*** The Conservative government is not interested in helping to provide a counter narrative and frankly, that makes us less safe. This should not be a partisan issue driven by political ideology but a Canadian issue driven by common sense. MS ***
FROM: http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/809560--decentralized-jihad-a-moving-target-in-wake-of-terror-attempts
When a young African man was caught trying to blow up an airliner last December with underwear-borne explosives, the official response was swift, far-reaching and not altogether coherent.
Knee-jerk airport security measures forced Toronto passengers to rub their hands in their pockets, then extend palms up for an explosives test before boarding.
Washington probed why Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab did not appear on no-fly lists when his own father had alerted authorities.
And focus turned sharply to Yemen, where the suspect allegedly trained.
Soon after, the Obama administration authorized the first sanctioned killing of an American citizen hiding there — online radical orator Anwar al-Awlaki.
Reaction to this month’s failed bombing attempt in New York’s Times Square has been more nuanced — but may pose more troubling questions.
Pakistan, where suspect Faisal Shahzad allegedly received rudimentary explosives training, was already at the centre of Washington’s counter-terrorism efforts and a vital partner in the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The U.S. administration has sent mixed messages — first criticizing and then praising Pakistan’s ability to root out what Obama called Wednesday the “cancer in their midst.”
It is still uncertain what ties Shahzad to the Pakistani wing of the Taliban, the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), but on Tuesday, U.S. drones rained down on the group’s stronghold in North Waziristan, killing 14.
More troubling is that Shahzad himself was unremarkable in many ways — no obvious warnings were missed.
U.S. Gen. David Petraeus suggested last weekend that Shahzad was a “lone wolf” with questionable ties to Pakistan.
The lone wolf scenario is what worries intelligence agencies, because individuals are difficult to detect. Another concern is the prevalence of what have been dubbed “homegrown groups,” such as the so-called case of the Toronto 18 who plotted to bomb Canadian targets in 2006.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director Richard Fadden told Parliament this week that the spy service is tracking more than 200 Canadians for possible terrorist links.
“They are usually second- or third-generation Canadians who are in some ways relatively well-integrated into Canada, economically and socially,” Fadden said.
But the problem with Shahzad’s case is that he doesn’t neatly fit into one category, and looking for clues to combat future threats provides scant material.
Born into privilege in Pakistan, he came to the U.S. a decade ago and attended school both in Washington and Connecticut. Married, with two kids, he liked Red Lobster and Wal-Mart, was on Facebook, and had financial problems.
He does not appear to be tied to any one mosque or extremist imam, which has sometimes been a factor in past cases. Reports say he was inspired by Awlaki’s online lectures, but that there was no direct contact.
His travels to Pakistan may prove important if reports that he had direct support, training and financing from Pakistan’s Taliban are true. This would counter Petraeus’s description of Shahzad as the lone wolf — akin to Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. army major who killed 13 in a November shooting rampage at his Fort Hood base.
But even if ties to Pakistan become an important part of the equation, they cannot be the sole focus, argues Sahebzada Khan, Toronto’s Consul General of Pakistan in Toronto.
“We will not be forced to accept collective guilt,” Khan said in an interview this week.
“Whether he was a lone wolf or linked to some Taliban organization, this was the work of a twisted mind, motivated by the Al Qaeda narrative.”
A belief in that narrative — that the West has launched a war on Islam — may be the only commonality among Shahzad and other terrorism suspects.
And combating that belief cannot be accomplished with drone attacks or making people take off their shoes at the airport. In fact, security experts fear that misguided drone attacks that kill civilians and the profiling of innocent Muslims only feed the narrative.
Since 9/11, analysts have tried to compile the portrait of a local terrorist or, at the very least, detect a pattern among those who target the West in the name of Al Qaeda or its affiliates.
Al Qaeda before 9/11 was in many ways easier to define and track. The organization was based in Afghanistan, and it had a hierarchy, structure and members who pledged allegiance, or declared a bayat, to leader Osama bin Laden.
Today, what’s left of bin Laden’s group is commonly referred to as Al Qaeda Central. Al Qaeda’s ideology, however, has spread to local groups in Yemen, Somalia, North Africa, Iraq and Pakistan, who have expanded their regional wars to adopt bin Laden’s global fight.
In the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and other Western nations, there’s a counterculture protest movement in which, for lack of a better term, jihad becomes cool and Internet chat groups provide fuel for the fire.
Marc Sageman, a forensic psychiatrist and former CIA case officer in Pakistan in the late 1980s, during the Soviet’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, coined this movement the “blob.”
The author of Leaderless Jihad argues that members come and go and make loose connections, united by the perception that Muslims are being persecuted.
“This is a legal set of activities in a liberal democracy — words are protected by freedom of expression,” Sageman said in an interview this week.
“What keeps it alive usually is government action.”
But when the “blob” is discounted as ineffective and members turn to violence, then comes the dangerous transformation from protestor to terrorist, says Sageman.
Mubin Shaikh, an RCMP police agent who testified as one of the government’s star witnesses against the ring leaders of the Toronto 18 group, says he often hears Muslim youths rage against a war on Islam.
Shaikh knew one of the young Toronto men who travelled to Somalia to fight for the local Al Qaeda-affiliated group and was reportedly killed. He said he was not surprised when a video surfaced that praised Mohammed Elmi Ibrahim, known as “Canlish,” as a martyr and encouraged others to “follow his footsteps.”
“There’s a confluence of factors in these cases,” said Shaikh. “But the feeling that Islam is under attack is how they justify their actions.
“You need to have a counter-narrative.”
Showing posts with label paid RCMP agent toronto 18. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paid RCMP agent toronto 18. Show all posts
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
TORONTO 18 - VICTORY FOR CROWN AND MOLES
FROM: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/766501--victory-for-crown-and-moles
Federal prosecutors have scored their biggest win to date in the so-called Toronto 18 terror case. On Tuesday, a Brampton judge ruled that an RCMP mole paid $4 million for his part in unravelling a plot to blow up buildings in downtown Toronto was not an agent provocateur.
With that ruling, 34-year-old Shareef Abdelhaleem, who had already been found guilty of taking part in the bomb plot, was formally convicted of terrorism.
The question of the role played by police moles has hung over this affair since June 2006, when 18 Muslim Canadian men and boys were swept up and charged under Canada's new anti-terror laws.
At the time, there was considerable suspicion, particularly within parts of the Muslim community, that RCMP mole and former Air Canada flight attendant Shaher Elsohemy had induced some of the accused into committing criminal acts they otherwise would not have contemplated.
These suspicions were fuelled by the fact that the Mounties agreed to pay Elsohemy and some members of his family up to $4 million so they could relocate under the witness protection program.
As the judge noted Tuesday at the end of a three-week hearing into whether Abdelhaleem had indeed been entrapped by police, the mole originally asked for $15 million.
All of this was going on in 2006, at a time when some in the U.S. were accusing Canada of being soft on terrorists. It was also a time when the threat of stricter border controls threatened to derail a Canadian economy dependent on trading goods back and forth across the international frontier.
In that context, the high-profile arrests of the 18 seemed unusually convenient.
Over time, the case swung back and forth. When the Crown abruptly cancelled a preliminary hearing and, in effect, dropped all charges against seven of the 18, the case appeared to wobble.
It recovered somewhat when, in the only other trial to date, a judge found one young man guilty of terrorism. But that finding was mitigated when the trial judge immediately released the man, saying his time in pre-trial custody was sufficient.
Last year, the government's credibility received a major boost when three of the four charged in the Toronto bomb plot pleaded guilty.
That left it to Abdelhaleem, the fourth accused bomb plotter, to take on the mole at trial.
