April 15, 2008:
In a surprising development, Crown prosecutors ask for a stay of
proceedings against four suspects — Abdul Qayyum Jamal,
described in court documents as the alleged ringleader of the
group, Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, Ibrahim Aboud and Yasim Mohamed.
April 11, 2008:
Defence lawyer Faisal Mirza challenges the anti-terrorism law
under which his client, who cannot be named, is charged because
he says it doesn't outline what is considered lawful
participation in an armed conflict.
March 26, 2008:
Court documents are released, including transcripts of alleged
conversations in which the accused said they hoped their attacks
would far exceed the London subway bombings a year earlier. A
defence lawyer files court documents saying the defence will
show that a so-called jihadist training camp run by some of the
accused was nothing more than a screening exercise for possible
recruits to Islamic militancy.
March 25, 2008:
The trial of one of 15 suspects begins in a courtroom in
Brampton, Ont. The accused, who was 18 at the time of his arrest
and cannot be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal
Justice Act, pleaded not guilty.
November 5, 2007:
Abdul Qayyum Jamal is granted bail and the most serious charge
against him - planning to cause a deadly explosion - is dropped.
October 22, 2007:
Bomb plot suspect Steven Chand, also known as Abdul Shakur, is
denied bail.
Sept. 24, 2007:
Federal prosecutors take the unusual step to stop the suspects'
preliminary hearing and go straight to trial. This is an option
available to the deputy attorney general or attorney general
under exceptional circumstances. Charges are stayed against the
accused, then charges are re-issued. Five defendants now face
additional charges, and three have one charge dropped apiece.
July 31, 2007:
Charges were stayed against two other youths in connection with
the bust. The decision came after an agreement was reached
between the Crown and defence lawyers.
Feb. 23, 2007:
Charges against the youngest suspect were stayed in a Brampton
courtroom. The 16-year-old from Mississauga, who cannot be named
under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was originally granted
bail in July 2006.
The stay means the charges are
withdrawn, but can be reactivated within a year if the Crown
decides it has enough evidence to support the charges. Michael
Block, lawyer for the teen, said it's rare that charges would be
reactivated.
Jan. 16, 2007:
A preliminary hearing begins in Brampton, Ont., for four youths,
all under 18, accused of belonging to a group allegedly involved
in the bomb plot. The preliminary hearing is subject to a
publication ban and the evidence cannot be reported. Three of
the four suspects are out on bail, while the fourth remains in
custody.
Oct. 13, 2006:
The existence of a second police mole in the investigation is
revealed. The man, an agricultural engineer in his 20s, is from
a wealthy family of Egyptian descent. His expertise could have
allowed conspirators to gain access to large amounts of
fertilizer that could be used in bombs. He reportedly
volunteered to help police because he feared that a successful
attack would have been a catastrophe for the Canadian Muslim
community. The man is under police protection pending the trial.
His identity is being withheld to protect his family.
Sept. 19, 2006:
Zakaria Amara, 21, is denied bail for reason that can't be
revealed because of a publication ban.
Aug. 8, 2006:
A fourth person charged in the alleged bomb plot is granted
bail. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named under the Youth
Criminal Justice Act, is released on $137,000 bail. His bail
conditions dictate that he cannot leave the province and must
surrender all his travel documents. He also must stay in his
parents' house at all times unless accompanied by one of his six
sureties. And, his outside communication is limited to the
phone, but only to speak with his sureties, authorities or his
lawyers.
Aug. 3, 2006:
Police arrest Ibrahim Alkhalel Mohammed Aboud, 19, at his home
in Mississauga, Ont., in connection with the alleged bomb plot.
Aboud's arrest is the first in connection with the case since
the sweep in early June.
A justice of the peace denies
bail to Asad Ansari, 21, for reasons that cannot be released
because of a publication ban. Ansari's lawyer says his client
plans to seek a second bail hearing before a judge.
July 24, 2006:
An Ontario judge grants bail to the youngest of 17 suspects, a
16-year-old who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice
Act. The decision overturns the ruling of a justice of the
peace, who denied bail to the teen June 27. His bail conditions
stipulate that he must live with his parents, cannot communicate
with his alleged co-conspirators and must report to police. A
$15,000 surety is put up by his parents.
July 20, 2006:
Ahmad Ghany, 21, is released after posting bail of $140,000.
Ghany's lawyer and the Crown came to an agreement on house
arrest before the bail hearing, but the details of that
agreement cannot be revealed because of a publication ban.
Under the conditions of his
bail, Ghany must live with his parents, report to police weekly,
cannot communicate with his co-accused and may only leave his
parents' house unaccompanied to attend work, school, court, a
hospital or his lawyer's office.
