More details of alleged Canada terror plot emerge after court hearing News
More details of alleged Canada terror plot emerge after court hearing

[JURIST] Fifteen of the 17 Canadian terror suspects arrested [JURIST report] Friday on suspicion of planning attacks in southern Ontario and Toronto appeared in court in Brampton, Ontario, near Toronto Tuesday. Although an eight-page document prepared by Crown prosecutors detailing precise charges against the accused that were initially set out in summary Monday [Toronto Star report; CBC breakdown by suspect] was neither read out in court nor made publicly available after being shared with defense lawyers, the status of the 12 adults, all Muslims, appears to be as follows:

  • All have been charged with participating in a terrorist group;
  • Nine have been charged with receiving training from a terrorist group;
  • Four have been charged with training terrorists;
  • Six have been charged with intent to cause an explosion that could result in serious bodily injury or death; and
  • Three have been charged with importing weapons and ammunition for terrorism.

No information has been released about the charges against the five suspects who are minors. The suspects who appeared in court Tuesday have been remanded into custody again and most will appear for bail hearings June 12. They are currently being held at the maximum-security Maplehurst Correctional Complex [backgrounder] in Milton, Ontario.

A lawyer for suspect Steven Vikash Chand, 25, denied prosecutorial allegations that his client had said he planned to behead government officials – including Prime Minister Stephen Harper [official website] – in an attack on parliament. Harper jokingly countered in Ottawa that "I can live with these threats as long as they're not from my caucus." Lawyers for other detainees complained about what they characterized as excessive security measures [CTV report] and lack of access to their clients for private discussions, which one said was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text]. On Monday, Canadian officials said more arrests were likely [JURIST report]. AP has more. The Toronto Star has local coverage.