OTTAWA – Two Ottawa men charged in an alleged homegrown terror plot with links to Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan were in court for mere minutes Thursday before being whisked to jail.
Their lawyers scheduled appearances by video link from the Innes Rd. detention centre Sept. 1, but said they don't yet know much about their clients other than the terrorism charges they face are rare and very serious.
"There's only been a handful -- there was the Khawaja case, the group of 18 in Toronto," said Ian Carter, who appeared for Misbahuddin Ahmed, 26.
The married father of a seven-month-old daughter is one of three men accused of conspiring to facilitate terrorist activity over two years with three named people and unknown others in Canada, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Dubai.
"It's not common," Carter said of the charge. "If he's found guilty he'd be facing a very lengthy prison sentence."
"I think he's in shock," he said of his client's mental state.
Lawyer Sean May is representing Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, 30, who's also facing allegations he financed a terrorist group and had explosives intended to endanger lives or damage property.
"We're very much at the information-gathering stage, at this point we're just getting started," May said, noting that while the Crown has disclosed evidence against his client, it can't be made public.
A third accused -- Khurram Syed Sher, 28, of London, Ont. -- didn't appear in court in Ottawa.
Federal prosecutor David McKercher -- who made the case against convicted terrorist Momin Khawaja -- said little other than "the Crown does its talking in court."
He wouldn't say how imminent the alleged threat was to Canadians.
"Imminent is open to interpretation," McKercher said.
The tall, slim Alizadeh, who has a bushy beard and long, curly hair topped by a skull cap, wore fashionable glasses and an open-collar checked shirt. He spoke briefly to his lawyer
Ahmed, shorter and stockier with a full beard and wearing a tan shirt, said nothing in court.
Security was tighter than typical. The pair were brought to court and then to jail in a sport utility vehicle with tinted windows and a security escort. They were flanked as they appeared separately in the prisoners box by members of the RCMP tactical team who scanned the court room and spectators were walked through metal detectors.
The charges, according to court documents:
- Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, 30, of Woodridge Cres., Misbahuddin Ahmed, 26, of Esterlawn Pvt. and Khurram Syed Sher, 28, of London, Ont., are accused of conspiring since February 2008 with James Lara, Rizgar Alizadeh and Zakaria Mamosta and others in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and four other countries to knowingly facilitate terrorist activity, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison;
- Alizadeh is also charged with making or possessing an explosive substance with the intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property, or to enable another person to do so, from September 2009 to the day before his arrest, punishable by a maximum penalty of life;
- Alizadeh is also accused of collecting property, directly or indirectly, or inviting others to provide property or financial services used to benefit a terrorist group, also over the past year. It carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
