2006 Ontario terrorism plot

Plot by Islamic extremists

The 2006 Ontario terrorism case is the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006 counter terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 14 adults and 4 youths (the "Toronto 18"). Seven adults pleaded guilty, including the two ringleaders—Fahim Ahmad, who was sentenced to 16 years, and Zakaria Amara, who received a life sentence and initially had his Canadian citizenship revoked but later restored following the passage of Bill C 6. The remaining five received sentences ranging from seven to 20 years. A further three adults and one youth were convicted at trial; the youth was sentenced to 2.5 years while the adults received sentences of 6.5 years, ten years, and life imprisonment. Four adults and two youths were released after the charges against them were stayed and one youth had his charges dismissed.

On November 27, 2005, Mubin Shaikh (a police agent) met with members of the terrorist group at an information meeting at a banquet hall regarding the use of security certificates in Canada, and began his infiltration of the group. He was told that they had planned a training camp near Orillia. They asked Shaikh if he would join them and teach them how to use a gun, since he had mentioned his military and martial arts training, and shown them his Possession and Acquisition Licence.

The trip by the group, ages 15–42, was to a wooded area near Orillia, Ontario, from December 18–31, 2005. It was monitored by more than 200 police officers. Authorities say that "the internet played a large role in the suspects' planning". Six months prior to the planned attack, the group watched a video over the internet of Anwar al Awlaki (the imam who was connected to three of the 9/11 hijackers) preaching about the need for jihad. The ringleader gave sermons comparing the Canadian countryside to Chechnya, and calling for victory over "Rome", which prosecutors alleged was a reference to Canada. "Whether we get arrested, killed, or tortured, our mission is greater than just individuals," he said. He also said: "We're not officially al Qaida but we share their principles and methods" around a campfire. In 2008, a video made at the camp documenting their actions was made public, after the media obtained them through the British trial of Aabid Khan (who was convicted of being a terrorist propagandist), thus working around the publication ban that forbade them from showing evidence from the Canadian trials. The home video showed masked men in winter camouflage marching through the snow in an Ontario forest, shouting "Allahu Akbar"—or "God is Great"—while waving a black flag. The video was obtained by the NEFA Foundation (Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation). The video also showed the men daring each other to jump over campfires, and driving in a Canadian Tire parking lot late at night, alternatively described as "evasive driving maneuvers" or simply having fun driving doughnuts on the slippery ice. The film had been dubbed with Nasheed music, and the informant admitted that he had "choreographed" some of the scenes, arranging the campers to perform for the camera in a militant fashion upon the instruction of Zakaria Amara who did the filming. purchasing many of the supplies used, He also gave "exhortational sermons on Jihad", but described the camp itself as hapless. A youth, who cannot be named, appeared in videos with the rest of the group, meant to mimic Jihadist beheading videos coming out of the Invasion of Iraq, sitting in front of a flag, and flanked by two hunting knives.

The group was preparing a large scale terrorist attack in southern Ontario. They planned to detonate truck bombs in at least three locations, and open fire in a crowded area. They also made plans to storm various buildings such as the Canadian Broadcasting Centre and the Canadian Parliament building, and take hostages. Law enforcement authorities identified other targets, including the CSIS headquarters, the Parliamentary Buildings' Peace Tower, and power grids. According to one of the suspect's lawyers, they were also accused of planning to "behead the Prime Minister", Stephen Harper, and other leaders.