As the judge said Tuesday in his 42-page ruling, the defendant did not do very well.
In testimony marked by confusion, Abdelhaleem argued that he had inserted himself into the plot partly to protect his old friend Elsohemy and partly so he could sabotage the scheme it if it went too far.
The judge said he found those arguments "nonsensical ... inconsistent with common sense ... without the force of any real logic."
Curiously, Abdelhaleem – who took over his own defence at one point – never tried to argue during his testimony that the mole had entrapped him, which was the point of the entire hearing.
That failure, as well as his rambling style on the stand (the judge called him "the antithesis of an impressive witness") virtually guaranteed a victory for the Crown.
Which is what occurred Tuesday. Federal prosecutors were so pleased that they broke their self-imposed silence to talk to the media.
"The public should be very happy about what happened today," lead prosecutor Croft Michaelson told reporters outside the Brampton courthouse. "Truth and justice won out."
Federal prosecutors have scored their biggest win to date in the so-called Toronto 18 terror case. On Tuesday, a Brampton judge ruled that an RCMP mole paid $4 million for his part in unravelling a plot to blow up buildings in downtown Toronto was not an agent provocateur.
With that ruling, 34-year-old Shareef Abdelhaleem, who had already been found guilty of taking part in the bomb plot, was formally convicted of terrorism.
The question of the role played by police moles has hung over this affair since June 2006, when 18 Muslim Canadian men and boys were swept up and charged under Canada's new anti-terror laws.
At the time, there was considerable suspicion, particularly within parts of the Muslim community, that RCMP mole and former Air Canada flight attendant Shaher Elsohemy had induced some of the accused into committing criminal acts they otherwise would not have contemplated.
These suspicions were fuelled by the fact that the Mounties agreed to pay Elsohemy and some members of his family up to $4 million so they could relocate under the witness protection program.
As the judge noted Tuesday at the end of a three-week hearing into whether Abdelhaleem had indeed been entrapped by police, the mole originally asked for $15 million.
All of this was going on in 2006, at a time when some in the U.S. were accusing Canada of being soft on terrorists. It was also a time when the threat of stricter border controls threatened to derail a Canadian economy dependent on trading goods back and forth across the international frontier.
In that context, the high-profile arrests of the 18 seemed unusually convenient.
Over time, the case swung back and forth. When the Crown abruptly cancelled a preliminary hearing and, in effect, dropped all charges against seven of the 18, the case appeared to wobble.
It recovered somewhat when, in the only other trial to date, a judge found one young man guilty of terrorism. But that finding was mitigated when the trial judge immediately released the man, saying his time in pre-trial custody was sufficient.
Last year, the government's credibility received a major boost when three of the four charged in the Toronto bomb plot pleaded guilty.
That left it to Abdelhaleem, the fourth accused bomb plotter, to take on the mole at trial.
As the judge said Tuesday in his 42-page ruling, the defendant did not do very well.
In testimony marked by confusion, Abdelhaleem argued that he had inserted himself into the plot partly to protect his old friend Elsohemy and partly so he could sabotage the scheme it if it went too far.
The judge said he found those arguments "nonsensical ... inconsistent with common sense ... without the force of any real logic."
Curiously, Abdelhaleem – who took over his own defence at one point – never tried to argue during his testimony that the mole had entrapped him, which was the point of the entire hearing.
That failure, as well as his rambling style on the stand (the judge called him "the antithesis of an impressive witness") virtually guaranteed a victory for the Crown.
Which is what occurred Tuesday. Federal prosecutors were so pleased that they broke their self-imposed silence to talk to the media.
"The public should be very happy about what happened today," lead prosecutor Croft Michaelson told reporters outside the Brampton courthouse. "Truth and justice won out."
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
TORONTO 18 BOMB PLOT : ENTRAPMENT HEARINGS
FROM: http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100126/tor18_trial_100126/20100126/?hub=TorontoNewHome
TORONTO — Toronto 18 member found guilty in plot to bomb Canadian targets was used by police as a conduit to reach one of the homegrown terror group's leaders, his lawyer suggested Tuesday.
Shareef Abdelhaleem was often "just a body sitting there" during meetings with ringleader Zakaria Amara and a RCMP agent, said lawyer William Naylor, who has brought a motion to stay the case, arguing his client was entrapped.
Abdelhaleem was more or less a "pathway to find out what Amara was doing," Naylor told the court while cross-examining a RCMP officer who handled the police informant.
The informant, Shaher Elsohemy, was a former friend of Abdelhaleem, and Naylor suggested Elsohemy was instructed to get Abdelhaleem and Amara to meet to try to get information about the plot.
"I guess you felt because of their friendship that he'd tell everything he knew to Elsohemy," Naylor said.
The RCMP officer testified that Abdelhaleem discussed the plot at length with Amara and was privy to many of its details, and that was the reason Elsohemy was sent to him.
"Your client was the point of contact and he was involved in the conspiracy," the officer said.
Abdelhaleem was found guilty last week of plotting to bomb financial, intelligence and military targets, but the judge did not enter a conviction pending the outcome of the entrapment motion.
On Tuesday, Naylor questioned why Elsohemy was often instructed to contact Abdelhaleem and not simply asked to speak with Amara directly. He also suggested his client was only included in a plan to acquire and deliver the chemicals needed to make bombs because of Elsohemy's involvement in what was essentially, he said, a police-engineered situation.
"Abdelhaleem wasn't looking for any chemicals before he came in contact with Elsohemy," Naylor said.
But the officer repeatedly shot down his suggestions, insisting Abdelhaleem was a clear participant in the plot.
The RCMP-controlled delivery of the chemicals, the officer said, was "just one final investigative step."
Abdelhaleem and 17 others were arrested and charged with terrorism offences in 2006 and came to be known as the Toronto 18. The group plotted to detonate three one-tonne truck bombs at the Toronto offices of CSIS, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an unspecified Ontario military base.
Court began hearing evidence on the entrapment motion Monday with testimony from Elsohemy's handler at CSIS. Elsohemy had been in contact with CSIS for several months about Abdelhaleem as well as Amara -- who was sentenced to life in the plot -- before becoming an RCMP agent given a compensation package worth up to nearly $4 million.
The CSIS contact testified that Elsohemy's decision to give information about Abdelhaleem to the spy agency was in part motivated by the desire to do "exciting and meaningful work," but noted he also had a fractured relationship with Abdelhaleem.
The court has also heard that Abdelhaleem initially balked at the plan after hearing Amara lay it out, saying it was not correct under Islam. But he became excited at the prospect of profiting from an attack on the stock exchange and also sought the advice of his father, Tariq Abdelhaleem.
His father issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, that such action would be acceptable, placating Abdelhaleem's moral objections, Elsohemy testified.
TORONTO — Toronto 18 member found guilty in plot to bomb Canadian targets was used by police as a conduit to reach one of the homegrown terror group's leaders, his lawyer suggested Tuesday.
Shareef Abdelhaleem was often "just a body sitting there" during meetings with ringleader Zakaria Amara and a RCMP agent, said lawyer William Naylor, who has brought a motion to stay the case, arguing his client was entrapped.
Abdelhaleem was more or less a "pathway to find out what Amara was doing," Naylor told the court while cross-examining a RCMP officer who handled the police informant.
The informant, Shaher Elsohemy, was a former friend of Abdelhaleem, and Naylor suggested Elsohemy was instructed to get Abdelhaleem and Amara to meet to try to get information about the plot.
"I guess you felt because of their friendship that he'd tell everything he knew to Elsohemy," Naylor said.
The RCMP officer testified that Abdelhaleem discussed the plot at length with Amara and was privy to many of its details, and that was the reason Elsohemy was sent to him.
