Justice Douglas Rutherford rejected arguments from counsel for the former Ottawa software designer that messages he sent to his one-time fiancee were irrelevant and prejudicial to the case.
Khawaja, arrested four years ago, faces seven charges of financing and facilitating terrorism, including the key allegation he built a remote-control device for use in bomb attacks planned - but never executed - by Islamic extremists in Britain.
Five of his alleged co-conspirators were convicted in London and sentenced last year to life in prison. Their prospective targets were said to include a nightclub, shopping centre and electrical and gas facilities, but the scheme was foiled by British police and security forces.
In his decision Monday, Rutherford called the accusations involving Khawaja sinister and chilling, and of a "most serious character" - so much so that admitting the email messages into evidence would not likely have much impact on his assessment of the facts.
He also ruled that at least some videos depicting jihadi activities that Khawaja gave to an Ottawa-area woman could become part of the court record, but indicated the Crown must show how excerpts of the DVDs are relevant to the case.
Rutherford is presiding over the trial without a jury in Ontario Superior Court.
Among the sticking points between Crown prosecutors and Khawaja's lawyer were messages Khawaja exchanged with Zeba Khan, his Pakistani-born former fiancee who now lives in Dubai.
Khawaja claimed in an Oct. 24, 2003, email that the United States was leading a treacherous plot against Islam meant to plunder the wealth of Muslims and wipe out entire nations.
"So we have to come up with a way that we can drain their economy of all its resources, cripple their industries, and bankrupt their systems in place, all so that they are forced to withdraw their troops, so they cannot afford to wage war . . . .
"We need constant economic J, blow after blow, until they cripple and fall, never to rise again."
Khawaja cited the powerful effects of the 9-11 attacks on New York and Washington perpetrated by 19 Muslim hijackers, saying "the U.S. economy is practically in a state of recession."
"Would you not say that the actions of 19 men on Sept. 11 are the most accurate, effective, and honourable way of conducting economic J?"
He acknowledged that "innocent human beings died, but there is absolutely no other way of achieving the same objective with the same effect."
Khawaja also said killing oneself, forbidden by Islam, is justifiable if it is the only viable means of waging jihad.
"Picture this, a young bro wearing an explosive vest walks into a busy Israeli nightclub and in midst of all the partying, he presses a button and detonates, killing himself and dozens around him."
If he had the cash, he wrote in another message, he would raise a "grand army of mujahedeen" and head for Afghanistan, then Iraq. The next goal would be to bring down any rulers of Muslim countries who use titles like General or President.
"Basically, we'd take care of all the bad guys in one shot."
Defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon had objected to making comments about assaults in the Middle East and the U.S. part of the record.
"This is precisely the type of evidence that should not be permitted in this, or for that matter any other, trial," Greenspon said last week.
The Crown's aim, he said, is to suggest that if Khawaja supported attacks in Israel and New York, he must also be the kind of person who would back a bomb plot in London.
That's a "gargantuan leap" of logic that would violate the concept of freedom of thought enshrined in the Charter of Rights, said Greenspon.
Crown attorney David McKercher replied that he was simply trying to set Khawaja's activities in context.
No comments:
Post a Comment