihad against. Terrorism is a guy who is blind to all these rules, a guy who is pissed off and wiling to do anything. It’s not right.”
To this day, Abdelhaleem maintains he is against acts of terrorism, and said although prosecutors will have a “hard time” believing him, “you can’t do that, you just can’t do that.”
Throughout his testimony, the Mississauga man appeared restless, often touching his face and rubbing his beard. At points his voice grew louder and at other points he trailed off into inaudible mumbles.
Last week, Abdelhaleem was found guilty of participating in a 2006 explosives plot to bomb targets such as the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Toronto offices of Canada’s spy agency and a military base off Highway 401.
The verdict came days after Amara was sentenced to life for his role in the plot, which included building a remote controlled detonator and purchasing three tonnes of ammonium nitrate destined for truck bombs.
This week, defence lawyer William Naylor launched an entrapment hearing to determine whether police conduct in Abdelhaleem’s case constituted an abuse of process.
Abdelhaleem was among 18 people charged in the summer of 2006 with belonging to a homegrown terror cell, which organized terrorist training camps and planned to blow up buildings.
At the time of his arrest, court was told, he was a successful software developer whose last tax filings, in 2003 or 2004, showed an annual income of $375,000.
The money, said Abdelhaleem, was spent on “trips, clothes, everything else you know, drinking, drugs, women.”
Before his arrest, there had also been efforts to arrange a marriage between Abdelhaleem and one of the daughters of the infamous Khadr clan, known as Canada’s al Qaeda family.
“I called it off right away. ... I just wanted to stay out of trouble,” said Abdelhaleem, adding, “They’re very nice people from what I hear.”
The hearing is expected to last the week.
Toronto 18 bomb plotter Shareef Abdelhaleem testified in a Brampton court Wednesday that he was originally opposed to the explosives plot because he was against terrorism, but that an undercover police agent “was very excited” about the prospect and of making money from such an attack.
The 34-year-old, who is arguing he was entrapped by friend turned informant Shaher Elsohemy, said that when details of the bomb plot were laid out for them by Zakaria Amara, he was opposed to it.
“I reiterated basically why I think Zak was wrong and everything else, this and that. That was my part. Elsohemy seemed to be for it. He was very excited,” recalled Abdelhaleem about a discussion the trio had in early April 2006.
“He was excited in two ways: doing something meaningful, I guess, doing something for God, and the prospect that he wouldn’t have to drive a s---ty car anymore. ... We were talking about making money off the stock market, he was very excited about that.”
Abdelhaleem, who took the stand for the first time in open court, said he raised the issue of making money from a terrorist attack, pointing out to Elsohemy that some people made money after 9/11 but that the discussion “was quickly dismissed.”
He also admitted that he sought advice about how to play the stock market and hide money in an offshore account, but the idea “died out.”
Abdelhaleem told the court that he had talked about going for jihad in Afghanistan and wanted to receive in training in Pakistan. But he dismissed it as idle chatter and as something that many Muslims talk about.
He went on to explain that there is a distinction between jihad and terrorism.
“A jihadist has a certain rules of engagement with whoever he’s performing jihad against. Terrorism is a guy who is blind to all these rules, a guy who is pissed off and wiling to do anything. It’s not right.”
To this day, Abdelhaleem maintains he is against acts of terrorism, and said although prosecutors will have a “hard time” believing him, “you can’t do that, you just can’t do that.”
Throughout his testimony, the Mississauga man appeared restless, often touching his face and rubbing his beard. At points his voice grew louder and at other points he trailed off into inaudible mumbles.
Last week, Abdelhaleem was found guilty of participating in a 2006 explosives plot to bomb targets such as the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Toronto offices of Canada’s spy agency and a military base off Highway 401.
The verdict came days after Amara was sentenced to life for his role in the plot, which included building a remote controlled detonator and purchasing three tonnes of ammonium nitrate destined for truck bombs.
This week, defence lawyer William Naylor launched an entrapment hearing to determine whether police conduct in Abdelhaleem’s case constituted an abuse of process.
Abdelhaleem was among 18 people charged in the summer of 2006 with belonging to a homegrown terror cell, which organized terrorist training camps and planned to blow up buildings.
At the time of his arrest, court was told, he was a successful software developer whose last tax filings, in 2003 or 2004, showed an annual income of $375,000.
The money, said Abdelhaleem, was spent on “trips, clothes, everything else you know, drinking, drugs, women.”
Before his arrest, there had also been efforts to arrange a marriage between Abdelhaleem and one of the daughters of the infamous Khadr clan, known as Canada’s al Qaeda family.
“I called it off right away. ... I just wanted to stay out of trouble,” said Abdelhaleem, adding, “They’re very nice people from what I hear.”
The hearing is expected to last the week.
Monday, January 25, 2010
CSIS QUESTIONED AGENT #2'S MOTIVATION - TORONTO 18
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100125/national/terror_trial
BRAMPTON, Ont. - A police agent who testified against a former friend found guilty of terrorism offences may have had motivations other than his principles, court heard Monday.
Shaher Elsohemy was the only witness in the first part of the trial of Shareef Abdelhaleem, who was found guilty last week of plotting to bomb financial, intelligence and military targets as part of the Toronto 18 terrorist group.
Though Abdelhaleem was found guilty he was not convicted, as the defence has brought forward a motion seeking to stay the case on the basis of entrapment. Court began hearing evidence in the entrapment motion Monday as defence lawyer William Naylor questioned Elsohemy's handler at CSIS.
Elsohemy had been in contact with CSIS for several months about Abdelhaleem before becoming an RCMP agent given a compensation package worth up to nearly $4 million.
