Terror charges not warranted, defence says
TORONTO • Lawyers for a Toronto man accused of attacking soldiers at a military recruitment centre two years ago say he should be acquitted of terror-related charges and found not criminally responsible for lesser offences in the case on account of his mental state and the fact he has no affiliation to a terrorist group.
Ayanle Hassan Ali has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of assault causing bodily harm and one count of carrying a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence, all “at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group.”
The 2016 incident at a Toronto military recruitment centre left at least two soldiers with minor injuries.
In written arguments filed as part of Ali’s trial, defence lawyers argue the 30-yearold — who a psychiatrist said shows signs of schizophrenia — should be acquitted on the terror-related charges altogether and found not criminally responsible for the lesser included charges of attempted murder, assault and weapons offences.
In other words, the defence is arguing Ali did commit attempted murder, assault and weapons offences — for which he should be found not criminally responsible — but the crimes were not committed with any relation to a terror group.
“Terrorism is such a loaded term and connotes a level of dangerousness that … we worry that if he is in the system as not criminally responsible for terrorism, it might unfairly affect how he is treated,” defence Nader Hasan said in an interview.
“More fundamentally though, he’s not a terrorist, he’s someone who is ill, and so this process and the ultimate disposition ought to reflect that reality and ultimately what we want is that he is treated as someone who is mentally ill who needs to get better.”
Hasan said Ali would be in custody at a secure treatment facility whether he is found not criminally responsible on the terror charges or the lesser included offences.
The incident at the centre of the case began when Ali entered a Canadian Forces recruitment office in March 2016 and repeatedly punched and slashed at one soldier.
If Ali was not affiliated with any terrorist group, he cannot be guilty of terror offences, because Canadian terror law “does not apply to alleged one-person terrorist groups,” Hasan and co-counsel Maureen Addie argued in their filings.