Video Of Terror Training In Canada
Until it appeared online this week, prosecutors of Canada’s largest homegrown terror case did not know about a video showing members of the Toronto 18 at an alleged training camp – despite it being evidence in the trial of a British extremist with links to the group.
The video, posted on a U.S. website, also came as a surprise to the defence lawyers for the Toronto men, who question what impact it will have on their clients.
“Potential jurors may form an opinion about the case without the benefit of other evidence that would put the imagery of the video in its proper context,” said Raymond Motee, who represents one of the adults arrested in 2006.
Shot during a 12-day camp in December 2005 near Washago, Ont., the video shows men in camouflage fatigues, firing paintball guns, handling a 9-mm handgun and waving a black flag. The sound includes Arabic music, explosion noises and shouts of “God is Great.”
Video posted Sept. 16, 2008 on the site “Nine/Eleven: Finding Answers”
“NEFA Exclusive: Video of “Terror Training Camp” in Canada.
Video caption details:
The NEFA Foundation has obtained exclusive footage of a would-be “terrorist training camp” that took place in a rural section of Canada in 2006. The camp, directed by CSIS confidential informant Mubin Shaikh, included members of the alleged Toronto 18 terror cell, who are accused of conspiring to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack in southern Ontario, including plans for truck bombings and storming local buildings such as the Canadian Parliament and the headquarters of the CSIS.
The video features footage of the men receiving instruction on the use of handguns, sniper tactics, and basic calisthenics. Crudely edited by its creators to include nasheed music, the video also shows the men practicing evasive driving maneuvers at night in an abandoned parking lot.”
The prosecution in the trial of some of the young men purportedly pictured in the video has claimed it was shot as a recruiting tool. But the video’s release just days before a decision is handed down in the trial is “concerning”, according to Mitchell Chernovsky, a lawyer for one of the accused. “‘I have no idea why it’s being released now… It just is very concerning that it is being released at this time and without any context’.
The video wasn’t submitted as evidence at the trial in Brampton, Ont., nor is there any reason to believe Canadian prosecutors had it in their possession, said Chernovsky, who added he saw the video online for the first time Thursday. ” (Interestingly, AP and other media outlets have claimed the video WAS presented in court as evidence earlier this year - but the defense lawyer’s never seen it. Interesting.)
From Toronto’s Globe and Mail: “Defence lawyers have argued the camp was so amateurish an exercise that it never rose to the level of terrorist training, and that many of the peripheral attendees were unaware they were being groomed as terrorists by more senior suspects.” (Nawwww, ya think?) -
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