Toronto-area duo a terrorism threat: RCMP
• The RCMP alleged in documents released Thursday that two men arrested after returning to Toronto from Turkey may “travel to participate” in terrorism unless their conduct is restricted through peace bonds.
Kadir Abdul, 27, and Samuel Augustin Aviles, 32, appeared briefly in Brampton court after they were arrested last Friday at Toronto’s Pearson airport. Neither has been charged but the RCMP is alleging they may engage in terrorism.
Rather than seeking criminal charges, the RCMP wants peace bonds against the pair. Recent terrorism peace bonds have generally been for one year and included bans on Internet use and foreign travel as well as electronic monitoring.
“It’s becoming very, very common,” Abdul’s defence lawyer, Anser Farooq, told reporters outside the courthouse. He said he does not yet know the allegations against his client. “I really don’t know anything at this point.”
But the RCMP said the two left Canada on March 23 and were detained by Turkish authorities on March 31 for allegedly attempting to enter the conflict zone. Upon their return to Canada, they were arrested and appeared in court Saturday.
Abdul, a Toronto resident, was released Monday on a $3,000 bond. Aviles was released on a $2,000 bond. Aviles lives in Whitby, Ont. — on the same street as Kevin Omar Mohamed, who was arrested March 25 and charged with terrorism.
During Thursday’s hearing, Aviles asked about a publication ban, saying a National Post reporter had been in his neighbourhood knocking on doors. But the judge responded, “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do in that regard.”
In an information filed in the Ontario Court of Justice, RCMP Insp. Stephen Baetz wrote that police had reasonable grounds to believe that Aviles “may commit one or more terrorist activities,” namely travelling to participate in a terrorist group. The same officer alleged separately that he had reasonable grounds to believe Abdul “may” participate in the activity of a terrorist group, travel to participate in the activity of a terrorist group and facilitate terrorist activity.
Peace bonds are not unusual in Canada in criminal investigations. But they have been used increasingly in terrorism cases since last year, when the former Conservative government made it easier to obtain them on national security grounds.
Critics want the Liberal government to scrap the reform as part of its promised review of the Conservative anti-terrorism law, C-51, arguing peace bonds place severe restrictions on those who have not been charged with any crimes.
Turkey has long been the gateway for foreign fighters on their way to Syria and Iraq to join armed factions such as ISIL, but the republic has been under international pressure to crack down on the flow of combatants.
A report released Monday by the Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point analyzed hundreds of leaked ISIL documents that recorded foreign fighters arriving in Syria from Turkey in 2013 and 2014 to join the terror group. It found that 17 had identified themselves as residents of Canada and seven were citizens.