"Your client was the point of contact and he was involved in the conspiracy," the officer said.
Abdelhaleem was found guilty last week of plotting to bomb financial, intelligence and military targets, but the judge did not enter a conviction pending the outcome of the entrapment motion.
On Tuesday, Naylor questioned why Elsohemy was often instructed to contact Abdelhaleem and not simply asked to speak with Amara directly. He also suggested his client was only included in a plan to acquire and deliver the chemicals needed to make bombs because of Elsohemy's involvement in what was essentially, he said, a police-engineered situation.
"Abdelhaleem wasn't looking for any chemicals before he came in contact with Elsohemy," Naylor said.
But the officer repeatedly shot down his suggestions, insisting Abdelhaleem was a clear participant in the plot.
The RCMP-controlled delivery of the chemicals, the officer said, was "just one final investigative step."
Abdelhaleem and 17 others were arrested and charged with terrorism offences in 2006 and came to be known as the Toronto 18. The group plotted to detonate three one-tonne truck bombs at the Toronto offices of CSIS, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an unspecified Ontario military base.
Court began hearing evidence on the entrapment motion Monday with testimony from Elsohemy's handler at CSIS. Elsohemy had been in contact with CSIS for several months about Abdelhaleem as well as Amara -- who was sentenced to life in the plot -- before becoming an RCMP agent given a compensation package worth up to nearly $4 million.
The CSIS contact testified that Elsohemy's decision to give information about Abdelhaleem to the spy agency was in part motivated by the desire to do "exciting and meaningful work," but noted he also had a fractured relationship with Abdelhaleem.
The court has also heard that Abdelhaleem initially balked at the plan after hearing Amara lay it out, saying it was not correct under Islam. But he became excited at the prospect of profiting from an attack on the stock exchange and also sought the advice of his father, Tariq Abdelhaleem.
His father issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, that such action would be acceptable, placating Abdelhaleem's moral objections, Elsohemy testified.
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.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
VINDICATION FOR RCMP AGENT IN TORONTO 18 CASE
FROM: http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/01/20/vindication-for-an-undercover-informant/
by Michael Friscolanti on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 11:46am - 0 Comments
When his testimony wraps up sometime in the coming days, the man once known as Shaher Elsohemy will step off the stand and disappear back into the arms of the witness protection program. For obvious reasons, nothing about his new life can be revealed. Not his fake name. Not his whereabouts. Nothing. But one thing is absolutely certain: when he does leave the witness box and return to location unknown, he can walk away a happy man—vindicated, finally, after all these years.
Until last week, when he showed his face for the first time since 2006, Elsohemy was famous for two things: helping the RCMP topple the worst of the so-called “Toronto 18,” and being paid millions of dollars in the process. For more than three years, the Mounties’ star informant had to stay hidden in the shadows and keep his mouth shut while countless fellow Muslims attacked his credibility. They called him a traitor. A rat. A money-hungry snitch who deserves to “suffer in this life and the next.” More than one defence lawyer accused him of concocting lies in order to line his pockets.
Today, the truth could not be clearer. Elsohemy was not motivated by dollar bills, and the terrorist plot he helped unravel was very, very real.
Although 18 people were rounded up in the raids of June 2, 2006, only four were accused of conspiring to set off a trio of explosions in southern Ontario. It was Elsohemy who infiltrated that core group, shared their deadly plans with police, and helped orchestrate the sting operation that brought them down. Three of the four have since pleaded guilty, including the confessed ringleader, Zakaria Amara (who now insists he no longer subscribes to the radical Islamic ideology that fuelled his murderous fantasies).
On Monday, with the RCMP’s prized asset safely tucked away in a nearby room, Amara was handed the harshest sentence possible: life behind bars. The punishment ensures the aspiring truck-bomber will stay in prison until the day he dies, or the day the National Parole Board decides he is no longer a threat. The judge’s words, read to a packed courtroom, confirmed what Elsohemy has long known. “What this case revealed was spine-chilling,” Justice Bruce Durno said. “The potential for loss of life existed on a scale never before seen in Canada. It was almost unthinkable.”
Back on the witness stand Tuesday morning, Elsohemy clarified some facts about the other lingering issue: his hefty compensation. As first reported in Maclean’s, the self-made businessman negotiated an unprecedented deal with the Mounties that guaranteed his family up to $4 million in cash, cars and houses for abandoning their identities in the name of national security. William Naylor, who represents Shareef Abdelhaleem—the fourth and final bombing suspect—tried to suggest during cross-examination that Elsohemy jumped at the chance to profit from his undercover exploits. His strategy flopped. Badly.
It turns out Elsohemy was co-operating with Canada’s spy agency, free of charge, as far back as January 2006, more than five months before the bust. Discussions about compensation only began in mid-April, when CSIS shared their well-placed mole with the Mounties—and the cops asked him to work as an agent, testify in court, and leave his entire life behind. “I was asked to think about it and come back at another date and talk about numbers,” Elsohemy said. “The cost of relocation and the suffering myself and my family had to go through was mentioned in the negotiations. The value of the work was also mentioned in the negotiations. They were separate issues, but they were both used in the negotiations.”
He kicked off the bargaining with a request for $15.4 million, arguing that his family deserves a “comfortable lifestyle” and that “the value of the investigation, i.e., stopping the terrorist act, would be worthy of that amount if there was no damage to life or property.” When the Mounties balked, Elsohemy did not abandon the investigation. He continued to provide crucial information to anti-terror detectives, and never once threatened to walk away.
According to documents viewed in court, after more than two weeks of talks both sides settled on a figure worth up to $3.99 million, including $1 million in “pure awards” ($500,000 for Elsohemy, $250,000 for his parents, and $125,000 for each of his brothers). The deal also listed a number of conditional amounts, including tens of thousands of dollars to cover debt repayment, dental work, and furniture purchases.
But as Elsohemy pointed out on the stand, his family actually received less than $3.99 million. Some of the items promised by the RCMP included an “up to” clause (ie. up to $900,000 for a new house, up to $750,000 for the loss of his business, a travel agency that specialized in tours to Egypt). That doesn’t necessarily mean his current home cost $900,000, or that his company was worth exactly $750,000. It just means that the Mounties refused to exceed that amount. “That number has not been used in totality even up until today,” he testified. “I’m not sure how much was used and how much was not.”
When asked to reveal the precise amount his family has received, Elsohemy repeated that he simply wasn’t sure. “Honestly, I have never calculated the numbers myself.” In fact, the first time he heard the $4 million figure was when he read it in Maclean’s in 2007.
Whatever the final tally, many Canadians would agree that it was worth every penny. If Amara and his underlings managed to set off his remote-controlled detonators, hundreds, if not thousands, would have perished in the blasts. Instead, only a handful of lives—the seven members of the Elsohemy family—have been altered forever.
by Michael Friscolanti on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 11:46am - 0 Comments
When his testimony wraps up sometime in the coming days, the man once known as Shaher Elsohemy will step off the stand and disappear back into the arms of the witness protection program. For obvious reasons, nothing about his new life can be revealed. Not his fake name. Not his whereabouts. Nothing. But one thing is absolutely certain: when he does leave the witness box and return to location unknown, he can walk away a happy man—vindicated, finally, after all these years.
Until last week, when he showed his face for the first time since 2006, Elsohemy was famous for two things: helping the RCMP topple the worst of the so-called “Toronto 18,” and being paid millions of dollars in the process. For more than three years, the Mounties’ star informant had to stay hidden in the shadows and keep his mouth shut while countless fellow Muslims attacked his credibility. They called him a traitor. A rat. A money-hungry snitch who deserves to “suffer in this life and the next.” More than one defence lawyer accused him of concocting lies in order to line his pockets.
