Toronto 18 plotter being released from jail
Would-be terrorist who planned to bomb downtown no longer considered a threat
One of the men serving jail time for the so-called “Toronto 18” bomb plot was granted day parole and is being released from prison.
In a decision addressing 28-yearold Saad Gaya on Wednesday, the Parole Board of Canada concluded that he will not be a risk to the public and his conditional release will support his reintegration into society.
Gaya pleaded guilty in 2010 to being part of the radical Islamic group that planned to set off bombs in downtown Toronto and at a military base near Hwy. 401. “You now understand that your extremist views and actions are contrary to the true meaning of Islam,” the board concluded this week.
“It was evident to the board that you had gained tremendous insight into your radicalization and the events that led to your (offence).”
Two halfway houses in the Toronto area are supporting Gaya, and he will be required to stay there and obey a series of conditions attached to his parole.
He is not allowed to associate with any person who could be involved in criminal activity, and he can’t use any technology that would give him unsupervised Internet access. He must also report all contact with other men to his parole officer and will be required to take religious counselling. His day parole could be revoked if he breaks these conditions and will be reviewed by the board within six months, according to spokesperson Holly Knowles. “The board members do a very thorough risk assessment, as well as, in this case, a hearing took place,” Knowles said.
“That’s always what the paramount consideration is: the protection of society through the safe reintegration of the offender.”
The parole board decision outlined Gaya’s admitted involvement with the “Toronto 18” group when he was an 18-year-old in the spring of 2006. He grew up as the middle child in a “prosocial and supportive family” and played rugby, soccer, basketball and cricket in high school. At university, he became involved with Muslim student groups when he became interested in learning more about his religion to defend against comments from classmates that Islam “encouraged suicide bombings,” according to the parole board decision.
Gaya was then recruited by members of the group who were planning to make a political statement to pressure the Canadian government to pull troops from Afghanistan. He was arrested in June 2006 while unloading “a large quantity” of fertilizer that was going to be used to build bombs, the decision says.
At his hearing before the parole board, Gaya said he had a “poor interpretation” of Islam when he was younger and that he found the leader of the Toronto18 group “to be almost like a hero.” He admitted that, as his beliefs grew more extreme, it would be acceptable for an innocent person to die in the bomb attacks, but that he never knew the specific targets of the plot.
As an inmate, Gaya received10 “minor charges” for infractions like covering his cell window or refusing to lock up. But the parole board noted that officials concluded that he was most likely following along with behaviour in his cellblock, to appear “solid” with the other prisoners and stay safe.
Gaya also took university courses and met with an imam in prison to “better understand and challenge (his) previous ideologies.”
Last fall during the federal election, the previous Conservative government moved to strip Gaya’s Canadian citizenship because he is a convicted terrorist plotter.
Under controversial legislation passed last May, the government granted itself the ability to revoke the citizenship of Canadians with dual nationality. Despite the fact that Gaya was born in Montreal, the previous government considered him a dual national because his parents are immigrants from Pakistan.
Gaya launched a federal court challenge to prevent the move, and his lawyer in that case, Lorne Waldman, told the Star he expects the new Liberal government to drop the case against his client.
“The lawsuit’s been adjourned until late March. The expectation is, by then the government will have presented legislation to change the law,” said Waldman.
Gaya is serving an 18-year sentence for his involvement in the bomb plot, and if his conditional release continues, he will be overseen by a parole officer until that term runs out.
The parole board decision notes that, while on parole, he plans to go to university to study for a graduate degree and that the halfway houses that have agreed to take him in will help him find job opportunities.