Momin Khawaja
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Momin Khawaja is a Canadian found guilty of involvement in a plot to plant fertilizer bombs in the United Kingdom; while working as a software engineer under contract to the Foreign Affairs
department in 2004 became the first person charged and found guilty under the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act
following the proof that he communicated with British
Islamists plotting a bomb attack. On March 12, 2009, Khawaja was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison and is eligible for parole five years into the prison term. On December 17, 2010, Khawaja's sentence was increased to life imprisonment, as part of the Canadian government's aim to send a clear message that "Canada is not a safe haven for heinous behaviour".
i immigrants Azra and Mahboob who had moved to Canada in 1967, Khawaja lived in Saudi Arabia
with his family from the ages of 9-14 before moving back to Ottawa
, where he attended Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School
and graduated in January 1998.
Following graduation, he entered a 3-year computer program at Algonquin College
, and became more religious and began teaching youth at the Cumberland mosque. His April 2001 graduation led to a placement in the Gatineau
office of HRDC.
In January 2002, Khawaja took a 3-month trip to stay with his uncle in Pakistan while looking for a potential wife. It was later alleged that this trip had been meant to join the Taliban. Upon returning unsuccessful, he took a job as a contracted software operator for the Department of Foreign Affairs
.
and pellet gun ranges with friends, signing in at the desk with pseudonym
s. One friend, Younes Lasfar, got Khawaja to store two rifles and some ammunition at his house, and Khawaja complies, storing them under his bed. In July, he is alleged to have attended a four-day training camp in Pakistan's FATA region
, along with Omar Khyam
.
In October, Khawaja flew to Pakistan, and is alleged to have met with Khyam who gave him a medical kit, invisible ink
set, cell phone SIM cards and cash, which he allegedly brought to Abu Munthir in Pakistan.
On October 19, Khawaja sent an email to Mohammed Junaid Babar
, stating; “I will start on the remote devices thing right away and will let u know once we have it ready for testing and i find some of the things for testing. Urea
, nitro phosphate, anything else we need?”.
During this time, Khawaja also began corresponding with Zeba Khan after reading her articles on the internet, and arranged to once again travel to Pakistan to meet her, going out to dinner with her and Babar. On October 29, Khan announced that she was engaged to Khawaja, though later the couple decide to cancel the marriage but remain friends.
Prosecutors allege that the following month, the British-based group and Khawaja began discussing potential explosives to be used in the service of "jihad
".
On February 20, 2004, Khawaja travelled to London
and was picked up at the airport by two men, including Khayam.
, as part of a month-long sting operation
entitled Operation Awaken that saw eight others, all of Pakistani heritage, arrested.
Ultimately five were convicted in London courts, and two were acquitted, while Babar agreed to testify against the others in exchange for full immunity for himself. Khawaja's ex-fiancée testified by videolink from Dubai.
The initial two charges against Khawaja were boosted to seven counts, following Babar's telling of events, and a publication ban
prevented the media from reporting on details revealed during legal hearings.
Represented by attorney Lawrence Greenspon
, Khawaja was told to expect a direct indictment leading to a trial beginning in 2006.
The trial began on June 23, 2008, heard by Superior Court judge Douglas Rutherford, in front of prosecutor David McKercher. He was charged with helping to develop bomb detonators, possession of explosives, helping to finance terrorist activity, receiving terrorist training and facilitating terrorism. He had pleaded not guilty on all charges, and the case was being heard without a jury. On October 29, 2008, he was found guilty on all charges by Justice Rutherford. On March 12, 2009, at his sentencing hearing
, Justice Rutherford sentenced Khawaja to 10.5 years on top of the five years already served. Khawaja would be eligible for parole in five years. The Canadian Government appealed the sentencing, asking for a longer sentence.
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
department in 2004 became the first person charged and found guilty under the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act
Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act
The Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act was passed by the Liberal government of Canada in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. It received Royal Assent on December 18, 2001, as Bill C-36. The "omnibus" bill extends the powers of government and institutions within the Canadian...
following the proof that he communicated with British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Islamists plotting a bomb attack. On March 12, 2009, Khawaja was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison and is eligible for parole five years into the prison term. On December 17, 2010, Khawaja's sentence was increased to life imprisonment, as part of the Canadian government's aim to send a clear message that "Canada is not a safe haven for heinous behaviour".
Personal life
Born to PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i immigrants Azra and Mahboob who had moved to Canada in 1967, Khawaja lived in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
with his family from the ages of 9-14 before moving back to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, where he attended Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School (Ottawa)
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School is part of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and it is located in the neighbourhood of Fallingbrook, in the suburb of Orleans, in Ottawa Ontario, Canada. Since 2009, the school's principal has been Ruggles Pritchard.-History:Sir Wilfrid Laurier was...
and graduated in January 1998.