Today, the truth could not be clearer. Elsohemy was not motivated by dollar bills, and the terrorist plot he helped unravel was very, very real.
Although 18 people were rounded up in the raids of June 2, 2006, only four were accused of conspiring to set off a trio of explosions in southern Ontario. It was Elsohemy who infiltrated that core group, shared their deadly plans with police, and helped orchestrate the sting operation that brought them down. Three of the four have since pleaded guilty, including the confessed ringleader, Zakaria Amara (who now insists he no longer subscribes to the radical Islamic ideology that fuelled his murderous fantasies).
On Monday, with the RCMP’s prized asset safely tucked away in a nearby room, Amara was handed the harshest sentence possible: life behind bars. The punishment ensures the aspiring truck-bomber will stay in prison until the day he dies, or the day the National Parole Board decides he is no longer a threat. The judge’s words, read to a packed courtroom, confirmed what Elsohemy has long known. “What this case revealed was spine-chilling,” Justice Bruce Durno said. “The potential for loss of life existed on a scale never before seen in Canada. It was almost unthinkable.”
Back on the witness stand Tuesday morning, Elsohemy clarified some facts about the other lingering issue: his hefty compensation. As first reported in Maclean’s, the self-made businessman negotiated an unprecedented deal with the Mounties that guaranteed his family up to $4 million in cash, cars and houses for abandoning their identities in the name of national security. William Naylor, who represents Shareef Abdelhaleem—the fourth and final bombing suspect—tried to suggest during cross-examination that Elsohemy jumped at the chance to profit from his undercover exploits. His strategy flopped. Badly.
It turns out Elsohemy was co-operating with Canada’s spy agency, free of charge, as far back as January 2006, more than five months before the bust. Discussions about compensation only began in mid-April, when CSIS shared their well-placed mole with the Mounties—and the cops asked him to work as an agent, testify in court, and leave his entire life behind. “I was asked to think about it and come back at another date and talk about numbers,” Elsohemy said. “The cost of relocation and the suffering myself and my family had to go through was mentioned in the negotiations. The value of the work was also mentioned in the negotiations. They were separate issues, but they were both used in the negotiations.”
He kicked off the bargaining with a request for $15.4 million, arguing that his family deserves a “comfortable lifestyle” and that “the value of the investigation, i.e., stopping the terrorist act, would be worthy of that amount if there was no damage to life or property.” When the Mounties balked, Elsohemy did not abandon the investigation. He continued to provide crucial information to anti-terror detectives, and never once threatened to walk away.
According to documents viewed in court, after more than two weeks of talks both sides settled on a figure worth up to $3.99 million, including $1 million in “pure awards” ($500,000 for Elsohemy, $250,000 for his parents, and $125,000 for each of his brothers). The deal also listed a number of conditional amounts, including tens of thousands of dollars to cover debt repayment, dental work, and furniture purchases.
But as Elsohemy pointed out on the stand, his family actually received less than $3.99 million. Some of the items promised by the RCMP included an “up to” clause (ie. up to $900,000 for a new house, up to $750,000 for the loss of his business, a travel agency that specialized in tours to Egypt). That doesn’t necessarily mean his current home cost $900,000, or that his company was worth exactly $750,000. It just means that the Mounties refused to exceed that amount. “That number has not been used in totality even up until today,” he testified. “I’m not sure how much was used and how much was not.”
When asked to reveal the precise amount his family has received, Elsohemy repeated that he simply wasn’t sure. “Honestly, I have never calculated the numbers myself.” In fact, the first time he heard the $4 million figure was when he read it in Maclean’s in 2007.
Whatever the final tally, many Canadians would agree that it was worth every penny. If Amara and his underlings managed to set off his remote-controlled detonators, hundreds, if not thousands, would have perished in the blasts. Instead, only a handful of lives—the seven members of the Elsohemy family—have been altered forever.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
MORE DETAILS ON TORONTO BOMB PLOT AGENT #2 COSTS
*** Again, I remind everyone that this is a drop in the bucket compared to how much Canada would have lost. YOU try cutting off everyone you know - uproot your whole family - tell 'em all to start over again - with new identities THEN come tell me how much YOU want in compensation. There's SEVEN people involved here folks - try not to be so envious (cardinal sin it is). Good for you Agent #2, you did what very, very few Canadians would ever even contemplate doing. MS ***
FROM: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5idLisXu6ZqmWi7mqP7Dy-JI_vjaQ
BRAMPTON, Ont. — An RCMP informant central to disrupting a plot to bomb several targets in Ontario initially requested $15 million in compensation from the Mounties, court heard Tuesday.
Shaher Elsohemy was in his second week of testimony at the trial of his former friend Shareef Abdelhaleem, who has pleaded not guilty to participating in a terrorist group and intending to detonate bombs. The explosions were to occur outside the Toronto Stock Exchange, at CSIS offices in Toronto and an Ontario military base in what's known as the Toronto 18 terror plot.
The ringleader Zakaria Amara, 24, was handed the stiffest sentence Monday under Canada's terrorism laws - life - though he can seek parole in 2016.
Abdelhaleem's lawyer William Naylor has said both publicly and in court that the compensation for Elsohemy's work to infiltrate the plot and for putting him under witness protection was $4.1 million, but documents Naylor showed in court Tuesday revealed Elsohemy was offered up to $3.99 million.
But when Elsohemy first discussed money with the RCMP in April 2006 - he had been meeting with CSIS agents before becoming a paid RCMP agent - he asked for $15 million, but was told that amount was too high.
"That was my highest level I started negotiating with," Elsohemy acknowledged Tuesday under cross-examination from Naylor.
"It was more what they asked me to go through... The cost of relocation and the suffering that myself and my family has to go through."
Elsohemy testified last week that his participation in the police operation wasn't motivated by money, but by a desire to be a moral, responsible Canadian citizen.
Abdelhaleem, 34, and 17 others were arrested and charged in the summer of 2006 in what Amara's sentencing judge characterized as a "spine-chilling" plot that but for the intervention of Abdelhaleem and another police agent would have been "the most horrific crime Canada has ever seen."
Elsohemy confirmed he received a payout of $500,000 and his parents and two brothers also received a total of $500,000.
The remaining $2.99 million consisted of money to cover costs for Elsohemy and several family members - including his wife and daughter - to relocate. Some of the figures were decided upon as fixed amounts, while the RCMP offered up to a certain amount for other costs, court heard.
Naylor showed the court documents itemizing the various amounts. The fixed costs were listed as: $750,000 for the loss of Elsohemy's business, $100,000 for Elsohemy's two cars, $100,000 for "start-up" including furniture, $200,000 in a category that had been blacked out on the document, $75,000 for his parents' cars, and $40,000 for his parents' debts. They also included $30,000 for his youngest brother's car, $100,000 for start-up for his youngest brother, $100,000 for his older brother's debts, $30,000 for his older brother's car and a further $150,000 under another blacked out category.
The RCMP compensation package also included offers of: up to $900,000 for Elsohemy's home, up to $40,000 for dental work for his wife, up to $50,000 to cover his debts, up to $300,000 for his parents' home and up to $25,000 for his youngest brother's debts, the documents showed.
It's not clear if Elsohemy and his family used all of the "up to" money, some of it or none.
The total amount offered differs drastically from what the other RCMP informant received after helping to snag the group. Mubin Shaikh received $300,000 from the Mounties.
Elsohemy has previously testified that Amara revealed his bomb plot to Elsohemy and Abdelhaleem at a restaurant and that Abdelhaleem initially objected to it, but later became excited at the prospect of profiting financially from an attack on the stock exchange
FROM: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5idLisXu6ZqmWi7mqP7Dy-JI_vjaQ
BRAMPTON, Ont. — An RCMP informant central to disrupting a plot to bomb several targets in Ontario initially requested $15 million in compensation from the Mounties, court heard Tuesday.
