Suspect in bomb plot was Canadian soldier

CBC | June 8 2006

More details were emerging Wednesday about an alleged bomb plot in Ontario and about one of the suspects and his alleged plan to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

As well, there were also new suggestions about how the suspects may have had international connections.

The lawyer for Steven Chand, also known as Abdul Shakur, said Tuesday that his client is accused of wanting to storm Parliament, behead the prime minister and attack a number of sites, including the CBC building in Toronto.

A newspaper report on Wednesday said Chand had been a member of the Royal Regiment of Canada, a reservist unit, and that he had been given weapons training.

Military confirms connection

The Toronto Star said the military confirmed, but downplayed, Chand's military connection.

"He spent a large portion of his time in the Canadian Forces on leave of absence," Cmdr. Denise Laviolette told the newspaper.

"It looks like he did not complete his military trade training," she added.

Chand joined the reserves in June 2000 and served until April 2004.

His lawyer said Tuesday the charges against him came in an eight-page synopsis.

"My client's alleged to have been part of a plot to blow up Parliament buildings in Canada, storm the CBC, take over the CBC, as well as, among other things, behead the prime minister," lawyer Gary Batasar said.

Allegedly inspired by al-Qaeda

Police allege the accused — 12 adults and five youths — were inspired by al-Qaeda and planned to make bombs to attack targets in Ontario. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Elsewhere, the Times of London reported Wednesday that the 17 arrests in the Toronto area were actually linked to a much bigger international investigation.

"The arrest of 17 suspects, many of them teenagers, picked up in the suburbs of Toronto at the weekend is said to be the latest stage in dismantling a terrorist nexus," the Times reported in its online edition.

The report said the arrests came after a nine-month investigation.

"Intelligence agents in eight countries have patiently worked through a forest of e-mails and intercepted telephone calls."

Snipers inside and outside

As 15 of 17 suspects arrived in a Brampton court for a bail hearing on Monday, snipers could be seen on rooftops and heavily armed police officers were posted inside and outside the courtrooms.

Scores of media from both Canada and the United States lined up at the courthouse Tuesday to secure a spot inside. Family members of the suspects were met by throngs of reporters as they entered.

Defence lawyers asked that the bail hearings be postponed, saying they did not have enough time to prepare and had not seen the evidence against their clients.

The judge granted their requests, rescheduling most of the bail hearings to June 12, and the suspects were remanded into custody.

The lawyers also complained about a number of restrictions placed on their clients. They are in solitary confinement, under 24-hour surveillance and have been denied access to family members.

Donald McLeod said he and his colleagues have only been able to speak to their clients through Plexiglas and want private visits with them.

The defence lawyers also alleged that clients' rights were being violated because a guard in full riot gear was always present when a lawyer held a privileged conversation with a client.

They demanded the situation be changed or said they would go to court on June 12 to get a court order to be allowed to communicate with their clients in private.

All the adult suspects face terrorism-related charges:

The 12 men have been charged with knowingly participating, directly or indirectly, in the activity of a terrorist group.
Those charges relate to activities in Mississauga, Ont., Toronto and the Township of Ramara, which is located about 150 kilometres north of Toronto.
On Monday, six of the men were also charged with planning to cause a deadly explosion.

Three of the suspects have been charged with importing firearms and prohibited ammunition, and supplying prohibited weapons.
Ten of the men are charged with engaging in terrorism-related training. Residents in Ramara, a rural area north of Toronto, reported hearing gunshots from an area where men were seen dressed in camouflage gear.
As many as 400 police officers and security officials were involved in the series of raids in southern Ontario that led to the arrests on June 2 and June 3, in the largest operation carried out under the Anti-terrorism Act.

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