Judge clears terror snitch

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Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/583869

Isabel Teotonio
STAFF REPORTER

A police mole who infiltrated an alleged homegrown terror cell volunteered to attend a so-called terrorist training camp and act as the "eyes and ears" of the RCMP, an officer testified yesterday in a Brampton court.

Sgt. John McIntyre said Mubin Shaikh was never tasked to go to the two-week camp in December 2005, which was frequented by members of a group known as the Toronto 18.

"He was an informer in December, he was providing information to us," McIntyre told Superior Court Justice John Sproat.

"To my knowledge he attended the camp on his own volition."

McIntyre said he was "specifically" told to treat Shaikh as an informant, adding informants are "eyes and ears only. They are not to be directed."

Supt. Jamie Jagoe, who at the time was in charge of national security investigations in the province, also testified yesterday. He, too, said that in late 2005 Shaikh was treated as an informant – a decision he "certainly agreed" with.

Their evidence, along with that of other officers who have testified this week, supports the position of Crown prosecutors John Neander and Marco Mendicino, who argue Shaikh was not a state agent at the time of the camp. That designation, they say, came two months later when he signed a formal contract with the RCMP.

Shaikh's status during the camp is the subject of a motion by defence lawyers Mitchell Chernovsky and Faisal Mirza, who allege their client was entrapped by Shaikh. He was found guilty in September and they are seeking to have his charge stayed.

The accused was 17 at the time of the offence and attended the camp in Washago, Ont., which took place under the close watch of more than 200 covert officers.

The defence have also argued Shaikh committed some of the same criminal acts their client is accused of.

Court has heard Shaikh purchased supplies for the camp and provided transportation to it. Once there, he acted as a trainer, offered religious leadership, emphasized the militant nature of the jihad, helped set up military-style activities and provided firearms training with an illegal 9-mm gun.

The hearing resumes Monday.

Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/580974

'I feel bad,' says terror plot informant

Isabel Teotonio
Staff Reporter

A paid RCMP agent, who infiltrated an alleged homegrown terror cell, testified this morning in a Brampton court that he "felt bad" about playing a key role in helping to recruit youths.

The testimony came as Mubin Shaikh recounted his role as a trainer at a so-called terrorist training camp, where leaders assessed the physical prowess and commitment to jihad of all in attendance, including four youths.

"I felt bad that because of my role, the consequence would be that these guys would be caught up in this case," said Shaikh, adding the youths were initially given a cover story that the camp was for religious purposes.

"I just felt bad that I was there with everybody else."

The youths were among 18 people charged in 2006 for allegedly belonging to a cell planning to detonate truck bombs. Charges have since been stayed against four adults and three youths.

The remaining youth was found guilty of terrorism-related offences in September, but his lawyers are now seeking to have his charge stayed.

Defence counsel Mitchell Chernovsky and Faisal Mirza are arguing that Shaikh committed criminal acts while he was an RCMP agent and entrapped their client, whom they describe as an impressionable 17-year-old convert desperate for religious guidance.

Court heard that Shaikh was first tasked by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to infiltrate the group in November 2005, but weeks later his services were transferred to the RCMP.

Shaikh said he thought he was acting as an RCMP agent when he attended the December 2005 camp, where he helped set up military-style activities, which included firearms training with a handgun brought up by one of the alleged leaders.

At the camp, the alleged ringleader played a video espousing terrorist rhetoric and delivered a speech urging them to wage war on "Rome" — a metaphor for the United States and the West.

Shaikh testified that while there, he behaved like a "drill sergeant," encouraging the youths to work harder so they would be selected for a second camp. He also said that he "emphasized the militant nature of the jihad."

When questioned by Chernovsky if he played a "key role" in bringing the youth into the group, Shaikh replied yes.

And when asked if he rejected the alleged ringleader's twisted version of Islam, Shaikh said he "passively" went along with it, never overtly denouncing terrorism.

Crown prosecutors John Neander and Marco Mendicino, argue that at the time of the camp, Shaikh was a confidential informer for the RCMP. As a result, he was not tasked or given direction about what to do at the camp, but was expressly told not to break the law. Prosecutors argue Shaikh only became an agent for the state in February 2006.

Under questioning by Neander, Shaikh's role in recruiting the youth seemed less pivotal. The camp was already being planned before he even infiltrated the group, court heard.

Furthermore, said Shaikh, the youth appeared to be a close follower of the alleged ringleaders weeks before the camp, which was held near Washago, Ont. The youth even feared that he was being monitored by Canada's spy agency.

Shaikh testified that at the camp, he urged the youth to return home and live with his Hindu parents, with whom he'd had a troubled relationship because of his conversion to Islam.

The 33-year-old also said that by urging the attendees, including the youth, to seek knowledge about Islam, he was covertly encouraging them to disassociate themselves from the alleged ringleader and his beliefs.

While he found the youths to be in a more vulnerable position, Shaikh said he couldn't risk blowing his cover while at the camp.

"I wasn't about to blow my cover," said Shaikh. "I would've been pushed out of the circle and they would've pushed full steam ahead (with their terror plot)."

The hearing before Superior Court Justice John Sproat is expected to last all week.

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/578783

Colin Perkel
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Lawyers for a youth found guilty of terrorism-related offences planned to argue Thursday that a government agent who infiltrated a home-grown terrorist group crossed the line and instead became an instigator who broke the law.

What is even more egregious about the role played by paid RCMP informant Mubin Shaikh was that he entrapped a vulnerable teen, the lawyers say.