Shaher Elsohemy was in his second week of testimony at the trial of his former friend Shareef Abdelhaleem, who has pleaded not guilty to participating in a terrorist group and intending to detonate bombs. The explosions were to occur outside the Toronto Stock Exchange, at CSIS offices in Toronto and an Ontario military base in what's known as the Toronto 18 terror plot.
The ringleader Zakaria Amara, 24, was handed the stiffest sentence Monday under Canada's terrorism laws - life - though he can seek parole in 2016.
Abdelhaleem's lawyer William Naylor has said both publicly and in court that the compensation for Elsohemy's work to infiltrate the plot and for putting him under witness protection was $4.1 million, but documents Naylor showed in court Tuesday revealed Elsohemy was offered up to $3.99 million.
But when Elsohemy first discussed money with the RCMP in April 2006 - he had been meeting with CSIS agents before becoming a paid RCMP agent - he asked for $15 million, but was told that amount was too high.
"That was my highest level I started negotiating with," Elsohemy acknowledged Tuesday under cross-examination from Naylor.
"It was more what they asked me to go through... The cost of relocation and the suffering that myself and my family has to go through."
Elsohemy testified last week that his participation in the police operation wasn't motivated by money, but by a desire to be a moral, responsible Canadian citizen.
Abdelhaleem, 34, and 17 others were arrested and charged in the summer of 2006 in what Amara's sentencing judge characterized as a "spine-chilling" plot that but for the intervention of Abdelhaleem and another police agent would have been "the most horrific crime Canada has ever seen."
Elsohemy confirmed he received a payout of $500,000 and his parents and two brothers also received a total of $500,000.
The remaining $2.99 million consisted of money to cover costs for Elsohemy and several family members - including his wife and daughter - to relocate. Some of the figures were decided upon as fixed amounts, while the RCMP offered up to a certain amount for other costs, court heard.
Naylor showed the court documents itemizing the various amounts. The fixed costs were listed as: $750,000 for the loss of Elsohemy's business, $100,000 for Elsohemy's two cars, $100,000 for "start-up" including furniture, $200,000 in a category that had been blacked out on the document, $75,000 for his parents' cars, and $40,000 for his parents' debts. They also included $30,000 for his youngest brother's car, $100,000 for start-up for his youngest brother, $100,000 for his older brother's debts, $30,000 for his older brother's car and a further $150,000 under another blacked out category.
The RCMP compensation package also included offers of: up to $900,000 for Elsohemy's home, up to $40,000 for dental work for his wife, up to $50,000 to cover his debts, up to $300,000 for his parents' home and up to $25,000 for his youngest brother's debts, the documents showed.
It's not clear if Elsohemy and his family used all of the "up to" money, some of it or none.
The total amount offered differs drastically from what the other RCMP informant received after helping to snag the group. Mubin Shaikh received $300,000 from the Mounties.
Elsohemy has previously testified that Amara revealed his bomb plot to Elsohemy and Abdelhaleem at a restaurant and that Abdelhaleem initially objected to it, but later became excited at the prospect of profiting financially from an attack on the stock exchange
Friday, January 15, 2010
MONEY NOT A MOTIVATION FOR RCMP AGENT
*** Hey simple question for the naysayers and complainers: are you willing to go undercover as an agent for your country's police service in a massive investigation like this, with a real plot by (some) people with real know-how, risk it all, give it all up, cut off friends and family FOR FREE?
I didn't think so.
Canada spent over $100 million in the Air India inquiry and no one was prosecuted properly for it yet hundreds of Canadians died. 4 mil is a drop in the bucket. MS ***
FROM: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2446374
The moral imperative, and not an expectation of compensation, motivated Shaher Elsohemy to go undercover as a police agent to infiltrate the now-notorious "Toronto 18" terrorism plot, a court heard on Friday.
"The money did not play any role in my motivation," Mr. Elsohemy, the Crown's star witness, told a Brampton Superior Court judge. Though he would ultimately receive a $4-million witness protection package after helping police foil the 2006 bomb plot, Mr. Elsohemy said he was driven by his "responsibility as a Canadian citizen, and nothing but that."
Financial compensation was not discussed until mid-April, Mr. Elsohemy testified, several days after he had already unravelled for police the full Toronto 18 plot, which involved detonating powerful explosives at the Toronto Stock Exchange, a downtown CSIS facility and a military base between Toronto and Ottawa.
Mr. Elsohemy gained inside access to the terrorism plot with promises of obtaining bomb-making chemicals, including three tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
He has been testifying all week at the trial of Shareef Abdelhaleem, who is charged with playing a key role in the Toronto 18 scheme.
The court heard that right up until his arrest on June 2, 2006, Mr. Abdelhaleem was unwittingly arranging illicit dealings involving several undercover police agents: Mr. Elsohemy, an officer posing as the landlord of a warehouse the group rented to store chemicals, and a third officer who drove a truck purportedly filled with nitric acid and ammonium nitrate to that warehouse.
Right up until the moment the plot fell apart, Mr. Elsohemy testified, Mr. Abdelhaleem was finetuning a myriad of small details to ensure the chemical delivery went off without a hitch. He developed a code for communicating with two accomplices manning the Newmarket warehouse -- who were to wear shirts emblazoned with the logo "student farmers" to alleviate suspicion over the large chemical shipment -- and discussed how they pair should adapt their behaviour, the court heard.
"They will dress as we told them to, and they will shave and smoke cigarettes in front of the [chemical truck] driver," he allegedly told Mr. Elsohemy.
The accused suggested coating the warehouse doors with a layer of wax so the group could determine whether there had been any unauthorized entry, the judge heard.
Mr. Abdelhaleem also requested that once the delivery was complete, Mr. Elsohemy should bring him a small sample of the chemicals for a "trial explosion," the witness testified.
After the shipment on June 2, 2006, Mr. Elsohemy says he talked to Mr. Abdelhaleem on the phone and relayed the message, "thank God," meant to indicate a successful delivery.
"That was the last time I spoke to Mr. Abdelhaleem," Mr. Elsohemy testified. The arrests followed swiftly afterward.
Defence lawyer William Naylor is scheduled to begin his cross-examination this afternoon.
I didn't think so.
Canada spent over $100 million in the Air India inquiry and no one was prosecuted properly for it yet hundreds of Canadians died. 4 mil is a drop in the bucket. MS ***
FROM: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2446374
The moral imperative, and not an expectation of compensation, motivated Shaher Elsohemy to go undercover as a police agent to infiltrate the now-notorious "Toronto 18" terrorism plot, a court heard on Friday.
"The money did not play any role in my motivation," Mr. Elsohemy, the Crown's star witness, told a Brampton Superior Court judge. Though he would ultimately receive a $4-million witness protection package after helping police foil the 2006 bomb plot, Mr. Elsohemy said he was driven by his "responsibility as a Canadian citizen, and nothing but that."
Financial compensation was not discussed until mid-April, Mr. Elsohemy testified, several days after he had already unravelled for police the full Toronto 18 plot, which involved detonating powerful explosives at the Toronto Stock Exchange, a downtown CSIS facility and a military base between Toronto and Ottawa.
Mr. Elsohemy gained inside access to the terrorism plot with promises of obtaining bomb-making chemicals, including three tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
He has been testifying all week at the trial of Shareef Abdelhaleem, who is charged with playing a key role in the Toronto 18 scheme.
