Canadian Terrorism Allegations—UK Arrests

Authorities in the United Kingdom have arrested a 21-year-old Bradford man and a 16-year-old youth, both of whom, according to the BBC, are being questioned about possible relations to last weekend’s terrorism arrests in Canada.^[1] The 21-year-old was arrested at Manchester airport, and is believed to have recently been in Pakistan.^[2] He has been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire, where a spokesman called the BBC report “’speculation’ and would not comment further.”^[3] Police are also conducting searches at three locations.^[4]

At the moment, there are few details about the arrests, but there seems to be “a sense of heightened alert” in the UK as a number of arrests have been made over the past few weeks, including one in which a man was shot by police.^[5]

Canadian authorities have alleged that the suspected terrorists “planned to storm the nation’s Parliament, take politicians hostage, and behead Prime Minster Stephen Harper unless their demands for a withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan and release of Muslim prisoners were met.”^[6] There were also allegations that “the group planned to bomb power plants in Ontario and invade the downtown Toronto studios of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.”^[7] Reaction from politicians has been mixed with Joseph Cordiano, “a Liberal in Ontario’s provincial Parliament,” telling reporters that the plans sound quite “grandiose” and that he has “serious, serious doubts about their capacity to carry it out,” while Peter Van Loan, “a Conservative in Parliament representing Ontario,” said that “the plot was a very serious one, [and] I don’t expect this is the only threat out there.”^[8] The accusations were contained in a summary of charges presented to one of the arrestees’ attorney, who said that “the sensational allegations [are] an attempt by the government to frighten the public. … It appears to me that whether you are in Toronto or Ottawa or Crawford, Texas, or Washington, D.C., what is wanting to be instilled in the public is fear.”^[9]

In an apparently unrelated arrest, 26-year-old Syed Hashmi has been arrested under a provisional arrest warrant for a requested extradition to the United States.^[10] According to police, he is facing a charge “alleging that between January 1 and March 1, 2004, he received ‘military gear, intending that it should be used for the purpose of terrorism.’”^[11] He was indicted on May 24 in the Southern District of New York.^[12] The indictment was unsealed today, and the military gear is unidentified, but it is alleged that the gear was “to be used by al-Qaida to fight against United States forces in Afghanistan.”^[13] In addition to the “material support to terrorists” charge, he has been charged with conspiring to assist al-Qaida by “agreeing ‘to make and receive a contribution of funds, goods and services’ to the terrorist group.”^[14] He has refused to consent to extradition from the UK.^[15]

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[1] Teenager Held After Terror Arrest, BBC News, Jun. 7, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] UK Terrorism Suspect Linked to Canadian Arrests, Reuters (via Yahoo!), Jun. 7, 2006.
[4] Tariq Panja, British Arrests May Be Tied to Canada Plot, AP (via ABC News), Jun. 7, 2006.
[5] British Terror Suspect Linked to Canada Arrests, CTV.ca, Jun. 7, 2006.
[6] Carol J. William, Canada Detainees Accused of Plot Against Parliament, LA Times, Jun. 7, 2006.
[7] Doug Struck, Terrorism Allegations Detailed in Canada, Wash. Post, Jun. 7, 2006.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Man, 26, to Face Extradition from Britain to US on Terrorism Charge, Agence France-Presse (via Yahoo!), Jun. 7, 2006.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.