Elsohemy's CSIS contact had written in a report that something more than just principles was behind Elsohemy giving information about Abdelhaleem to Canada's spy agency, court heard.
"(Elsohemy) does not forget an enemy easily," the CSIS contact wrote in his report.
"It appears that he does not brush old contacts or unresolved disputes under the carpet," the contact testified in court after Naylor asked for elaboration.
Elsohemy has testified that in exposing the plans of the failed terror attack he wasn't motivated by the money, but by a desire to be a moral, responsible Canadian citizen.
Court has previously heard Elsohemy and Abdelhaleem were friends until Abdelhaleem went to police after he suspected Elsohemy's brother of shattering the windshield of his BMW.
Elsohemy testified two weeks ago that Abdelhaleem was "aggressive" about the matter and that Elsohemy ended the friendship because Abdelhaleem was making increasing threats about the situation.
The contact's reports also suggested CSIS was interested in Elsohemy's friendship with Abdelhaleem because Abdelhaleem was close with Zakaria Amara, who was sentenced to life last week in the plot to bomb the CSIS building in Toronto, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base.
They began talking again after Abdelhaleem sent Elsohemy an instant message saying he was thinking about going "back home" - Abdelhaleem was born in Egypt - to do his "ultimate duty."
Shortly thereafter was when Elsohemy began talking to CSIS.
Court also heard that Elsohemy reported to the CSIS contact that Abdelhaleem refused to store explosives at his house and that he was at first opposed to bombing the Parliament buildings, saying he feared it "would do more harm than good for Muslims."
Elsohemy testified earlier that Abdelhaleem objected to the plot when it was revealed to them by Amara, but that Abdelhaleem became excited at the prospect of profiting from an attack on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The CSIS contact's report from March 23, 2006 quotes Elsohemy as saying he thought Abdelhaleem was "too addicted to creature comforts" to suffer or die for a cause, as he interpreted Abdelhaleem's "ultimate duty" comment to mean.
Naylor spent much time discussing a reference in the contact's notes that Elsohemy had fabricated a claim of mental distress against Air Canada, where he was on disability leave from as a flight attendant, and that he hoped to get a big disability payout.
When asked about the veracity of this statement, the contact replied that it wasn't important to him for security purposes, so he wouldn't have put much emphasis on the precise details of that situation in his report.
Abdelhaleem and 17 others were charged in June 2006 with terrorism offences. A youth was previously found guilty, five men have pleaded guilty, seven have had their charges dropped or stayed and four others are set to go on trial in March.
BRAMPTON, Ont. - A police agent who testified against a former friend found guilty of terrorism offences may have had motivations other than his principles, court heard Monday.
Shaher Elsohemy was the only witness in the first part of the trial of Shareef Abdelhaleem, who was found guilty last week of plotting to bomb financial, intelligence and military targets as part of the Toronto 18 terrorist group.
Though Abdelhaleem was found guilty he was not convicted, as the defence has brought forward a motion seeking to stay the case on the basis of entrapment. Court began hearing evidence in the entrapment motion Monday as defence lawyer William Naylor questioned Elsohemy's handler at CSIS.
Elsohemy had been in contact with CSIS for several months about Abdelhaleem before becoming an RCMP agent given a compensation package worth up to nearly $4 million.
Elsohemy's CSIS contact had written in a report that something more than just principles was behind Elsohemy giving information about Abdelhaleem to Canada's spy agency, court heard.
"(Elsohemy) does not forget an enemy easily," the CSIS contact wrote in his report.
"It appears that he does not brush old contacts or unresolved disputes under the carpet," the contact testified in court after Naylor asked for elaboration.
Elsohemy has testified that in exposing the plans of the failed terror attack he wasn't motivated by the money, but by a desire to be a moral, responsible Canadian citizen.
Court has previously heard Elsohemy and Abdelhaleem were friends until Abdelhaleem went to police after he suspected Elsohemy's brother of shattering the windshield of his BMW.
Elsohemy testified two weeks ago that Abdelhaleem was "aggressive" about the matter and that Elsohemy ended the friendship because Abdelhaleem was making increasing threats about the situation.
The contact's reports also suggested CSIS was interested in Elsohemy's friendship with Abdelhaleem because Abdelhaleem was close with Zakaria Amara, who was sentenced to life last week in the plot to bomb the CSIS building in Toronto, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base.
They began talking again after Abdelhaleem sent Elsohemy an instant message saying he was thinking about going "back home" - Abdelhaleem was born in Egypt - to do his "ultimate duty."
Shortly thereafter was when Elsohemy began talking to CSIS.
Court also heard that Elsohemy reported to the CSIS contact that Abdelhaleem refused to store explosives at his house and that he was at first opposed to bombing the Parliament buildings, saying he feared it "would do more harm than good for Muslims."
Elsohemy testified earlier that Abdelhaleem objected to the plot when it was revealed to them by Amara, but that Abdelhaleem became excited at the prospect of profiting from an attack on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The CSIS contact's report from March 23, 2006 quotes Elsohemy as saying he thought Abdelhaleem was "too addicted to creature comforts" to suffer or die for a cause, as he interpreted Abdelhaleem's "ultimate duty" comment to mean.
Naylor spent much time discussing a reference in the contact's notes that Elsohemy had fabricated a claim of mental distress against Air Canada, where he was on disability leave from as a flight attendant, and that he hoped to get a big disability payout.
When asked about the veracity of this statement, the contact replied that it wasn't important to him for security purposes, so he wouldn't have put much emphasis on the precise details of that situation in his report.
Abdelhaleem and 17 others were charged in June 2006 with terrorism offences. A youth was previously found guilty, five men have pleaded guilty, seven have had their charges dropped or stayed and four others are set to go on trial in March.
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