The court heard that right up until his arrest on June 2, 2006, Mr. Abdelhaleem was unwittingly arranging illicit dealings involving several undercover police agents: Mr. Elsohemy, an officer posing as the landlord of a warehouse the group rented to store chemicals, and a third officer who drove a truck purportedly filled with nitric acid and ammonium nitrate to that warehouse.
Right up until the moment the plot fell apart, Mr. Elsohemy testified, Mr. Abdelhaleem was finetuning a myriad of small details to ensure the chemical delivery went off without a hitch. He developed a code for communicating with two accomplices manning the Newmarket warehouse -- who were to wear shirts emblazoned with the logo "student farmers" to alleviate suspicion over the large chemical shipment -- and discussed how they pair should adapt their behaviour, the court heard.
"They will dress as we told them to, and they will shave and smoke cigarettes in front of the [chemical truck] driver," he allegedly told Mr. Elsohemy.
The accused suggested coating the warehouse doors with a layer of wax so the group could determine whether there had been any unauthorized entry, the judge heard.
Mr. Abdelhaleem also requested that once the delivery was complete, Mr. Elsohemy should bring him a small sample of the chemicals for a "trial explosion," the witness testified.
After the shipment on June 2, 2006, Mr. Elsohemy says he talked to Mr. Abdelhaleem on the phone and relayed the message, "thank God," meant to indicate a successful delivery.
"That was the last time I spoke to Mr. Abdelhaleem," Mr. Elsohemy testified. The arrests followed swiftly afterward.
Defence lawyer William Naylor is scheduled to begin his cross-examination this afternoon.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
BLOOD GLASS AND DEBRIS EVERYWHERE: TORONTO BOMB PLOT
FROM: http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/01/13/%E2%80%9Cthere-will-be-blood-glass-and-debris-everywhere%E2%80%9D/
For a man who insists he is innocent, Shareef Abdelhaleem sure spent a lot of time worrying about police surveillance teams. The accused Canadian terrorist was so afraid of being photographed by CSIS and the RCMP that he grew increasingly paranoid about meeting in certain places or being seen with certain people, especially outdoors. Three weeks before being rounded up as part of the “Toronto 18”, he asked Zakaria Amara—the group’s confessed ringleader—whether he thought the authorities were watching him. “No,” he assured him. “Not anymore.”
The irony, of course, is that Abdelhaleem’s every word—including that chat with Amara—was being secretly recorded by the very investigators he was desperate to dodge. As he now painfully realizes, anti-terror cops used at least two tiny microphones to capture his conversations: one inside the Canadian Tire gas station where Amara worked, and another hidden somewhere on the body of a police informant named Shaher Elsohemy. In other words, whenever Abdelhaleem mused about whether police were watching him, he was speaking directly to them.
Abdelhaleem’s stress level about being caught fluctuated depending on the day, says Elsohemy, who is now testifying at the criminal trial of his old “friend.” On May 15, 2006, for example, Abdelhaleem told the RCMP’s undercover asset that “he does not believe authorities know anything about this plot.” Three days later, though, he said a CSIS spy followed he and Amara as they drove around Mississauga. “He told me they went after [the CSIS agent] and tried to check him out,” Elsohemy testified on Wednesday. “They videotaped him, too. Mr. Abdelhaleem believed his picture was taken, too.”
Now 34, Abdelhaleem is charged with participating in a now-infamous terrorist plot to detonate truck bombs at three locations in southern Ontario, including the Toronto Stock Exchange. Although 18 suspects were rounded up in the sensational raids of June 2, 2006, only four were accused of actually participating in the bomb conspiracy. Three of those men, including the mastermind Amara, have since pleaded guilty, but Abdelhaleem has chosen to fight the charges in court. He denies any involvement, and claims that the RCMP’s prized informant cannot be believed because he was paid $4 million for his covert services.
Despite the other confessions, Abdelhaleem is considered innocent until proven guilty. However, in order to walk away a free man, he must convince a judge that he was oblivious to a murderous plot that clearly unfolded right under his nose—and, as the wiretaps reveal, he spent hours talking about.
“He described it as ‘the perfect crime,’ ” said Elsohemy, answering questions from the prosecution. “He said this plot will screw Stephen Harper, the government and the military, and might lead to Canada puling its troops out of Afghanistan because they are not tough like the British and the Americans.”
A former Air Canada flight attendant with a university degree in agricultural engineering, Elsohemy infiltrated the group by “dangling” his ability to acquire large quantities of explosive fertilizer from his “uncle’s” company. Amara, who had already built and perfected a cell phone-controlled detonator, trusted Elsohemy enough to place a $5,500 order for three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the missing component of his would-be bombs.
According to Elsohemy, Abdelhaleem was Amara’s loyal deputy—the buffer between the ringleader and his newfound chemical supplier. It was Abdelhaleem, Elsohemy said, who placed Amara’s order, delivered envelopes full of cash, and boasted that their attack would “shut down” the entire country.
Testifying for the third consecutive day, Elsohemy said Abdelhaleem was obsessed with every aspect of the plot, from how to store the fertilizer to how to profit from the explosion. “Shareef went to a library and checked the stock market situation after Sept. 11th,” he testified. “He said our money could be increased seven times.”
In one breath, Abdelhaleem talked about fleeing the country 15 days before the attack (perhaps to his sister’s house in Cleveland) in order to avoid suspicion. In the next, he talked about being sentenced to ten years at Kingston Penitentiary, “where he will be considered a leader” by other Muslim inmates. “He also explained to me that when he thinks about being arrested, it is only after the fact, after the bombings,” said Elsohemy, a stocky, well-spoken man with a bald head and a pair of glasses. “He never imagined that the arrests would happen before the bombs were detonated.”
As for those bombs, Elsohemy said Abdelhaleem relished in the carnage they would cause. One of the three selected targets, the CSIS headquarters in downtown Toronto, “will be affected from the main floor to the top floor,” Abdelhaleem said. “There will be blood, glass and debris everywhere.” In his words, the attack will be dubbed “The Battle of Toronto.”
But of all the tough talking he did in the weeks leading up to the arrests, surveillance was a recurring theme. According to Elsohemy, Abdelhaleem believed that because he was in charge of purchasing the ammonium nitrate—and not driving one of the three truck bombs—he could be not convicted of a serious offence. “He said he will probably be charged with assisting, but not performing,” said Elsohemy, who has yet to be cross-examined. “In his opinion, as he described it to me, he thought there was a difference between assisting and performing. If he didn’t drive the truck, that was not performing.”
In some ways, it’s hard to blame Abdelhaleem for his flawed logic. Determined to keep his plot a secret, Amara didn’t share every aspect with every accomplice. Two of his underlings—Saad Khalid and Saad Gaya—were tasked with renting a storage facility and unloading the delivery of ammonium nitrate. Two others—Abdelhaleem (allegedly) and Elsohemy—were in charge of securing the chemicals. The parallel groups never crossed paths. In fact, Abdelhaleem did not even meet his two Saads until they were arrested and thrown in the same prison wing.
Which is exactly the way Abdelhaleem preferred it, Elsohemy said. In the days before the bust, Elsohemy began to press Amara for more details. He wanted to know how the detonators worked, how many people were involved in the plot, and when the event would occur. When Amara suggested that the three of them meet at a Toronto park to discuss specifics, Abdelhaleem refused. He didn’t want to draw any further attention to himself, Elsohemy said, and he questioned his friend for wanting to know so much. “It’s better not to know,” he said, according to Elsohemy. “If you are arrested and you go under a lie detector test, if you don’t know something, you don’t know it.” Translation: Abdelhaleem was more than happy to be a naïve accomplice, because the consequences were far less severe.
