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 A woman listens as names of victims are read during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2012. (REUTERS/Mary Altaffer/POOL) |
TORONTO — A vigil to remember 24 Canadian victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. will be held Tuesday near the east-end home of a sister of convicted terrorist Omar Khadr.
Shobie Kapoor of the Canadian Patriotic Society said a moment of silence will be held to remember the Canadian victims.
"There will be candles, an altar and we will say a prayer for the victims," Kapoor said on Tuesday. "This is a solemn occasion to remember and honour victims of the cowardly attacks."
A vigil to remember the Canadian victims of 9/11 will be held in Scarborough on September 11, 2012.
The 7 p.m. vigil will be held near an apartment where Khadr's sister Zaynab is believed to be a tenant.
"We are sending a message to the Khadr family that Canadians are against terrorism," Kapoor said. "Terrorists will not be tolerated in this country."
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Similar services will be held in the U.S. Tuesday to remember the 3,000 victims of the attacks.
Kapoor said a petition is being circulated calling on the federal government to keep Khadr out of Canada and have him charged with treason.
Meanwhile, supporters of Khadr said they'll be out in force to protest the vigil.
An organizer of that group said members of the Khadr family will be handing out food at the event.
"We will establish a hate-free zone and declare that Islamophobia is not welcome here," Khadr supporters said on a website called "Resist Islamophobia. Bring Omar Khadr Home."
Khadr, 26, a Canadian citizen, has been detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nearly a decade. In October 2010, he pleaded guilty to throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. Khadr was 15 at the time of the attack.
He was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but must only serve eight years thanks to a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors. He became eligible to return to Canada last fall. The government has yet to arrange for his transfer.