Man accused of making threats is a student
Hisham Saadi, the man who was arrested in connection with the bomb threats that disrupted courses at Concordia University on Wednesday, is a student at that university.
Chris Mota, a spokesperson with the university, confirmed the information.
Saadi was scheduled to have a bail hearing on Friday but it was carried over to Monday on a request from Saadi’s lawyer Caroline Braun, a legal aid lawyer. She told Quebec Court Judge Denis Lavergne that it will likely take at least 90 minutes for both sides to make their arguments. She also described the evidence in the case as complex. “My client is really, extremely floored by the accusations,” she said.
Prosecutor Lucie Martineau told reporters the Crown is objecting to Saadi’s release on the basis that he appears to pose a threat to public safety.
Saadi, 47, faces three charges in connection with letters sent to media outlets on Wednesday that claimed there were bombs inside two of the university’s buildings.
Saadi, who was arrested at his apartment on Darlington Ave. early Thursday morning, is charged with committing acts that, considering the context, were susceptible to causing fear that terrorist acts were about to be committed, threats toward people at Concordia University and mischief by preventing people at Concordia University from going about their daily routines. The apartment building had to be evacuated while police searched it for explosives. No explosives were found. The website of an inter-university research centre on microeconomics in Montreal says a Concordia student named Hisham Saadi attended a theory conference on the subject in October 2015.
He is reportedly a PhD student in economics.