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Concordia bomb threat suspect in court for bail hearing

Hisham Saadi appears in court for a bail hearing Wednesday, March 8, in connection to the Concordia bomb threat. Delphine Bergeron/Court artist

Hisham Saadi, the man accused in connection with the Concordia University bomb threat March 1, appeared in Montreal court for a bail hearing Wednesday.

The Concordia PhD student faces charges of public mischief, uttering threats and causing fear of a terrorist attack.

A Montreal police officer testified in front of Judge Nathalie Fafard about what led investigators to arrest the 47-year-old at his Côte-des-Neiges apartment last Thursday at 1:30 a.m.

There is a publication ban on the details of the investigation, as requested by defence lawyer Caroline Braun.

The Crown opposed Saadi’s release, saying he is a risk to the public.

READ MORE: 47-year-old man arrested following Concordia University bomb threat

The bomb threat at Concordia University’s downtown campus forced the evacuation of three buildings Wednesday.

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“I am shocked and surprised. We are an open university and we have students from 150 different countries and many faith communities,” said Alan Shepard, president and vice-chancellor of Concordia.

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“Everybody’s welcome and we have a great institution and it’s a shame to see this kind of a threat against any of our groups of students.”

Several media outlets, including Global News, had received an email threatening to “detonate once per day, a small artisanal amateur explosive devices.”

WATCH BELOW: Bomb threat forces evacuation of Concordia University

The targets were on two floors of the Hall building at 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. Ouest and one floor of the EV building, located at 1515 Sainte-Catherine St., “where Muslims hang out.”

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READ MORE: ‘Nothing found’ after Concordia University bomb threat targeting ‘Muslim students’

The email goes on to say that the bombs are “not meant to kill anybody. The only aim is to injure some Muslim students” and that “things have changed” now that Donald Trump is in office in the U.S.

Saadi was not previously known to police.

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