Brampton, Ont.-A youth charged with belonging to a homegrown terror cell in Canada known as the Toronto-18 pleaded not guilty in a Brampton courtroom on March 25. The youth is one of 18 individuals, 14 of them adults, who allegedly belonged to an Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist group that tried to purchase three tons of ammonium nitrate in 2006 for use in bombs intended for the Toronto Stock Exchange and offices of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (GM June 12, 2006). The highly-publicized arrests were made after a sting operation conducted by Canadian authorities who arranged the AN sale. The youth is the first to be tried under Canada’s 2001 Anti-terrorism Act. All of the accused are Canadian citizens, and three of the teens have had charges against them stayed while the adults are awaiting trial. The identity of the youth is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The evidence includes videotapes allegedly depicting terrorist indoctrination, firearms training, and the testing of a remote switch that could be used to detonate a bomb; wiretaps of the adults allegedly plotting to kidnap and behead members of Parliament; and photographs of materials, including fertilizer, required to build a bomb. Little about the case has been made public since the arrests due to broad publication bans enforced during the bail hearings and preliminary inquiries. In September, a decision was made to halt the preliminary hearing for the adults and proceed directly to trial. Local reports said last week that it could be months and even years before those trials begin.
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