RCMP present evidence at Khawaja trial

RCMP found rifles, ammunition and a variety of electronic components when they raided the Ottawa-area family home of Mohammad Momin Khawaja, who's now on trial on terrorism charges, an Ontario court heard Monday.

They also found a pellet gun and a perforated paper target duct-taped to a pock-marked concrete wall in the basement of the home owned by Khawaja's parents, RCMP Cpl. Taro Tan testified.

Tan formally put the material before Justice Douglas Rutherford at the Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa on Monday.

The Mounties seized three semi-automatic rifles and 640 rounds of ammunition in the March 2004 raid of Khawaja's family home in Orleans, an Ottawa suburb.

They also found $10,000 in $100 bills, as well as a variety of electronic components, technical manuals and other literature, including The Religious and Moral Doctrine of Jihad, CIA Special Weapons and Equipment and Defence of the Muslim Lands.

Khawaja's lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, said that none of the evidence proved his client was part of an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to attack targets in Britain.

All the rifles were properly registered and Khawaja had a licence to own them, Greenspon noted in court.

He criticized the way police conducted their search and tried to show during cross-examination that they were either single-minded or sloppy in their investigation.

Many items in brother's room, defence says

He also accused police of "cherry picking" the books they seized from Khawaja's room. Photos showed there were more computer programming and economic textbooks than books concerning fighting. Some of the items were taken from the bedroom of Khawaja's older brother Qasim, who has never been charged with any offence, Greenspon said.

Many of the electronic components and the $10,000 cash were discovered in Qasim's bedroom, Greenspon added.

Khawaja, 29, faces seven terrorism-related charges, including a key allegation that he built a remote-controlled detonator for use in a plot to bomb targets in Britain.

Five of his alleged co-conspirators were convicted last year by a British court and sentenced to life in prison.

Khawaja has pleaded not guilty to the Canadian charges. He is being tried by Rutherford without a jury.
The court will hear testimony from an RCMP electronics expert when the trial resumes Tuesday.