"Toronto 18" terrorists: Arrest/court/aftermath

[The Bread Guy]

Apparently, one of the folks could be back on the street shortly.....

Ali Dirie, the gunrunner of the so-called Toronto 18 terrorist cell, continues to pose "a high risk of violent reoffending," the National Parole Board has concluded, ordering the 28-year-old to serve out his full sentence at the Special Handling Unit in Ste. Anne Des Plaines, north of Montreal.

It is not clear, however, what will happen to the would-be jihadist when his sentence at the top-security prison is over in six weeks.

A spokesperson for the National Parole Board said that once Dirie is released Oct. 1, he will be out of their hands.

"The parole board has the mandate to impose special conditions, if they do provide parole, within the framework of protecting society within an acceptable level of risk to the public," said Leyla Mavaddat, a regional communications officer for the NPB. "Once the sentence is completed, they will have no authority."

A spokesperson for Correctional Services Canada said Dirie will no longer be in the CSC's jurisdiction either - there was no long-term supervision order attached to his sentence, said Suzanne Leclerc.

Dirie, who came to Canada from Somalia with his mother when he was 7 and lived in Scarborough, Ont., was initially arrested in 2005, while trying to cross back into Canada from Buffalo with two loaded handguns taped to his thighs. He pleaded guilty to weapons offences and was given a two-year jail term.

But evidence later emerged the weapons were intended for use by the Toronto 18, who planned to blow up the Toronto Stock Exchange, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service office in Toronto and a military base between Toronto and Ottawa, among other targets, and take politicians hostage in an attempt to force Canadian troops out of Afghanistan ....

Source:  Postmedia News, 18 Aug 11

 

[The Bread Guy]

The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the cases of three members of the so-called Toronto 18 terrorist group who wanted to appeal their sentences.

Ontario’s Appeal Court had previously upheld the maximum sentence for ringleader Zakaria Amara and significantly increased the sentences of two co-conspirators.

All three sought leave to appeal their sentences to the Supreme Court, but today the high court declined to hear the cases.

The decision means their sentences stand, including Amara’s sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years — the harshest penalty available for a terrorism offence.

Saad Khalid and Saad Gaya are in prison on 20-year and 18-year sentences, respectively, after the Court of Appeal for Ontario increased their sentences by six years each ....

The Canadian Press, 28 Feb 13

 

[jollyjacktar]

Huzzar for the Supremes.  Nice to see the system working in a direction that pleases me for a change.

 

[larry Strong]

Well that's one down

Shared with the usual caveats....

Toronto 18 member killed fighting in Syria

A member of the Toronto 18 terror group that planned attacks on Canadian targets nearly a decade ago has died while fighting in Syria, CTV News has confirmed.

Ali Mohamed Dirie served two years in prison for his role in the plot to blow up the Parliament buildings and other landmarks, assassinate the prime minister and kidnap politicians.

He was first arrested in 2005, before police rounded up other members of the group in 2006. In 2009, Dirie pleaded guilty to his role in the plot and was sentenced to seven years in jail. He spent two years in prison after receiving credit for time served.




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During his trial, court heard that he spent his time in custody trying to recruit fellow inmates for terror plots and procure weapons and travel documents.

When he appeared before a parole hearing in 2010, Dirie said he was a changed man, and no longer advocated violence to achieve political goals.

Dirie told National Parole Board officials that although he opposed Canada’s role in the war in Afghanistan, “I don’t intend to bring about change by damaging Canada to make them change their ways.”

Submissions to the Parole Board said otherwise, suggesting he still posed a threat and was not a suitable parole candidate.

Dirie served out his sentence at a Quebec facility for the most violent inmates, and was released in 2011.

A long-term supervision order was not included in his sentence, so Correctional Services Canada was unable to monitor him following his release.

Dirie was born in Somalia and came to Canada at the age of seven. He lived with his mother in Scarborough, an east-end suburb of Toronto.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toronto-18-member-killed-fighting-in-syria-1.1470879#ixzz2fx9bJZ2F

 

[Flavus101]

I still cannot figure out the reasoning behind ever releasing people such as this.

Anyways, cannot say I feel any sadness about this.  :-\

 

[jollyjacktar]

Good.  More to follow I hope.

 

[OldSolduer]

I still cannot figure out the reasoning behind ever releasing people such as this

Simple - it's the law. The law states once you have satisfied the sentence, you are to be released.

To do otherwise is to break the law.

 

[Danjanou]

Simple - it's the law. The law states once you have satisfied the sentence, you are to be released.