The raids were carried out by a Canadian inter agency task force, the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), which coordinated the activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the CSIS, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and other police forces, as the operation was spread across several different jurisdictions in southern Ontario, in the area north of Toronto. The police stated that one of the arrested men ordered three metric tonnes (6,600 pounds) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a potentially powerful ingredient often used as quarry and mining explosives. This weight has widely been compared to the amount of ammonium nitrate used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing in the United States. The official account estimates the ammonium nitrate in the Oklahoma City bomb at 2,000 pounds, or about 0.9 metric tonnes. There was not any imminent danger to the public, as a harmless substance was substituted for the ordered ammonium nitrate and delivered to the men by INSET officers in a sting operation. The RCMP said that the CSIS had been monitoring the individuals since 2004, later joined by the RCMP. The suspects, all adherents to a radical form of Islam, were alleged by CSIS to have been inspired by al Qaeda. A direct connection seems unlikely. The investigation started with intelligence officials monitoring Internet chat sites. The suspects were charged under the anti terrorism legislation passed by Canadian parliament in December 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks in the US. Two men, Yasim Abdi Mohamed and Ali Dirie, were already serving a two year prison sentence for trying to smuggle a pair of handguns across the Peace Bridge a year earlier, for "personal protection" for themselves since they had worked as designer clothing re sellers in seedy neighborhoods. They had their charges upgraded to "importing weapons for terrorist purposes" after it was revealed that their third handgun had been meant to repay Ahmad who had used his credit card to pay for their rental car. Zakaria Amara, 20, Mississauga, born in Jordan and came to Canada at age 12; pleaded guilty and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 10 years. Saad Gaya, 18, Mississauga, born in Canada of Pakistani descent; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years. Amin Durrani, 19, Toronto, born in Pakistan and came to Canada at age 12; pleaded guilty on January 20, 2010 and was sentenced to 7.5 years and released after being credited with time served for nearly 3 years and 8 months of pre trial custody. Released in 2011. Asad Ansari, 21, Mississauga, born in Pakistan and moved to Saudi Arabia at 7 months old and came to Canada at age 12; convicted at trial and was sentenced on October 3, 2010 to 6 years and 5 months and released after being credited with time served for 3 years and 3 months of pre trial custody. an active member of the mosque who frequently led prayers; released after charges against him were stayed. Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Toronto, born in Somalia and came to Canada at age 5; released after the charges against him were stayed. The other 3 minors were released after the charges against them were dismissed or stayed. Six of the 18 men arrested have ties to the Al Rahman Islamic Center near Toronto, a Sunni mosque. According to the U. S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) two other men, Syed Ahmed and Ehsanul Sadequee, who were arrested in Georgia in the United States on terrorism charges, are connected to the case as well. John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto think tank, summarized the young suspects stating "These are kids at a transition, between Islamic society and Western society. A lot of people will get militarized if they're unsure of their own identity. They're just young and stupid. If you're 17, bored, restless, you want to meet girls – hey, be a radical." Similar vandalism was reported at another mosque in Toronto. The arrests sparked several comments by politicians in the US regarding the security of Canada, including those of US Congressman Peter King, who on June6 was reported to have said that there is allegedly "a large al Qaeda presence in Canada [ ] because of their very liberal immigration laws [and] because of how political asylum is granted so easily". John Hostettler, American chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on Border Security said the arrest illustrated that "South Toronto" served as an "enclave for radical discussion", where people held "a militant understanding of Islam". His comments were widely ridiculed by Canadians who pointed out that there is no area of Toronto known as "South Toronto" (the downtown core of the city sits on the north shore of Lake Ontario, placing "South Toronto" in the water), and that none of the suspects were even from the downtown core. Both Canada's Conservative government and the Liberal opposition condemned the "completely uninformed and ignorant remarks".

Asad Ansari was 21 years old when arrested in June 2006, in Toronto. He spent 3 years and 3 months in pre trial detention, of which 15 months straight were spent in solitary confinement. After bail was initially denied on 3 August 2009, Ansari was granted bail on 28 August. He was tried simultaneously with Steven Vikash Chand and Fahim Ahmad in Brampton until Ahmad pleaded guilty. The court heard that Ansari had attended a winter training camp in Washago, Ontario, in December 2005. Ansari and Chand were the only members of the 18 tried by jury rather than by a lone judge. On 23 June 2010, Ansari and Chand were both found guilty of knowingly participating in a terrorist group. On 3 October 2010, Asad was sentenced to 6 years and 5 months, but was released and placed on probation largely due to time served.

Defence counsel argued that police mole Shaikh was in effect entrapping one of the men through his actions as an instructor at a training camp he had infiltrated on behalf of the RCMP. Superior Court Justice John Sproat ruled in March 2009 that there was no entrapment, noting that the camp would have proceeded as planned without Shaikh's participation, and the training and indoctrination provided would have been similar. The judge held further: "The evidence is overwhelming that (the youth) would have committed the offence if he had never come into contact with Shaikh." The roles of two Agents were made public amid defence allegations they "perhaps provoked" the youths to make militant statements. Shaikh had been paid $292,000 to "knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity" and asked to act as "moles" in the group, leading to accusations that they had "urged them to act, then sat back and counted [their] cash while the others went to jail". The Toronto Star reported that a well known member of Toronto's Islamic community had infiltrated the alleged terrorist cell while on the police payroll as an informant, and that another mole had been involved in setting up the purchase of phony ammonium nitrate. Elsohemy, the second mole in the case, was placed in witness protection after he agreed to help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrange the phony ammonium nitrate purchase on behalf of the youths, which led to the allegations of a bomb plot. A third man, Qari Kafayatullah, was an Afghan immigrant who frequently told the youths that he had knowledge of explosives, and convinced their parents to let them attend the upcoming December camp – promising that it was just a bit of fun for the young men, and that he would be the responsible adult present – even though there was never any indication he later attended. In October 2009, a man described by prosecutors as the leader of the group, pleaded guilty to bomb charges, the fifth member of the so called "Toronto 18" group to have admitted guilt or to have been found guilty. Zakaria Amara, 23, from Mississauga, pleaded guilty in a Brampton, Ontario, court to charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist group and planning explosions likely to cause serious bodily harm or death. In January 2010, Amara was sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentence was the stiffest given so far under the Anti Terrorism Act. Saad Gaya from Oakville, Ontario was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for the Toronto 18 terrorism case in 2006. He is being held at the Maplehurst Correctional Centre in Milton, Ontario.

The Canadian Coalition for Peace and Justice (CCPJ) filed submission on behalf of some of the arrested with the United Nations Human Rights Council, Fourth Universal Periodic Review Canada (2008). Lawyer for the CCPJ, Faisal Kutty, alleged on behalf of the CCPJ that Canada was in breach of its international commitments pursuant to various provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the First United Nations Congress in 1955; and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1990. He called on the Human Rights Council to investigate these allegations.