It is assertions made by the prosecution which are accepted by the convict.
They are sometimes accepted not so much because they are true as because it is better, overall, for the convict not to fight but to take a plea.
Now it's unethical for a lawyer to allow a client to plead guilty where the client says "I didn't do it". But where there are shades of grey a plea is acceptable and then the facts follow.
What really happened here?
Perhaps it was local jihadists. But I sense there's a backstory we haven't heard yet.
Details of a deadly conspiracy emerged in a Brampton court this morning at the sentencing hearing for a Mississauga man who pleaded guilty to a role in a terrorist bomb plot involving the so-called Toronto 18.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Saad Khalid, 22, was part of a bomb plot that was scheduled to go ahead in November 2006.
The alleged mastermind behind the plot, who is one of Khalid's co-accused, planned to target the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Toronto offices of Canada's spy agency and an undisclosed military base, located between Toronto and Ottawa along Highway 401.
The scheme involved filling three U-Haul vans with explosives.
Court heard the attack, which was to be deadlier than the July 2005 London subway bombings, was to be carried out over three days in an effort to instill maximum fear in Canadians.
One of Khalid's co-accused suggested launching the deadly attack on Sept. 11, 2006 — hoping this would prompt Canada to pull its military out of Afghanistan.
...
Khalid was charged with knowingly participating in a terrorist group, receiving training for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a terrorist group and doing anything with "intent to cause an explosion of an explosive substance that was likely to cause serious bodily harm or death."
He pleaded guilty to the last count.
...
Central to the Crown's case against this homegrown terror cell are two alleged conspiracies: that some members attended a terrorist training camp, and that some purchased three tonnes of ammonium nitrate destined for truck bombs.
Court heard that Khalid attended a jihadist training camp in Washago, Ont, in December 2005 and participated in military drills and firearms training. While there, he also listened to speeches exhorting them to wage war on the West. A video of that speech was played in court.
Court also heard that by March 2006, the alleged ringleaders — one of whom was from Scarborough and the other from Mississauga — had a falling-out. After the rift, the Mississauga leader is alleged to have developed a bomb plot.
...
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
No comments:
Post a Comment