Evidence in Toronto terror case not quite ’sensational’
TORONTO, ONTARIO – What are we to make of the Crown’s case against the Toronto 18? The summary of evidence released this week in advance of the trial of one of the Muslim men and boys arrested two years ago on terror charges describes what will come out in court as “shocking and sensational.”
And if the 18 had been seriously planning to blow up buildings and behead politicians, these cases – when they finally do come to trial – would indeed be sensational.
But as with everything else that has emerged from the high-profile but secretive prosecution, this week’s revelations end up creating more questions than they answer.
The government case, released on Tuesday, gives more details on just why the Crown believes the country was in danger. Much has already been reported – in particular the allegation that some of the 18 were plotting to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
But now we know where the evidence for that spectacular allegation came from – a conversation in a car during a 10-hour drive back to Toronto from the Northern Ontario settlement of Opasatika where the government claims (implausibly to anyone who has ever been to the tiny community) the alleged plotters hoped to establish a jihadist training camp.
What the government calls the “most salient passage” of the conversation appears in the transcript as a series of desultory, if morbid, non sequiturs among the suspects and paid RCMP informer Mubin Shaikh. One asks what happens in Parliament. Another says, “We go and kill everybody.” A third chips in: “And then read about it.”
The suspects seem unsure as to just who the Prime Minister is that they are apparently conspiring to behead. One thinks it’s “Paul um what’s his name – Paul loser (former prime minister Paul Martin). Another is sure (correctly as it turns out) that Harper is the man.
If there is more salient information on the alleged beheading plot, the Crown doesn’t mention it. No times, no dates, no discussion of weaponry.
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