Instead of a meeting, Amara suggested that Elsohemy record his questions on a USB memory stick and hand it to Abdelhaleem. Again, Abdelhaleem was furious. “You shouldn’t ask questions about things that don’t involve you.” But Abdelhaleem did as he was told, Elsohemy said. He delivered the USB stick to Amara.
On March 26, one week before Elsohemy and his entire family vanished into the witness protection program, he met the ringleader at the Café de Khan restaurant in Mississauga, in the same strip mall as the Al-Rahman Islamic Centre, the mosque where they attended Friday prayers. Amara handed him a USB stick. It included an audio message with answers to all of Elsohemy’s questions, and a short video depicting his homemade detonator in action (on the carpet of Amara’s living room, surrounded by his daughter’s toys).
Later that day, Elsohemy drove to an RCMP safe house and handed the memory stick to investigators. Played in court on Wednesday, Amara’s message assures Elsohemy that “nobody even knows you exist”—except two people. Amara. And Shareef Abdelhaleem.
The informant is back on the stand Friday morning.
For a man who insists he is innocent, Shareef Abdelhaleem sure spent a lot of time worrying about police surveillance teams. The accused Canadian terrorist was so afraid of being photographed by CSIS and the RCMP that he grew increasingly paranoid about meeting in certain places or being seen with certain people, especially outdoors. Three weeks before being rounded up as part of the “Toronto 18”, he asked Zakaria Amara—the group’s confessed ringleader—whether he thought the authorities were watching him. “No,” he assured him. “Not anymore.”
The irony, of course, is that Abdelhaleem’s every word—including that chat with Amara—was being secretly recorded by the very investigators he was desperate to dodge. As he now painfully realizes, anti-terror cops used at least two tiny microphones to capture his conversations: one inside the Canadian Tire gas station where Amara worked, and another hidden somewhere on the body of a police informant named Shaher Elsohemy. In other words, whenever Abdelhaleem mused about whether police were watching him, he was speaking directly to them.
Abdelhaleem’s stress level about being caught fluctuated depending on the day, says Elsohemy, who is now testifying at the criminal trial of his old “friend.” On May 15, 2006, for example, Abdelhaleem told the RCMP’s undercover asset that “he does not believe authorities know anything about this plot.” Three days later, though, he said a CSIS spy followed he and Amara as they drove around Mississauga. “He told me they went after [the CSIS agent] and tried to check him out,” Elsohemy testified on Wednesday. “They videotaped him, too. Mr. Abdelhaleem believed his picture was taken, too.”
Now 34, Abdelhaleem is charged with participating in a now-infamous terrorist plot to detonate truck bombs at three locations in southern Ontario, including the Toronto Stock Exchange. Although 18 suspects were rounded up in the sensational raids of June 2, 2006, only four were accused of actually participating in the bomb conspiracy. Three of those men, including the mastermind Amara, have since pleaded guilty, but Abdelhaleem has chosen to fight the charges in court. He denies any involvement, and claims that the RCMP’s prized informant cannot be believed because he was paid $4 million for his covert services.
Despite the other confessions, Abdelhaleem is considered innocent until proven guilty. However, in order to walk away a free man, he must convince a judge that he was oblivious to a murderous plot that clearly unfolded right under his nose—and, as the wiretaps reveal, he spent hours talking about.
“He described it as ‘the perfect crime,’ ” said Elsohemy, answering questions from the prosecution. “He said this plot will screw Stephen Harper, the government and the military, and might lead to Canada puling its troops out of Afghanistan because they are not tough like the British and the Americans.”
A former Air Canada flight attendant with a university degree in agricultural engineering, Elsohemy infiltrated the group by “dangling” his ability to acquire large quantities of explosive fertilizer from his “uncle’s” company. Amara, who had already built and perfected a cell phone-controlled detonator, trusted Elsohemy enough to place a $5,500 order for three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the missing component of his would-be bombs.
According to Elsohemy, Abdelhaleem was Amara’s loyal deputy—the buffer between the ringleader and his newfound chemical supplier. It was Abdelhaleem, Elsohemy said, who placed Amara’s order, delivered envelopes full of cash, and boasted that their attack would “shut down” the entire country.
Testifying for the third consecutive day, Elsohemy said Abdelhaleem was obsessed with every aspect of the plot, from how to store the fertilizer to how to profit from the explosion. “Shareef went to a library and checked the stock market situation after Sept. 11th,” he testified. “He said our money could be increased seven times.”
In one breath, Abdelhaleem talked about fleeing the country 15 days before the attack (perhaps to his sister’s house in Cleveland) in order to avoid suspicion. In the next, he talked about being sentenced to ten years at Kingston Penitentiary, “where he will be considered a leader” by other Muslim inmates. “He also explained to me that when he thinks about being arrested, it is only after the fact, after the bombings,” said Elsohemy, a stocky, well-spoken man with a bald head and a pair of glasses. “He never imagined that the arrests would happen before the bombs were detonated.”
As for those bombs, Elsohemy said Abdelhaleem relished in the carnage they would cause. One of the three selected targets, the CSIS headquarters in downtown Toronto, “will be affected from the main floor to the top floor,” Abdelhaleem said. “There will be blood, glass and debris everywhere.” In his words, the attack will be dubbed “The Battle of Toronto.”
But of all the tough talking he did in the weeks leading up to the arrests, surveillance was a recurring theme. According to Elsohemy, Abdelhaleem believed that because he was in charge of purchasing the ammonium nitrate—and not driving one of the three truck bombs—he could be not convicted of a serious offence. “He said he will probably be charged with assisting, but not performing,” said Elsohemy, who has yet to be cross-examined. “In his opinion, as he described it to me, he thought there was a difference between assisting and performing. If he didn’t drive the truck, that was not performing.”
In some ways, it’s hard to blame Abdelhaleem for his flawed logic. Determined to keep his plot a secret, Amara didn’t share every aspect with every accomplice. Two of his underlings—Saad Khalid and Saad Gaya—were tasked with renting a storage facility and unloading the delivery of ammonium nitrate. Two others—Abdelhaleem (allegedly) and Elsohemy—were in charge of securing the chemicals. The parallel groups never crossed paths. In fact, Abdelhaleem did not even meet his two Saads until they were arrested and thrown in the same prison wing.
Which is exactly the way Abdelhaleem preferred it, Elsohemy said. In the days before the bust, Elsohemy began to press Amara for more details. He wanted to know how the detonators worked, how many people were involved in the plot, and when the event would occur. When Amara suggested that the three of them meet at a Toronto park to discuss specifics, Abdelhaleem refused. He didn’t want to draw any further attention to himself, Elsohemy said, and he questioned his friend for wanting to know so much. “It’s better not to know,” he said, according to Elsohemy. “If you are arrested and you go under a lie detector test, if you don’t know something, you don’t know it.” Translation: Abdelhaleem was more than happy to be a naïve accomplice, because the consequences were far less severe.
Instead of a meeting, Amara suggested that Elsohemy record his questions on a USB memory stick and hand it to Abdelhaleem. Again, Abdelhaleem was furious. “You shouldn’t ask questions about things that don’t involve you.” But Abdelhaleem did as he was told, Elsohemy said. He delivered the USB stick to Amara.
On March 26, one week before Elsohemy and his entire family vanished into the witness protection program, he met the ringleader at the Café de Khan restaurant in Mississauga, in the same strip mall as the Al-Rahman Islamic Centre, the mosque where they attended Friday prayers. Amara handed him a USB stick. It included an audio message with answers to all of Elsohemy’s questions, and a short video depicting his homemade detonator in action (on the carpet of Amara’s living room, surrounded by his daughter’s toys).
