An Algerian terrorist suspect has been deported from Vancouver after spending more than four years in jail. Samir Ait Mohamed was accused of being an associate of "Millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam.Ressam was last year sentenced to 22 years in a U.S. jail for plotting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport at the turn of the millennium.
Mohamed was picked up in Vancouver in July 2001 as he tried to cross the border into the United States. Canadian officials alleged Mohamed and Ressam planned to bomb the largely Jewish Montreal neighbourhood of Outremont.
In the years of working out a plea bargain, Ressam, originally from Algeria,
The United States tried to extradite Mohamed, but their case fell apart when Ressam backed out of a promise to testify against him. Extradition proceedings were dropped in August.
Mohamed tried to gain refugee status in Canada, saying he would be killed if he was sent home. However, officials from the Canada Border Services Agency refused on the grounds that he was a danger to the public. Mohamed was detained at a Vancouver remand centre for more than four years without charge and recently dropped his bid to fight the deportation order.
He was deported Wednesday from Vancouver to an undisclosed location. It's believed he likely went back to his native Algeria. Amnesty International has expressed concern over his deportation because of Algeria's poor record on human rights.