TORONTO – The Montreal man charged in an alleged al-Qaeda directed terror plot made a second court appearance Wednesday—this time in Toronto.
Chiheb Esseghaier, who is facing several terrorism charges along with Raed Jaser of Toronto, appeared in court this morning and was remanded in custody until May 23.
Jaser, 35, and Esseghaier, 30, were arrested Monday in what authorities are calling the first known al-Qaeda-directed plot in Canada.
Charges against the suspects include conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group.
Canada’s Criminal Code “is not the holy book”
Esseghaier initially appeared in court Tuesday in Montreal, but was flown back Wednesday to Toronto to appear, as the eventual trial will take place there. He told a Toronto court Wednesday morning that he took issue with Canada’s Criminal Code, saying it was written by “a set of creations” that are not perfect.
The justice of the peace presiding over the case told him to be careful what he said because it could be used in future court appearances.
Esseghaier said:
“First of all my comment is the following because all of those conclusions was [were] taken out based on Criminal Code and all of us we know that this Criminal Code is not [the] holy book it’s just written by set of creations and the creations they’re not perfect because only the creator is perfect so if we are basing our judgment…we cannot rely on the conclusions taken out from these judgement.”
Esseghaier faces five terrorism related charges, including a count of conspiring to commit murder for the benefit of a terrorist organization. The other charges relate to participating in terrorist activities, interfering with a transportation system and giving instructions to someone to carry out a terrorist activity.
Jaser, the second train terror plot suspect, appeared in a Toronto court Tuesday morning. He too was remanded in custody until May 23, when he is set to appear from a detention centre via video.
Video: Mother of terror plot suspect leaves Toronto courthouse
Jaser’s lawyer John Norris said his client has been in Canada for 20 years and has deep roots in the community.
“Mr. Jaser is presumed innocent of these charges, just as any other person who would be facing such a charge is to be presumed innocent,” said Norris. “All Canadians should want him to have a fair trial.”
Extended: Terror plot suspect’s lawyer John Norris addresses media (April 23)
Norris also cautioned the public to wait for the evidence and not judge the accused based on Monday’s RCMP news conference.
Both men were remanded into custody following their initial appearances in Toronto, and if they want to apply for bail they must do so at a different level of court.
Norris has indicated he is preparing a bail application, but as of Esseghaier’s court appearance Wednesday he had not retained a lawyer.
Video: Second terror plot suspect arrives at Toronto courthouse (April 24)
The police investigation, named “Project Smooth,” involved Canadian and U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Following the arrests, the Ontario government said it wants to talk with its federal counterparts about beefing up security on passengers trains.
Parliament debates anti-terror bill
The Harper government said it had nothing to do with the timing of the arrests of two terror suspects accused of plotting to attack a Via train.
But Norris called the timing “notable.”
He said the arrests were timed perfectly with the start of MPs beginning final debate on the Conservatives’ anti-terror bill on Monday.
Tip from Muslim community leads to investigation
RCMP officers said tips from the Muslim community prompted them to investigate the suspects, who have been under surveillance since August.
Leaders from the Muslim community were briefed on the arrests prior to Monday’s press conference.
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As part of the investigation, police and RCMP have been carrying out search warrants in Toronto and Montreal.
Years before train terror charges, suspect’s dad saw something wrong
In an interview with Global News, Muhammad Robert Heft, who has done “de-radicalization” work with Muslim youth, said Jaser’s father was worried about his son. The elder Jaser was renting the basement of Heft’s house at the time.
“He asked me if I would come speak with his son, and I absolutely agreed.”
Esseghaier is a Tunisian industrial biologist who studied at the University of Sherbrooke in 2008 and 2009, the school confirmed Monday.
At a press conference Tuesday, Ihsaan Gardee, executive director of the Canadian version of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the plot had nothing to do with the Muslim community as a whole.
Tehran denies links to suspects
Tehran is denying any link with the two accused.
RCMP said the suspects had “direction and guidance” from al-Qaeda members in Iran.
But the country’s foreign ministry said there is “no firm evidence” of any Iranian involvement.
“If the news that you are announcing is true, this is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard in my 64 years,” the ISNA news agency reported Ali Akbar Salehi as saying Tuesday.
You can get more of Global’s up-to-the-minute coverage of the VIA Rail terror plot by clicking here.
– With files from Global News and The Canadian Press
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