{UAH} RCMP charge Kingston, Ont., youth with terror-related offence after security probe
|
10:43 AM |
No comments |
RCMP charge Kingston, Ont., youth with terror-related offence after security probe
Police arrested 2 people following raids Thursday on 2 homes in eastern Ontario city
The RCMP's national security team has arrested and charged an Ontario youth with a terrorism-related offence, the police force said Friday after an investigation in Kingston, Ont.
Police have laid two charges against the young person — who's accused of knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and counselling another person to "deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device ... against a place of public use with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury."
The identity of the accused has been withheld by police as the person is a minor and therefore protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The RCMP said it will hold a news conference today starting at 1 p.m. ET to update the public on the investigation. CBCNews.ca will carry that live.
A second individual, an adult male CBC News has identified as Hussam Eddin Alzahabi, was also arrested Thursday, but has not been charged.
"I want to reassure the citizens of the greater Kingston, Ont., area and all Canadians that during the investigation, our primary focus was the safety and protection of the public," Michael LeSage, a chief superintendent with the RCMP's "O" Division, said in a statement.
"I would also like to highlight the efforts of our [national security enforcement team] here in Ontario which worked diligently to obtain the evidence required for these charges. Investigations of this nature are complex, and require significant time and resources to come to a successful conclusion, while ensuring public safety at all times," LeSage said.
Earlier Friday, the father of Hussam Eddin Alzahabi said his 20-year-old son was arrested in what he described as a terror-related investigation.
"They tell me they search about him about terrorists. I know my son, he didn't think about that. He like Canada. He like the safety in Canada. How could he think about that?" Amin Alzahabi, who has been in Canada since 2017, told CBC News in an interview from his home Friday morning.
"Not good, not good."
Friday's developments come after RCMP arrested two people following raids on two homes in the eastern Ontario city.
The RCMP were supported by both Kingston police and FBI officers with support from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
On Thursday, officers could be seen carrying bags of evidence out of the homes.
By Friday morning, the police presence was contained to just one residence.
"It's fake news about my son," Alzahabi said. "I trust my son. I know he cannot do anything against any human, humanity.
"They inspected everything from my house. They didn't find anything," he said. "I think this is not good."
The family, originally from Syria, has been living in Canada since July 2017, Alzahabi said, following time spent in Kuwait from 2008 to 2017.
According to a bulletin posted to the website of a Kingston-area Catholic church detailing the journey of the Alzahabi family, an ecumenical group of churches helped bring them to Canada through the private sponsorship refugee program in 2016-17.
The church group established a series of committees, including a hospitality and orientation committee composed of parishioners, and raised more than $30,000 to help support the family's transition to life in Canada.
Alzahabi said he and his family came to Canada to be "liberated" and avoid being sent back to Syria — which is still in the throes of a multi-year bloody civil war — by the Kuwaiti government.
"I want to save my family from Assad regime in Syria," he said, referencing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who's accused of perpetrating war crimes against his own people.
"I wanted to come to Canada and I [succeeded] in coming to Canada because I trust Canada. I trust this country is for the humanity ... freedom," Alzahabi said.
To that end, Amin Alzahabi said his son was completing high school upgrades at Loyalist Collegiate & Vocational Institute with the hope he could then continue his studies at a university.
In a statement, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said police took action Thursday "based on credible information, to ensure public safety."
The minister said the operation has not changed the country's threat level. It remains at "medium," where it has hovered since late 2014.
However, the threat was considered serious enough to involve months of investigation, thousands of hours of police work and the use of a Pilatus PC-12 RCMP surveillance plane that had been circling over Kingston in recent weeks for hours on end, creating a great deal of interest from residents due to the noise.
Spokespeople for both the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice referred all questions to the RCMP.
With files from the CBC's Chris Hall, John Paul Tasker
POPULAR NOW
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
Related Posts:
{UAH} BMK WASN'T EVEN A SHAREHOLDER IN HIS BUSINESSES- {UAH} Court issues criminal summons against Kyagulanyi over illegal admission to Makerere University
- {UAH} FW: NAMING OF ROAD FROM MUNAKU YEGULIRA TO NAMUNGOONA MIVVUUNUKO {And I am glad to post it in Luganda}
- {UAH} Uganda has received 1,674,270 doses of the Pfizer vaccine
- {UAH} Gov’t withdraws licences, asks all private schools to register afresh (VIDEO)
0 comments:
Post a Comment