Following graduation, he entered a 3-year computer program at Algonquin College
Algonquin College
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college and member of Polytechnics Canada located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college serves the National Capital Region and the outlying areas of Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec...
, and became more religious and began teaching youth at the Cumberland mosque. His April 2001 graduation led to a placement in the Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
office of HRDC.
In January 2002, Khawaja took a 3-month trip to stay with his uncle in Pakistan while looking for a potential wife. It was later alleged that this trip had been meant to join the Taliban. Upon returning unsuccessful, he took a job as a contracted software operator for the Department of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade , more commonly known as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, is a department in the Government of Canada which has responsibility for foreign policy and diplomacy, as well as import/export and international trade policies.On June...
.
Terrorist activities
In summer 2003, the 24-year old Khawaja began visiting paintballPaintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
and pellet gun ranges with friends, signing in at the desk with pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s. One friend, Younes Lasfar, got Khawaja to store two rifles and some ammunition at his house, and Khawaja complies, storing them under his bed. In July, he is alleged to have attended a four-day training camp in Pakistan's FATA region
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
, along with Omar Khyam
Omar Khyam
Omar Khyam is a citizen of the United Kingdom, who led a terrorist plot.He was trained in bomb-making at the Malakand training camp in Pakistan in 2001 or 2002.He was the ringleader of a plot to explode a fertilizer bomb in London.-References:...
.
In October, Khawaja flew to Pakistan, and is alleged to have met with Khyam who gave him a medical kit, invisible ink
Invisible ink
Invisible ink, also known as security ink, is a substance used for writing, which is invisible either on application or soon thereafter, and which later on can be made visible by some means. Invisible ink is one form of steganography, and it has been used in espionage...
set, cell phone SIM cards and cash, which he allegedly brought to Abu Munthir in Pakistan.
On October 19, Khawaja sent an email to Mohammed Junaid Babar
Mohammed Junaid Babar
Mohammed Junaid Babar is a Pakistani American who, after pleading guilty to terrorist related offences in New York, testified in March 2006 against a group of men accused of plotting 21 July 2005 London bombings...
, stating; “I will start on the remote devices thing right away and will let u know once we have it ready for testing and i find some of the things for testing. Urea
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
, nitro phosphate, anything else we need?”.
During this time, Khawaja also began corresponding with Zeba Khan after reading her articles on the internet, and arranged to once again travel to Pakistan to meet her, going out to dinner with her and Babar. On October 29, Khan announced that she was engaged to Khawaja, though later the couple decide to cancel the marriage but remain friends.
Prosecutors allege that the following month, the British-based group and Khawaja began discussing potential explosives to be used in the service of "jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
".
On February 20, 2004, Khawaja travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and was picked up at the airport by two men, including Khayam.
Arrest, Trial and Sentencing
Khawaja was arrested on March 29, 2004, while his father was teaching at a university in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, as part of a month-long sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
entitled Operation Awaken that saw eight others, all of Pakistani heritage, arrested.
Ultimately five were convicted in London courts, and two were acquitted, while Babar agreed to testify against the others in exchange for full immunity for himself. Khawaja's ex-fiancée testified by videolink from Dubai.
The initial two charges against Khawaja were boosted to seven counts, following Babar's telling of events, and a publication ban
Publication ban
A publication ban is a court order which prohibits the public or media from disseminating certain details of an otherwise public judicial procedure. In Canada, publication bans are most commonly issued when the safety or reputation of a victim or witness may be hindered by having their identity...
prevented the media from reporting on details revealed during legal hearings.
Represented by attorney Lawrence Greenspon
Lawrence Greenspon
Lawrence Greenspon is an Ottawa-based lawyer who is the defense lawyer in the Momin Khawaja terrorist trial.Greenspon was born and raised in Montreal and became a civil libertarian before commencing his legal work....
, Khawaja was told to expect a direct indictment leading to a trial beginning in 2006.
The trial began on June 23, 2008, heard by Superior Court judge Douglas Rutherford, in front of prosecutor David McKercher. He was charged with helping to develop bomb detonators, possession of explosives, helping to finance terrorist activity, receiving terrorist training and facilitating terrorism. He had pleaded not guilty on all charges, and the case was being heard without a jury. On October 29, 2008, he was found guilty on all charges by Justice Rutherford. On March 12, 2009, at his sentencing hearing
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
, Justice Rutherford sentenced Khawaja to 10.5 years on top of the five years already served. Khawaja would be eligible for parole in five years. The Canadian Government appealed the sentencing, asking for a longer sentence.