Terror plot suspect rejects charges: 'Criminal Code is not holy book'
The Globe and Mail
PublishedWednesday, Apr. 24 2013, 10:47 AM EDT
The Montreal-based suspect accused of plotting an al-Qaeda-linked attack on a Via Rail train told a Toronto court Wednesday that he does not recognize the Criminal Code of Canada, saying it is “not a holy book.”
Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, made the comments in a court appearance Wednesday morning, where he is facing five terror-charges including conspiracy to commit murder.
Mr. Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto, are accused of plotting to derail a Via passenger train on a rail line somewhere between New York and Toronto. Authorities have not specified how the train might have been attacked, or where.
A stocky figure with a thick beard and glasses, wearing a black-and-blue windbreaker, Mr. Esseghaier was soft-spoken and courteous during his 10-minute appearance at Old City Hall in downtown Toronto, and politely declined the offer of an Arabic-speaking translator.
He did not appear with a lawyer and was represented by a duty counsel, with whom he chatted quietly for several minutes. No publication ban was requested during the proceedings.
When addressed, Mr. Esseghaier said, “I wish to have one comment,” to which Justice of Peace Susan Hilton responded with a caution to “be careful what you say.”
Standing in the glass-walled prisoner’s box in the cramped basement courtroom, where every seat was taken, Mr. Esseghaier then calmly told the court he does not recognize Canada’s Criminal Code.
“First of all, my comment is the following because all of those conclusions was taken out based on Criminal Code,” he said.
“All of us we know that this Criminal Code is not holy book, it’s just written by set of creations and the creations – they’re not perfect because only the Creator is perfect so if we are basing our judgment ... we cannot rely on the conclusions taken out from these judgments.”
The Justice of Peace thanked him for his remarks but added that “it doesn’t matter in this court. ... You save that for another court.”
Mr. Esseghaier was ordered detained in custody, and his case put over until May 23. He will appear by video link at the same time and place as his co-accused Mr. Jaser.
Both men have been instructed not to communicate with each other.
The May 23 court appearance will likely set a date for bail applications, which must be heard in Superior Court.
Mr. Esseghaier, a native of Tunisia, moved to Sherbrooke, Que., in 2008 to work as a graduate researcher at the University of Sherbrooke.
In 2010, he began research on bio-sensors as a PhD student at the Institut national de la reserche scientifique at the University of Quebec.
But he appears to be homeless. The charge sheet states he is of “no fixed address.”
His co-accused, Mr. Jaser, is of Palestinian origin.
Mr. Esseghaier was arrested Monday afternoon at a McDonald’s restaurant inside Montreal’s Central Station and was then flown to a Toronto-area detention centre.
But he swiftly had to be ferried back to Montreal because the warrant for his removal to Ontario had not been authorized by a Quebec judge.
With the paperwork done, he was then flown back to Toronto’s Buttonville Airport Tuesday night.
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