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| Great White North | ||
| Khadr charged with supplying weapons to al-Qaeda for pops | ||
| 2005-12-19 | ||
| Abdullah Khadr, a Canadian arrested in Toronto Saturday on terrorism charges at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, was involved in supplying ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and bombs to Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, according to American officials. The materiel, according to an affidavit filed at the time of the weekend arrest, was to be used against American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Khadr, who was arrested after RCMP officers lured him to an Scarborough McDonald's near the family home, made a brief appearance under heavy security yesterday morning at Old City Hall; he is scheduled to appear in the Superior Court of Justice on University Ave. today. While the affidavit filed in support of the U.S.'s extradition request will not be made public until today, the U.S. Justice Department yesterday alleged that Khadr, during a six-month period in 2003, bought approximately $20,000 (U.S.) in ammunition for AK-47's, Russian machine-guns, mortar rounds and rocket propelled grenades. He is alleged to have told FBI agents that he made the purchases at the request of his father, reputed Al Qaeda financier Ahmed Said Khadr, who was killed in a battle with Pakistani forces in October 2003. That same firefight also left Khadr's youngest brother — now back in the family's Scarborough home — paralyzed. According to the U.S. claims — none of which have been proved in court — the munitions Khadr is alleged to have bought were then given to a "third party, whom Khadr identified as a munitions procurer and high level member of Al Qaeda. That man then distributed the munitions to Al Qaeda forces," according to the statement released yesterday. The U.S. alleges Khadr told FBI investigators with the Joint Terrorism Task Force that about half of the munitions were used in the fight against the American forces in Afghanistan and the other half were used for training. American officials also claim in the document that Khadr provided hydrogen peroxide to make mines for Al Qaeda, and is alleged to have transported 45 containers of hydrogen peroxide to the same Al Qaeda operative to whom he delivered the ammunition. According to the statement, the mines were intended for forces in the Burmil region of Afghanistan. Khadr also allegedly told the FBI that he had procured weapons to use against the Northern Alliances forces in 2000, when he was living with his family in Afghanistan. Khadr's Edmonton-based lawyer Dennis Edney called the extradition application a "cynical and spiteful action" by the U.S. authorities. Edney said yesterday when Khadr was detained in Pakistan he was asked to become a witness for American terrorism-related cases and he believes since Khadr refused, he is now being charged. "How can the U.S. authorities now assure Mr. Khadr of a fair hearing in the paranoid climate of the U.S., (after) having already mistreated him in a Pakistan prison?" Edney accuses the U.S. of illegally participating in Khadr's detention without charge in Pakistan. "How can Mr. Khadr be assured of a fair hearing by a U.S. government that refuses to follow its own domestic law, not to mention international law?" Edney is also demanding that the Canadian government explain why the RCMP and agents with Canada's spy service interviewed Khadr while he was detained.If convicted of the U.S. offences, Khadr faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and could be sentenced to life in prison and a fine of $250,000. Khadr's arrest leaves many questions unanswered.
Khadr, 24, who entered no plea at the hearing, faces extradition to the United States on charges of possessing, and conspiracy to possess, a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Boston, where the charges were filed. He faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted. Khadr was arrested Saturday. A bail hearing could come as soon as Wednesday. He is alleged to have bought AK-47 and mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and containers of mine components for al-Qaida. The weapons purchases were made at the request of his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, an Egyptian-born Canadian who was killed in 2003 when a Pakistani Cobra helicopter fired on a house where he was staying with senior al-Qaida operatives, authorities said. Abdullah Khadr was born in Canada in 1981 and settled with his family in Pakistan in 1997. The U.S. attorney in Boston said he received military training at a camp in Afghanistan for four months in the mid-1990s. Pakistani intelligence officers picked him up in a car in Islamabad on Oct. 12, 2004, and he was returned to Canada in early December.
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Edney accuses the U.S. of illegally participating in Khadr's detention without charge in Pakistan. To use the Star's words, "none of which have been proved in court". |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-12-19 12:16 |