To do otherwise is to break the law.

" the law is an ass"

Charles Dickens

 

[OldSolduer]

" the law is an ***"

Charles Dickens

But until the population demands change, it will remain the law.

 

[Flavus101]

I should have been more clear, I wonder why our laws have been written up in this way. Perhaps the system does work, we just do not hear much about the success stories.

 

[FJAG]

Not to get in the way of a venting at the legal system, our sentencing system is based on having a sentence of an appropriate measure to meet the crime. There are a number of principles in sentencing but in short its to ensure--as much as possible--that the sentence fits the crime and the criminal. One can debate the concepts ad nauseum but as far as the Toronto 18 were concerned, the ring-leaders ended up getting some pretty stiff sentences; the others received sentences on a sliding scale downward.

There is a system whereby a crown attorney can argue for an indefinite sentence of incarceration but really none of the lower-end participants would have been considered eligible considering their previous histories of no significant involvement with the law.

I must admit I've never been one to seek a "ramping up" of punishment for any particular civilian crime but have always taken the view that anyone who bands together with others and considers himself "at war" with society should be treated as a prisoner of war. POWs can be held prisoner for as long as the war continues and can also be tried separately for any war crimes they have committed. In my view this war on terror will never end, it will ebb and flow, but it will never end. Participants should be locked up for life and isolated from others to prevent them from infecting them with their nonsense. Currently we are creating too many extremists in prison.

:cheers:

 

[The Bread Guy]

Bumped with the latest - no parole for this guy just yet ....

A leader of the Toronto 18 terrorist group that was broken up by Canadian police in 2006 has lost his appeal of a Parole Board decision that concluded he wasn’t yet ready to be released from prison.

The board’s decision was fair and reasonable, the appeals panel ruled in the case of Fahim Ahmad, who organized a paramilitary training camp north of Toronto and plotted to attack the parliament buildings and behead MPs.

The decision was “based on relevant, reliable and persuasive information,” the Appeal Division wrote in a five-page decision that cited the “gravity” of Ahmad’s offences and “lack of a release plan,” among other factors.

Ahmad was the leader of one of two factions of the al-Qaida-inspired Toronto 18. The leader of the second faction, Zakaria Amara, last month became the first Canadian terrorist to lose his citizenship under a controversial new law.

At least five other Toronto 18 members have been notified they may also lose their citizenship under the law, which applies to dual nationals convicted of terrorism offences. Ahmad’s lawyer said last week his client was not among those who had received such a notice ....

 

[The Bread Guy]

The latest:  one chap up for day parole ...

One of the men serving jail time for the so-called “Toronto 18” bomb plot was granted day parole and is being released from prison.

In a decision addressing 28-year-old Saad Gaya on Wednesday, the Parole Board of Canada concluded that he will not be a risk to the public and his conditional release will support his reintegration into society.

Gaya pleaded guilty in 2010 to being part of the radical Islamic group that planned to set off bombs in downtown Toronto and at a military base near Hwy. 401.

“You now understand that your extremist views and actions are contrary to the true meaning of Islam,” the board concluded this week.

“It was evident to the Board that you had gained tremendous insight into your radicalization and the events that led to your (offence).”

Two halfway houses in the Toronto area are supporting Gaya, and he will be required to stay there and obey a series of conditions attached to his parole. He is not allowed to associate with any person who could be involved in criminal activity, and he can’t use any technology that would give him unsupervised Internet access. He must also report all contact with other men to his parole officer and will be required to take religious counselling.

His day parole could be revoked if he breaks these conditions, and will be reviewed by the board within six months, according to spokesperson Holly Knowles ...

 

[George Wallace]

In the "Road paved in good intentions leads us to HELL" category:

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Trudeau’s Canada: Citizenship for terrorists
BY CANDICE MALCOLM
FIRST POSTED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016 05:07 PM EDT | UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016 05:30 PM EDT

A convicted Islamist terrorist is one step closer to being granted Canadian citizenship, thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.

Trudeau successfully rammed his controversial Bill C-6 through the House of Commons on the last day before summer recess. Now all that’s left is a rubber stamp from the Senate.

The bill repeals a Stephen Harper-era law that enabled the government to strip Canadian citizenship from foreign-born citizens convicted of terrorism.

This isn’t exactly controversial. Most Western countries have similar laws. Most Canadians agree citizenship is a privilege, not a right, and not something to be handed out to convicted jihadists.

Jordanian-born Zakaria Amara was the only person to have his Canadian citizenship revoked through the law. And he deserved it.

