Against advice of his lawyer, Toronto 18 member goes on rant to defend his role in terror schemeHis defence lawyer thought it was a bad idea, and the judge said it was a "very bad idea." But Toronto 18 bomb plotter Shareef Abdelhaleem remained steadfast in his unusual request to take over the closing submissions from his lawyer at an entrapment hearing on Monday.
Abdelhaleem was found guilty of terrorism offences last month, but before a conviction is formally registered, the judge is hearing a defence motion alleging Abdelhaleem was entrapped. To prove this, the defence must show the police created a crime or induced the commission of a crime that otherwise would not have occurred.
Abdelhaleem explained to the Brampton court Monday that he thought it would be best if he pointed out the "nuances of the data" because he knows the case better than his lawyer. He even raised the possibility of firing his defence counsel so that he could address the court himself, saying this is "a critical time in my life and I'd like the opportunity to defend myself."
After a 30-minute break for the judge to reflect on the request, Abdelhaleem was permitted to argue his case and launched into an hour-long ramble. He emphatically maintained that his role in a 2006 explosives plot was that of a "mailman" who passed messages between the plot's mastermind, Zakaria Amara, and friend-turned-police agent Shaher Elsohemy, who was recruited to obtain bomb-making chemicals. The Mississauga man argued Elsohemy lured him into becoming the "middleman," saying, "The agent created that role. It didn't exist before."
Abdelhaleem said he agreed to accompany Elsohemy on meetings with Amara because the agent had pulled at his heart strings, saying he was afraid of being seen alone with Amara and didn't want to risk being arrested since he had a young family. "He came to me and he said, 'Please be there so that I will not be photographed with Amara,'" said Abdelhaleem. "I didn't have the heart to say 'No' ... I was tired, I was embarrassed to say 'No' and it was such a simple little small thing."
At times, Abdelhaleem's arguments were long-winded and incoherent, prompting the judge to ask for clarifications and at one point say: "This is just a jumble of words that to me does not make logical sense."
Prosecutors had argued Abdelhaleem was an active participant in a scheme targeting the Toronto offices of Canada's spy agency, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base. Prosecutor Croft Michaelson pointed out that Abdelhaleem was Amara's trusted confidant, ordered bomb-making chemicals and orchestrated details surrounding its delivery. He also noted that it was Abdelhaleem who reached out to Elsohemy and recruited him into the group, eventually introducing him to Amara.
"(Abdelhaleem) chose to participate in the commission of this crime and nothing that was said or done by the agent induced him or would have induced the average person in the position of Mr. Abdelhaleem to commit the crime," said Michaelson.