LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR Abdullah Khadr was arrested by the RCMP Saturday on a warrant from U.S. authorities and his mother, Zaynab Elsamnah, right, was taken into custody.
Posted on 12/18/2005 6:27:25 AM PST by fanfan
Abdullah Khadr, the eldest son of a reputed Canadian Al Qaeda financier, was arrested by the RCMP yesterday on terrorism-related charges at the request of American authorities.
The 25-year-old Canadian recently returned from Pakistan where he was held for 14 months without charge. He was arrested last night after agreeing to meet an RCMP officer at a McDonald's near his Scarborough apartment, his relatives said last night.
His mother, Maha Elsamnah tried to intervene in the arrest and was also taken into custody, but later released without charges. Khadr's brother, 22-year-old Abdurahman was also at the fast food restaurant and took pictures of the arrest with his cell phone camera.
An RCMP spokesperson confirmed the arrest last night but said they were only acting at the behest of American authorities.
“We arrested Mr. Khadr on the grounds of a provisional warrant issued by the department of justice, after the US government petitioned the Canadian courts to allow for his arrest,” said Corporal Michele Paradis.
“The process had nothing to do with the RCMP, we received it today and acted on it.”
But according to court documents the RCMP has been investigating both Khadr and his sister Zaynab, who also returned to Canada earlier this year, under terrorism provisions of the Criminal Code introduced in 2001.
Khadr's Edmonton-based lawyer Dennis Edney said last night Khadr now faces two charges: possession and use of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence and conspiracy to murder a U.S. national outside of the U.S.
According to Western intelligence services, Khadr ran an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. But in an interview with the Star he claimed he's not a terrorist and only attended the notorious Khaldan camp in Afghanistan when he was 13.
“I just want everybody to know I have nothing to do with anything,” he said in an interview earlier this month.
Khadr was detained by Pakistani authorities in October 2004. Until his return to Canada Dec. 2, his whereabouts had been unknown.
The Toronto Star revealed the fact that Khadr had quietly returned, accompanied by Canadian officials. He was questioned at the airport by RCMP investigators, then dropped off at his grandparents' home in Scarborough and told he was a “free man,” according to his relatives and lawyer.
But a U.S. source told the Star that American authorities were looking to issuing a provisional warrant for Khadr's arrest.
The following week Khadr told the Star in an interview that he was tortured during the first 48 hours of his detention. He also described the visits he said he had from several Canadian and American security officials.
During that interview another lawyer representing Khadr, Nate Whitling, said if Khadr is charged, he would argue that any information provided during these interview sessions in Pakistan would be inadmissible due to his harsh treatment and the fact that he was never charged or provided a lawyer.
Khadr is the eldest son of Egyptian-born Canadian Ahmed Said Khadr, who was killed in a battle with Pakistani forces in 2003. There are six children in the family that was raised traveling between Scarborough, Pakistan and Afghanistan. They grew up alongside Osama bin Laden's children.
Khadr is being held at Toronto's West Detention Centre and will appear in court this morning for a bail hearing.
LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR Abdullah Khadr was arrested by the RCMP Saturday on a warrant from U.S. authorities and his mother, Zaynab Elsamnah, right, was taken into custody.
Canada Ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.
The Mounties always get their man, King!
Well, pretty much...
Sort of a broad based blanket denial.
Sheesh. This Khadr family story reminds me of Krekar over in Norway. Arrest, release, arrest, release...
Hee, hee.
There will be a bail hearing and then an extradition hearing.
I will be surprised if the extradirion hearing is successful in ordering this piece of trash to the USA.
Please keep us updated on the outcome of his bail hearing.
See ya ... and take your mama with ya.
"It's just a couple of sheep herders
up on Brokeback Mountain, King."
Sheesh. The RCMP might as well say, "We only made this arrest because of the Americans. We wouldn't have done this otherwise."
OK.
We're busy with elections up here, but I'll try.
:-)
Did they catch him mid-way through a double order "Mc-Rib" sandwich????
Those Mounties that had their pictures taken with that cell phone better watch their !##$#. They may get a visit they and I don't want.
LOL.
With a side order of bacon left over from the mornings bacon and egg McMuffins.
As Sgt. Preston was heard to say to his faithful dog at the end of every show, "Well, King, this case is closed."
With their deeply entrenched appeasement mentality, they probably actually think this is going to protect them from a terrorist attack....
Everytime I see that smug little Khadr face, I just want to punch it.
Go Mounties!
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