"There was an intolerable degree of governmental participation in the criminal enterprise," lawyers Mitchell Chernovsky and Faisal Mirza argue in documents filed with Ontario Superior Court.

"The state and its investigative bodies have a heightened level of responsibility when dealing with young persons and ensuring that youth justice principals are respected."

The youth, who cannot be identified because he was 17 at the time of his offences, was the first of the so-called Toronto 18 to stand trial over a plot aimed at wreaking havoc on Canadian targets and beheading the prime minister.

He was found guilty in September of taking part in, and helping, a terrorist group.

Justice John Sproat agreed to hold off registering a formal conviction pending the outcome of the abuse motion, which seeks a stay of the proceedings against the offender.

"This motion raises an issue of national importance," the lawyers argue in their factum.

"Anti-terrorism investigations that rely on hired civilian agents necessitate a consideration of what conduct by the state agent will amount to an abuse of process."

The youth was convicted largely on Shaikh's evidence – the judge said he was a credible witness – even though the informant was adamant the group's leaders carefully kept the teen in the dark about their ugly plans.

Shaikh has previously defended his role against suggestions he was an instigator.

"Stopping something from happening or even protecting the honour of the Muslims, protecting the honour, the integrity of our country . . . I would do it again a thousand times," Shaikh said outside court the day the youth was found guilty.

The charismatic Shaikh, a prominent member of the Muslim community, had extensive knowledge of the Qur'an.

Court has previously heard he was familiar with terrorist rhetoric, had been an army cadet, and held a firearms permit, all of which he used to gain the confidence of the group's leaders.

At trial, the defence portrayed the teen as naive – a recent convert to Islam who was estranged from his Hindu family and in search of a mentor.

Shaikh quickly slipped into that role, the factum suggests.

"Mr. Shaikh contributed to implanting in the mind of an innocent person the disposition to commit the alleged offence and induce its commission in order that the state may prosecute."

One key piece of evidence was the teen's enthusiastic attendance at what police called a terrorist training camp about two hours north of Toronto in December 2005.

The lawyers argue the camp would not have taken place without Shaikh's involvement.

"He was instrumental in the preparation for the camp, including selecting and paying for camping equipment, securing a winter tent and providing transportation for the trip."

Once there, he helped set up an obstacle course, ran the recruits through their paces, provided religious leadership, and provided training in the use of a firearm.

"In short, he played a pivotal co-leadership role at the camp," the factum states.

"An ordinary member of the public, looking at the situation in which (the youth) found himself, subject to the leadership of Shaikh and his instruction about religion and the use of firearms, might reasonably conclude that this young man was exploited."

The lawyers say in the factum that Shaikh lied to his police handlers when he said there were no weapons involved at the camp.

In fact, court heard, he showed attendees how to fire a handgun.

"In training the young recruits in the use of a 9-mm semi-automatic firearm, the agent engaged in illegal acts," the factum states.

Shaikh was never charged with trafficking in a firearm, the factum notes.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/29/america/NA-Canada-Terror-Trial.php

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/572750

Isabel Teotonio
STAFF REPORTER

Part of a law governing national security has been declared unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court judge in the high-profile terror case of the Toronto 18, amid concerns that the case risks becoming "unmanageable" and could result in a mistrial.

The written ruling by Justice Fletcher Dawson strikes down a portion of the Canada Evidence Act, which deals with court jurisdiction and whether he, as the trial judge, can assess whether national security privilege can be upheld.

"There is a danger this case will collapse," said Dawson, who is currently presiding over pre-trial motions of 10 men arrested in 2006 for allegedly belonging to a homegrown terrorist cell.

"The risk of it bogging down and becoming unmanageable is an ongoing concern," he wrote.

According to Section 38 of the Act, government lawyers who assert national security privilege on evidence or information – as is often done in terrorism cases – must argue the validity of that before a federal court.

But Dawson ruled that giving the federal court exclusive jurisdiction to determine privilege in criminal cases is unconstitutional and could be "highly disruptive."

"If the process is constitutionally valid, it is likely to require that this case stop dead in its tracks while national security privilege issues are resolved in the federal court," he said.

Such interruptions would likely occur when the case is before a jury, he noted.

"This raises the risk of a mistrial."

Ali Dirie's Bail Hearing has been set on July 16th. More information will be posted.

See poster for details: Here

"...Two years have passed since my arrest. When I was taken to Maplehurst I was held in the custody of the Institutional Crisis Intervention Team. Whenever I was moved from place to place, they would force me to run with my hands and legs shacked while my back was bent at 90 degrees forward.

When I was first brought to cell 1 unit 1K, I was slammed face first on the floor, a huge shield was then pressed against my back while a guard smeared my face with his boots because I dared lift my head.."

Steven Chand of 'Toronto 11' thrown into the 'hole'

- For Immediate Release -

(Toronto, Canada - May 8, 2008) - Human rights groups in Toronto are calling on the Ontario government to investigate allegations of prisoner abuse at the Maplehurst Correctional Facility in Milton, Ontario.

The Canadian Council on American Islamic-Relations (CAIR-CAN) and the Presumption of Innocence Project (PIP), supported by 10 national and regional organizations, are concerned about recent allegations that Steven Chand, an inmate at the Maplehurst Complex, has been unjustly transferred to what is known as "the hole" - a form of solitary confinement - because of his attempts at religious accommodation during prayer.