July 17, 2006:
One of the 17 bomb-plot suspects, Saad Khalid of Mississauga,
Ont., is denied bail. He was charged in June 2006 with
participating in a terrorist group, receiving training with a
terrorist group, and intent to cause an explosion likely to harm
people or damage property.
July 14, 2006:
A teen facing terrorism-related charges is granted bail, making
him the first of 17 suspects implicated in an alleged bomb plot
to be released from jail. The 18-year-old faces charges of
belonging to and training with a terrorist organization.
July 13, 2006:
A prominent member of Toronto's Indo-Canadian Muslim community
tells CBC's The Fifth Estate he worked as an informant in the
bomb plot investigation. Mubin Shaikh, who calls himself an
"observant Muslim," said he was a paid undercover informant for
the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service for more than two
years, working much of that time with the suspects in the
alleged bomb plot.
June 27, 2006:
The two youngest people charged in connection with the alleged
bomb plot — a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old who was 17 at the
time of arrest — are denied bail by a justice of the peace in a
Brampton, Ont. courtroom.
June 26, 2006:
Nine of the suspects appear in a Brampton, Ont. court to set
future court appearances. Two others appear via video link.
June 12, 2006:
A justice of the peace imposes a publication ban on the
proceedings against the suspects in the alleged bomb plot.
Lawyers for some of the suspects speak out against the ban.
Lawyer Rocco Galati says he will appeal the ban on the grounds
that it's unfairbecause of thedamaging allegationsthat have been
made in publicagainst his clients.
The lawyers also claim that
their clients are being mistreated. Galati says the accused are
being kept in rooms that are lit 24 hours a day and have been
denied access to the outdoors for the first five days. They are
fed through a slot in the door, he says, and their food is taken
away after five minutes.
David Kolinsky, a lawyer
representing Zakaria Amara, says his client laughed when a guard
touched his ribs while searching him. Kolinsky claims the guard
then pinned his client down, drilled his finger into his cheek
and said "Is this funny?"
June 10, 2006:
Muslim leaders in Toronto meet privately with Prime Minister
Stephen Harper to discuss their concerns about an anti-Muslim
backlash after the arrests.
Muslims representing about 30
mosques in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec call for a
zero-tolerance policy in mosques and community centres against
preaching "any form of hatred or intolerance."
June 9, 2006:
Court documents made available to CBC News indicate that CSIS
and RCMP agents have been watching the group since January 2006.
The documents mention intercepted telephone conversations,
observations of suspects brandishing semi-automatic weapons, and
the contents of a note in one of the suspect's luggage during a
flight from Pakistan to Canada in March this year.
June 8, 2006:
Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin, a Muslim religious leader in Toronto,
says he knows some of the bomb plot suspects and witnessed them
change to become radicalized introverts.
June 7, 2006:
The Toronto Star reports that suspect Steven Chand had been a
member of the Royal Regiment of Canada, a reserve unit, and that
he had received weapons training. The military says he spent
most of his time in the Canadian Forces on leave of absence.
June 6, 2006:
Lawyer Gary Batasar, who represents suspect Steven Chand, says
his client is accused of planning to storm Parliament, behead
the prime minister and attack a number of sites, including CBC
headquarters in Toronto.
Defence lawyers for the accused
say they haven't had enough time to prepare and haven't seen the
evidence against their clients. They ask that bail hearings for
their clients be postponed and most are rescheduled to June 12.
June 5, 2006:
The charges against the 17 suspects are made public. All face
charges under the Anti-terrorism Act and six face explosives
charges.
RCMP assistant commissioner
Mike McDonell tells CBC News the investigation is not over and
more charges and arrests could follow.
June 4, 2006:
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praises the arrests in
Toronto. "It is obviously a very great success for the Canadian
counter-terrorism efforts, which have been very robust," she
says. Other American officials criticize Canada for lax
immigration rules and border security.
A mosque in Toronto is
vandalized overnight. The mosque's glass entrance and 28 large
windows are broken.
June 3, 2006:
Law enforcement officials name the 17 people they have accused
in the case and say they are "adherents of a violent ideology
inspired by al-Qaeda."
The 15 men arrested in Toronto
and Mississauga appear in court and are remanded into police
custody. They are scheduled to have bail hearings June 6.
June 2, 2006:
More than a dozen teams of police officers — as many as 400
officers and security officers in all — raid homes in Toronto
and Mississauga, Ont. and arrest 10 men and five youths. Two
other suspects are already incarcerated in Kingston.