Later that day, Elsohemy drove to an RCMP safe house and handed the memory stick to investigators. Played in court on Wednesday, Amara’s message assures Elsohemy that “nobody even knows you exist”—except two people. Amara. And Shareef Abdelhaleem.
The informant is back on the stand Friday morning.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
TORONTO BOMB ATTACK WOULD SCREW HARPER
FROM: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jHHt-2v3PNh8EgLa9nUEDCGt7Brg
BRAMPTON, Ont. — A Brampton, Ont., court is hearing about the intricate plans of an accused Toronto 18 member who said a terror attack would shut down Canada, leaving blood, glass and debris everywhere.
Shareef Abdelhaleem, 34, has pleaded not guilty to participating in a terror group and intending to cause an explosion.
He and 17 others were charged in an alleged plot to bomb targets around Ontario in 2006.
A former friend turned informant is testifying in court today that Abdelhaleem said an attack would be the battle of Toronto as explosions detonated outside the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Shaher Elsohemy said the bomb would have been strong enough to blow up three city blocks.
Elsohemy spoke about meetings that took place in local coffee shops and restaurants, and testified that Abdelhaleem described the terror attack as "the perfect crime."
"Then he goes on to say this plot will screw Stephen Harper, the government and the military," Elsohemy told the court.
Abdelhaleem had considered being out of the country at his sister's place when the attacks happened.
Elsohemy testified that by being out of the country during that time, Abdelhaleem thought he would be assisting with the attack but not performing the attack.
"If he did not drive the truck he was not a performer," said Elsohemy, describing how Abdelhaleem predicted he would end up in prison in Kingston, Ont., for about ten years.
"He also said Kingston would be full of black Muslims and these guys would consider him (their) leader," said Elsohemy.
Elsohemy said Abdelhaleem thought he would come out of prison at 40 and still be able to have a family.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
BRAMPTON, Ont. — A Brampton, Ont., court is hearing about the intricate plans of an accused Toronto 18 member who said a terror attack would shut down Canada, leaving blood, glass and debris everywhere.
Shareef Abdelhaleem, 34, has pleaded not guilty to participating in a terror group and intending to cause an explosion.
He and 17 others were charged in an alleged plot to bomb targets around Ontario in 2006.
A former friend turned informant is testifying in court today that Abdelhaleem said an attack would be the battle of Toronto as explosions detonated outside the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Shaher Elsohemy said the bomb would have been strong enough to blow up three city blocks.
Elsohemy spoke about meetings that took place in local coffee shops and restaurants, and testified that Abdelhaleem described the terror attack as "the perfect crime."
"Then he goes on to say this plot will screw Stephen Harper, the government and the military," Elsohemy told the court.
Abdelhaleem had considered being out of the country at his sister's place when the attacks happened.
Elsohemy testified that by being out of the country during that time, Abdelhaleem thought he would be assisting with the attack but not performing the attack.
"If he did not drive the truck he was not a performer," said Elsohemy, describing how Abdelhaleem predicted he would end up in prison in Kingston, Ont., for about ten years.
"He also said Kingston would be full of black Muslims and these guys would consider him (their) leader," said Elsohemy.
Elsohemy said Abdelhaleem thought he would come out of prison at 40 and still be able to have a family.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Monday, January 11, 2010
AGENT # 2 IN TORONTO BOMB PLOT PAID $4 MILLION
*** The headlines are misleading: $4 million refers to RELOCATION & OTHER COSTS not the amount of money paid out to him. MS ***
FROM: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/749191--undercover-agent-paid-4-1m-to-infiltrate-toronto-18-court-told?bn=1
A police agent who was paid $4.1 million to infiltrate an alleged terror group today testified for the first time on the opening day of the trial for Shareef Abdelhaleem, a member of the so-called Toronto 18.
Abdelhaleem, 34, is alleged to have used his friend, undercover police agent Shaher Elsohemy, to set up the purchase of three tones of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, destined for truck bombs targeting sites in downtown Toronto.
This morning, Elsohemy, currently in witness protection, told a Brampton court that he had developed a "strong" friendship with Abdelhaleem and frequented an Islamic school in Mississauga run by the accused's father. Their relationship was such that the two vacationed together, taking a trip to Morocco in 2005.
The Crown's star witness in this case has yet to testify about details involving the purchase of the ammonium nitrate, but Abdelhaleem's lawyer, William Naylor, has said he believes his client was entrapped and paid handsomely for it.
"A $4.1 million payoff is pretty steep...It's unprecedented in Canada," Naylor later told reporters, adding that's one of the problems with the case against his client. He went on to suggest that Elsohemy was more concerned with getting money than searching for the truth.
Naylor described his client as "relatively unIslamic," who doesn't fit the typical profile of a terror suspect. Before his arrest in the summer of 2006, Abdelhaleem was a well-educated engineer programmer earning six figures and driving around in a BMW convertible.
In court documents, the Crown alleges Abdelhaleem wanted to profit from the bomb plot by buying up stocks right before what he dubbed would be the "Battle of Toronto." The intended targets included the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Front Street offices of Canada's spy agency and a military base off of Hwy 401.
Abdelhaleem is the first adult linked to the Toronto 18 to stand trial. The Mississauga man, who will testify in his own defence, is charged with participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. He pleaded not guilty to both counts.
Of the 18 people who were charged, four have pleaded guilty, a youth was convicted and seven had their charges stayed. Five remaining accused are scheduled to begin their trial in late March.
Abdelhaleem has elected to be tried by a judge alone and not a jury. He has been in custody since his June 2006 arrest.
*** Please note that the other 3 major players in this plot have all plead guilty. MS ***
FROM: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/749191--undercover-agent-paid-4-1m-to-infiltrate-toronto-18-court-told?bn=1
A police agent who was paid $4.1 million to infiltrate an alleged terror group today testified for the first time on the opening day of the trial for Shareef Abdelhaleem, a member of the so-called Toronto 18.
Abdelhaleem, 34, is alleged to have used his friend, undercover police agent Shaher Elsohemy, to set up the purchase of three tones of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, destined for truck bombs targeting sites in downtown Toronto.
This morning, Elsohemy, currently in witness protection, told a Brampton court that he had developed a "strong" friendship with Abdelhaleem and frequented an Islamic school in Mississauga run by the accused's father. Their relationship was such that the two vacationed together, taking a trip to Morocco in 2005.
The Crown's star witness in this case has yet to testify about details involving the purchase of the ammonium nitrate, but Abdelhaleem's lawyer, William Naylor, has said he believes his client was entrapped and paid handsomely for it.
"A $4.1 million payoff is pretty steep...It's unprecedented in Canada," Naylor later told reporters, adding that's one of the problems with the case against his client. He went on to suggest that Elsohemy was more concerned with getting money than searching for the truth.
Naylor described his client as "relatively unIslamic," who doesn't fit the typical profile of a terror suspect. Before his arrest in the summer of 2006, Abdelhaleem was a well-educated engineer programmer earning six figures and driving around in a BMW convertible.
In court documents, the Crown alleges Abdelhaleem wanted to profit from the bomb plot by buying up stocks right before what he dubbed would be the "Battle of Toronto." The intended targets included the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Front Street offices of Canada's spy agency and a military base off of Hwy 401.
Abdelhaleem is the first adult linked to the Toronto 18 to stand trial. The Mississauga man, who will testify in his own defence, is charged with participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. He pleaded not guilty to both counts.
Of the 18 people who were charged, four have pleaded guilty, a youth was convicted and seven had their charges stayed. Five remaining accused are scheduled to begin their trial in late March.
Abdelhaleem has elected to be tried by a judge alone and not a jury. He has been in custody since his June 2006 arrest.
*** Please note that the other 3 major players in this plot have all plead guilty. MS ***
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
