our years ago, a group of young Muslim men conspired to send Ottawa a deadly message. Enraged by Canada’s military involvement in Afghanistan, and fuelled by violent jihadi videos, they plotted to storm Parliament Hill and detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto. The goal was to cause catastrophic damage, cripple the economy and unleash mass carnage.
After lengthy investigations by Canada’s spy agency (CSIS) and the RCMP, involving hundreds of police officers and more than 82,200 intercepted calls, a group of 14 adults and four youths were arrested in the summer of 2006.
(Later in opening)But many were skeptical of the role played by two RCMP-paid infiltrators, suspicious they had been agent provocateurs who had goaded the accused and fuelled the plots. Some also dismissed the suspects as a bunch of bravado-filled but bumbling incompetents who were not capable of carrying out their plans. Years of publication bans, which shrouded parts of the government’s landmark case, did little to ease skepticism.
The case - the first homegrown cell in Canada charged under the anti-terrorism legislation - moved through the courts at a glacial pace, bogged down by numerous pre-trial motions. Four adults and three youths had charges against them stayed - in some cases, after having spent many months in solitary confinement. Seven adults pleaded guilty, including Ahmad and Amara. Of the remaining accused, only four chose to fight their charges at trial - all were convicted.
Finally, a jury delivered its decision in the case of final two accused, making it the first Canadian jury to deliver a verdict in a terrorism case and marking the final chapter of the Toronto 18 saga.
This series examines what happened - and why.
Toronto 18 - terror plot in the open
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