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2007-10-13 Great White North
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French terrorist bombing suspect allegedly taking refuge in Canada
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Canada's Jewish community is expressing hope that federal security agencies will bring to justice the perpetrator in a terrorist cold case in France who has allegedly taken refuge in this country.
Yesterday, Le Figaro reported that European security agencies are looking for help tracking down a fugitive who used a motorcycle bomb to kill four people and wound 20 others in an October, 1980 attack in Paris. The identity of the suspect had long been unknown. But authorities have recently identified him as a 55-year-old naturalized Canadian of Arab origin who now lives in Canada after spending years in the United States.
The Copernic Road synagogue bombing, which prompted massive rallies against anti-Semitism in France, continues to send ripples of fear today - it's considered one of the reasons that security is increased in synagogues during the High Holidays.
"It's the major incident that started a way in the thinking of Jewish communities around the world," said Bernie Farber, chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress. "It's one of the first times there was a serious bombing outside the Middle East on sovereign territory - French territory, in Paris - aimed specifically at Jews."
Mr. Farber said that while Canada has had "a spotty history" in dealing with terrorists, he is hopeful federal agencies will play a key role in tracking down and extraditing the suspect. "It's a new era, it's a new government," he said. "They have committed themselves to dealing properly and forthrightly with terrorism. This will be a good test case."
| Yet another reason removing the Grits from power was a good thing. |
According to Le Figaro, the suspect "lives peacefully" in Canada. French authorities last month formally asked for help from international agencies in amassing evidence, such as fingerprints, writing samples and DNA. This is said to have flowed from a breakthrough in Germany, where authorities obtained a membership dossier on a now-defunct group known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
French authorities are said to be angered by the leak of their reinvigorated investigation, and have not divulged the suspect's identity. Canadian officials and the French embassy in Ottawa had little to say yesterday. "Communications between states are confidential," said Chris Girouard of the Canadian Department of Justice. Jean-Christophe Fleury, of the French embassy in Ottawa, said he was not free to comment.
Canada formally blacklisted the group as a terrorist entity in 2003, but its previous attempts to deal with alleged members and associates has been less than stellar.
Ottawa officials have now twice failed to deport an alleged member named Issam Al Yamani. The government alleged he was involved in a 1977 United Arab Emirates bombing. But in one of the rulings, a Federal Court judge said the suspect was not a threat given that the PFLP was "not the potent organization it once was, nor is it the radical terrorist organization that it was in the early seventies."
Canada has also taken criticism for the so-called "Triple-M" case. Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad, a PFLP member who allegedly killed an Israeli citizen while hijacking a plane in 1968, has spent nearly 20 years resisting the government's attempts to deport him on the grounds he entered Canada under false pretenses.
While Mr. Farber said he has faith in the Canadian police to track down terrorists, he said the "glacial pace" of the Canadian criminal-justice system remains troubling. But he said his group and counterparts in France are glad authorities never closed the books on the hunt for the synagogue bomber. "There is no statute of limitations when it comes to murder," Mr. Farber said.
| This article starring: |
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| Issam Al Yamani | | |
| Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad | | |
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Posted by tipper 2007-10-13 00:50||
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File under: Global Jihad
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Posted by Canuckistan sniper 2007-10-13 12:20||
2007-10-13 12:20||
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