In this artist's sketch, John Nuttall (left) and Amanda Korody appear in court in Vancouver, Monday. Feb.2, 2015. Nuttall and Korody were arrested in July 2013 and charged with four counts, including conspiring to commit murder and conspiring to place explosives on behalf of a terrorist group.Felicity Don/The Canadian Press
A husband and wife who placed pressure-cooker bombs outside the B.C. legislature and branded themselves "al-Qaeda Canada" attempted the attack in the hopes it would make Canadians think twice about sending troops to Muslim countries, says the Crown.
The trial of John Nuttall and Amanda Korody began Monday in B.C. Supreme Court. The couple, described by the Crown as a two-person terror cell, is accused of planting the bombs on July 1, 2013, ahead of Canada Day festivities in the B.C. capital of Victoria. They have pleaded not guilty.
Peter Eccles, the Crown prosecutor, told the court the case is about "two individuals who became, for whatever reason, radicalized into an extreme form of Islamic ideology that considers it acceptable to kill for political agenda."
Lawyers for the accused, however, urged the jury to keep an open mind.
Mr. Eccles said the police investigation into Mr. Nuttall began in February, 2013, though it was unclear exactly why he was a target. The prosecutor said Mr. Nuttall was approached by an undercover police officer who posed as a businessman and said he was looking for his niece. Mr. Nuttall agreed to help and the conversation quickly shifted to Islam, of which Mr. Nuttall was a recent convert, the Crown said.
Mr. Nuttall, before long, allegedly told the undercover officer Muslims were being oppressed and that he wanted to participate in jihad.
Mr. Eccles said Mr. Nuttall initially wanted to build rockets, such as those used by Hamas. When that proved too difficult, given the number of materials involved, Mr. Nuttall instead decided to replicate the Boston Marathon bombings because they were relatively inexpensive and simple, the Crown said.
Three pressure-cooker bombs were allegedly built in all. They were put in two separate bags and placed in planters outside the legislature, Mr. Eccles said. He said one blast was scheduled to go off at 10 a.m., the second at 10:15. The RCMP had intervened to ensure the devices were inert, though Mr. Eccles said the blast wave had the capability to reach 150 metres.
Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody, who had returned to the Lower Mainland after placing the bombs, listened nervously to the news and were confused as to why the devices did not explode, the Crown said. The couple had been put up in an Abbotsford, B.C., hotel room by the undercover officer, a room that was bugged by police, Mr. Eccles said.
Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody were arrested as they left the hotel room.
The couple had, Mr. Eccles said, begun calling themselves al-Qaeda Canada. He said Mr. Nuttall was at one point recorded telling his wife: "We are AQ Canada. OK? Al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda Canada, that's who we are. That's it, who's going to disagree with us? Al-Qaeda? They won't disagree with that."
At another point, Mr. Nuttall allegedly said al-Qaeda Canada was about to "rock the world."
Mr. Eccles said the attack was politically motivated. He said Mr. Nuttall in one instance said he hoped the bombings would "cause people to rethink their position of sending troops overseas to kill Muslims." Mr. Eccles added that the couple "wanted to prevent the government from providing aid to anyone who opposed radical Islamic ideology."
The Crown said the couple recorded a video laying out their motivation for the attack, with Ms. Korody telling Muslims not to despair because Allah was on their side.
Marilyn Sandford, the lawyer representing Mr. Nuttall, asked the jury to not reach any conclusions until it has heard all the evidence. She quoted a recorded conversation in which Mr. Nuttall expressed fear about what the apparent businessman would do if Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody did not finish building the devices.
"Has it occurred to you that he has a … contingency plan? It involves us wearing cement galoshes at the bottom of the ocean," he told his wife.
Ms. Sandford told the jury it will hear about Mr. Nuttall's personal beliefs, some which it might find repugnant. She asked that the jurors not let their opinions about those beliefs interfere with their role of considering the evidence dispassionately and objectively.
Mark Jetté, Ms. Korody's lawyer, asked the jury to pay "careful attention to how it is that she became ensnared in what was a police undercover operation."
He said his client was not the initial target and was very much in the background for much of the investigation.
The trial is expected to last about 18 weeks.
Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody have been charged with four counts in all, including knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity.
They've also been charged with conspiring to commit murder, possessing an explosive substance, and placing an explosive in a public place – all of which, it is alleged, was for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group.