Amara moved to Canada as a teenager, and by the age of 20, he was already in prison facing a slew of terrorism charges.

He was a ringleader of a sophisticated terrorist group known as the Toronto 18. He recruited, trained and groomed fellow Islamist extremists and actively worked on a plot to murder scores of Canadians, including the Prime Minister.

Amara’s attack would have seen bombs detonated in downtown Toronto, shooting sprees at the CBC and the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the beheading of politicians in Ottawa.

He wanted to mass murder Canadians, and shatter our sense of safety and security.

It would have forever changed our country.

Amara’s crimes are unforgivable.

And yet, the Trudeau government is in a rush to not only forgive him, but to apologize for revoking his citizenship and reward him with the honour of being Canadian.

It’s reprehensible. And it’s not the only damage done by this bill.

C-6 also reduces the amount of time newcomers must live in Canada before they qualify for citizenship, down to just three years of part-time residency.

Worse, it eliminates the language requirement for many new Canadians.

Under the current law, every newcomer between the age of 14 and 64 must pass a basic English or French test before qualifying for citizenship.

The Trudeau Liberals, for political reasons, decided to change the rules so only those aged 18 to 54 are required to pass the language test.

Special interest groups want to make it as easy as possible for foreigners to come to Canada and obtain a Canadian passport.

And the Liberals, beholden to the immigration lobby, are putting their political interests ahead of the national interest.

This was clear when Conservative MP Michelle Rempel asked Immigration Minister John McCallum if his government had done any research or consultations to explain why they were eliminating the language requirement for many newcomers.

McCallum admitted there was no research and no evidence to back the policy.

The Liberals gave no further explanation and made no additional appeal to Canadians. They simply forced their bill through Parliament.

The only opportunity left to stop this reckless bill is for the Senate to intervene.

Canadians should contact Senators Claude Carignan, Yonah Martin and Linda Frum to encourage them to amend this bill. These Conservative Senators are in a position to stop Trudeau.

The radical, politically-motivated Bill C-6 will make Canada more vulnerable and less united.

Canadians should demand that newcomers learn our language and truly join the Canadian family.

And those who seek to undermine our national security — those who plot ISIS-style massacres in Canada — should never be given the privilege of citizenship.

More on LINK.

Reality is not his forte, nor that of his Government.

 

[jollyjacktar]

:boke:

3 1/2 years until maybe we can take the trash out. 

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Reality is not his forte, nor that of his Government.

Here's the reality he will have to deal with: He better enjoy his state diner with president Obama coming up, because his relations with the US are about to take a turn for the worst.

It matters not who the next president is. Trump, who would stop Muslims entering the US (if he could -he'll find out he can't) will not take kindly to a young twirp that makes it easy for any of them to come unto the North American continent. He won't build a fence, because even if built by Trump construction, it would be too expansive, but a large increase of scrutiny of all things Canadian at the border would be in his power - and for every extra 5 minutes at the border that Canadian trucking companies face (collectively), it's an annual $1b hit to our economy, and I am using one of the low figures used by economists who calculate these things.

And he can't expect any better from a Clinton administration. First of all, she represents the state of New York. New Yorkers may not have much concerns about illegal immigration in the South - it's not really on their radars - but they are keenly aware of Canadian border issues and how close to them it is in terms of potential entry port for a terrorist threat. So you can be sure that Clinton has been well briefed on these issues during her whole senatorial career, and that any Canadian law or policy that distances the Canadian immigration policies from the American ones on the side of lowering of the protections are grave concerns to her. Pair that with the fact that, in the Democratic Party, she has always been identified with the trade protectionist faction and you have a recipe for a disaster for our economy.

All that just to buy cheap votes.  :not-again:

 

[jollyjacktar]

I do hope your fears are unfounded, sadly for Canada and Canadians, I don't think you are.  The Trudeau Trainwreck that we are going to experience over the next 3 1/3 years is going to take decades to dig out from under, no doubt.  What happens when you give the keys to the family car to that spotty faced teenager who thinks he can actually drive on a learner's permit.

 

[The Bread Guy]

• Well that's one down
  
  Shared with the usual caveats....
  
  Toronto 18 member killed fighting in Syria
  (...)
  Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toronto-18-member-killed-fighting-in-syria-1.1470879#ixzz2fx9bJZ2F

  Bumped with an ... alternate story line, from ISIS's Info-machine (footnote in attached) - full issue of latest ISIS propaganda sheet vieawable at non-terrorist page here - with thanks to the Jihadology blog for sharing the magazine

 

[The Bread Guy]

The latest on one of the gang ...

