Terror suspect who entered Canada on student visa to await U.S. evidence in jail
A Pakistani national accused of planning a terror attack against a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, New York likely will spend several more weeks in Quebec’s Bordeaux jail while U.S. authorities present evidence to back up an extradition request.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was arrested along with three other individuals in Ormstown, Que., on Wednesday, September 4 after travelling from his home in Toronto.
Ormstown is about 20 kilometres north of the U.S.-Canadian border.
Canadian authorities report they received information from their U.S. counterparts indicating Khan was involved in a conspiracy to stage a shooting attack on an unspecified location in Brooklyn where he expected to find large numbers of Orthodox Jews.
The FBI alleges the attack had been set for October 7 — the first anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel.
Khan did not appear in court this morning. A Crown prosecutor told the court that Canada has not yet received details of the FBI case against him and the prosecution was not ready to proceed.
Under the terms of the Canada-U.S. extradition treaty, American authorities have 60 days from the date of arrest to provide evidence supporting an extradition request. Canada has 30 days to review the evidence and decide to either issue an “authority to proceed” or deny extradition.
Canada can deny an extradition request for an individual and still file charges domestically.
The RCMP arrested Khan on three charges under the Criminal Code: attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terrorist group, participating in the activities of a terrorist group, and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating United States immigration law (by entering or attempting to enter the United States unlawfully).
Khan was then rearrested under a provisional arrest warrant pursuant to the Extradition Act — which suggests that Canadian authorities intend to go the extradition route.
Much of the evidence made public so far was gathered by FBI undercover agents posing as co-conspirators in the alleged plot.
Quebec Superior Court Judge Helene Di Salvo set a date of December 6 for Khan’s next appearance — 92 days after his arrest.
Both U.S. and Canadian authorities are expected to have completed the next steps in the extradition process by that point, and the court should have both the U.S. evidence and the Canadian response to consider.
Suspect came on student visa
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said this week that Khan entered Canada on a student visa.
Khan, also known as Shazeb Jadoon, arrived in Toronto on June 24, 2023, one month after receiving his visa.
CBC News has reached out to several post-secondary institutions in the Toronto area. None of them agreed to comment on whether Khan was enrolled there.
He is the third person to be arrested in recent months and accused of plotting attacks on behalf of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Trudeau government launched a review of its screening procedures after the arrests of Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and his son Mostafa Eldidi, 26, in Toronto in July. They are accused of plotting an attack on Canadian soil.
In that case, Canadian authorities were alerted by France after the Eldidis had been cleared by Canada’s security screening.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was asked Friday about two separate cases that saw terror-related charges laid against men who had come into the country from abroad, said the fact that arrests were made in the ‘potentially devastating’ situations highlights the effectiveness of the security services and institutions.
Today in Montreal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his government’s track record, saying the arrest “shows how tenacious our federal agencies are to be able to interrupt this.”
“We are a member of the Five Eyes, watching movements around the world,” he said. “We are constantly making sure that our security services and intelligence agencies are keeping Canadians safe, whether it’s through vetting people wanting to come to Canada, or ensuring that people here are not threatening to cause harm to other Canadians, and we will continue to show our support for men and women around the world that are making people safe.”
