A young Toronto man – Saad Khalid – has pleaded guilty to aiding a terrorist plot to build bombs to explode in the city's downtown core.
In a dramatic and sudden move, Mr. Khalid became the first adult from amongst the so-called Toronto 18 to admit playing a role in a plot that was allegedly inspired by al-Qaeda and intended to create international publicity for the terrorist cause.
The dramatic development took place on Monday morning in a near-empty Brampton, Ont., courtroom. It was so sudden and cloaked in secrecy that the courtroom was empty but for one reporter and four apparent family members of supporters – including a middle-aged woman who wept as Mr. Khalid was led away after his plea.
Mr. Khalid pleaded guilty to a single count of participating in a terrorist organization, “with the intention of causing an explosion or explosions that were likely to cause serious bodily harm or death,” or to damage property. The charge specifies that Mr. Khalid was acting in support of other conspirators whose names are subject to a ban on publication.
The offences were allegedly committed between March 1, 2006, and June 2, 2006, in Mississauga and a remote township near Orillia, Ont.
Slight, youthful and dressed in conventional street clothes, Mr. Khalid replied on Monday without hesitation to a series of questions from Ontario Court Judge Bruce Durno that were aimed at ascertaining whether his guilty plea was voluntary and not induced by threats or favours.
Sporting a small goatee and a fashionable hair cut, Mr. Khalid stated that he appreciated the legal implications of his guilty plea. He also said that he had no objection to the fact that Judge Durno, the judge who held pre-trial case management conferences, would also be his sentencing judge.
Judge Durno warned Mr. Khalid that, while he will seriously consider any joint Crown and defence submissions that may be made prior to sentencing, they would not bind him to reach any particular conclusions or sentence.
While Saad Khalid entered a guilty plea, no agreed statement of facts was entered and there has been no finding of guilt or conviction.
Prior to entering the guilty plea, lawyers for Mr. Khalid and another accused who is still awaiting trial obtained a blanket ban on publication prior to Mr. Khalid pleading guilty.
In a written application requesting the ban, a lawyer for one of those accused said that any publication of the facts or allegations surrounding Mr. Khalid's guilty plea could taint a future jury.
Judge Durno asked the Crown and defence to notify other media outlets overnight so that they could potentially make legal arguments today as to why the ban should not continue until at least June 22 – when Judge Durno intends to hear a full week of evidence involving information that underlies Mr. Khalid's guilty plea.
Mr. Khalid was arrested and charged on June 2, 2006. Another eleven adults and five young persons were also charged with a number of terrorism-related offences, including participating in a terrorist organization and committing acts intended to cause an explosion.
Some of the accused men allegedly participated in a terrorist training camp in 2005, where the Crown contends they took weapons training and heard speeches exhorting them to action.
The Crown also alleges that some of them – including Mr. Khalid – took steps to acquire explosive material and construct truck bombs that could be detonated remotely.
The alleged targets included the CN Tower, the Toronto Stock Exchange, CSIS offices in Toronto and a military base.
Kirk Makin is The Globe and Mail's justice reporter