A man who pleaded guilty to participating in a plot to bomb targets in Toronto has had his day parole extended as the Parole Board of Canada found he has made a "strong beginning" to his period of conditional release.

In January, Saad Gaya was initially granted six months of day parole, with special conditions that included avoiding contact with those involved in criminal activity and a requirement to participate in religious counselling to deal with religious extremism.

The board has since reviewed his case and decided to extended his day parole up until his statutory release date, which a spokeswoman said is in January 2017.

Gaya, now 28, was one of the so-called Toronto 18 — a group of men and youths who were accused of plotting to bomb targets in Ontario that included the Toronto Stock Exchange, CSIS headquarters and a military base, all in protest of Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan.

Eleven were ultimately convicted of terrorist offences.

Gaya, a former science student at Hamilton's McMaster University, was arrested in 2006 while unloading a delivery truck filled with three tonnes of bags marked ammonium nitrate fertilizer. He was originally sentenced in 2010 to 12 years in prison, and an appeal court increased that to 18 years.

Gaya's day parole, which took effect in February, allows him to attend school, but he must return to a community-based residential facility at night ...

 

[George Wallace]

June 2016 has come back to haunt us:


Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Trudeau rewards a terrorist with citizenship
By Candice Malcolm
First posted: Friday, March 03, 2017 04:10 PM MST | Updated: Friday, March 03, 2017 04:27 PM MST

Zakaria Amara is a convicted terrorist, serving a life sentence for his role in a plot to murder scores of Canadians. And now, thanks to a Trudeau government bill passed through the Senate this week, Amara will soon be given the privilege of Canadian citizenship.

After all, a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, right?

In the case of Amara, this “Canadian” was born in Jordan and raised in Saudi Arabia.

He came to Canada as a teenager, became a Canadian citizen as a young man, and, by the time he turned 20, he was behind bars and charged with terrorism.

Amara was the ringleader of a sophisticated terrorist cell known as the Toronto 18. He recruited, trained and groomed fellow Islamist extremists and worked towards a deadly terrorist plot.

Amara wanted to detonate bombs in downtown Toronto, and coordinate shooting sprees at the CBC and the Toronto Stock Exchange. He planned to siege Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and carry out executions and beheadings of politicians, including the Prime Minster.

He wanted to mass murder Canadians. And even more so, he wanted to shatter our sense of safety and security. It would have forever changed Canada.

Thankfully, this madman’s plot was foiled by an undercover police sting operation. Amara pled guilty to terrorism charges, and was slapped with a life sentence.

Under the Harper government, Amara had his Canadian citizenship revoked and was set to be deported the moment he was released from prison.

But things have changed under Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau said during the 2015 election campaign that he believes “terrorists should get to keep their Canadian citizenship.” And now he’s keeping good on that pledge.

Trudeau’s Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the Senate that the Liberal government had already initiated the process to restore citizenship to the convicted terrorist.

While Trudeau didn’t mind throwing other campaign promises out the window – modest deficits, electoral reform, legalizing marijuana, and so on – he deemed it a priority to grant citizenship to this convicted terrorist.

Trudeau’s agenda prioritized helping a man who hates Canada so much he wanted to wage war against it. Amara was so ungrateful to his host country that he plotted to mass murder civilians in a senseless and unprovoked attack.

And yet, Trudeau is rewarding him with the privilege of Canadian citizenship.

The decision is as reckless as it is absurd.

It’s the height of Liberal moral relativism to say that we’re no better than Islamist extremists, and that terrorists deserve a second chance in Canada. Trudeau seems to believe we should be tolerant and welcoming to everyone, even hateful Islamists and bloodthirsty jihadists.

In Trudeau-land, everyone is a Canadian. He believes in open borders, envisions Canada as the world’s first “post-national state” and considers himself a “global citizen.”

But to the rest of us, Trudeau is simply out of touch. He’s diminishing the value of Canadian citizenship and putting an idealistic platitude – a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian – ahead of common sense, not to mention the safety and security of real Canadians.

Amara was up for parole in 2016, and fortunately, his parole was denied. But sooner or later, thanks to Canada’s revolving door prison system, this thug will be released from prison and let back onto the streets in Canada.

What message does this send to wannabe jihadists and extremists looking to sneak into the West? In Trudeau’s own words, “Canada will welcome you.”

More on LINK


Sorry, but my views on "inclusiveness" does not include anyone who is a threat to my life and freedoms.  Yet another subversive act to promote divisiveness.