Vancouver police make arrest at home with links
to designated terrorist group
VPD executes search warrant at home connected to the
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Vancouver police say one person was taken into custody as part of a hate crimes investigation after a search warrant was executed at a home in the 1800 block of East 1st Avenue near Victoria Drive.
That person, who police have not identified, has now been released pending completion of the investigation, according to VPD spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison.
CBC has confirmed the home is that of Charlotte Lynne Kates, a director of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
Last month, the Canadian government designated Samidoun as a terrorist entity in a joint action with the U.S.
Kates was arrested and released by the VPD in May after video of a rally was posted on social media showing her praising the Hamas attack on Israel and calling a number of terrorist organizations heroes.
According to a neighbour who asked not to be named, the VPD broke a window in Kates's home after arriving with an armoured vehicle and officers in full tactical gear.
"It was scary for all of us," said the neighbour.
Another neighbour said they were awakened by a loud bang at around 9 a.m. and then saw police in the back of Kates's home, where she said two people live.
"I've lived next to them for three years, and they're absolutely lovely people. They're just fighting for rights for people," said Darian Tourand. "I don't think they're dangerous or terrorists by any means."
Good grief!
Franco Sabellico lives in the same block in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood.
"I'm worried about the neighbourhood and community," he said. "That we can have... people associated with terrorist groups living right beside you is very alarming."
Samidoun has close links with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, the U.S. and the European Union.
Addison said the VPD's major crime section and emergency response team attended the home, and the person in question is being investigated under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, which deals with public incitement of hatred.
Second Molotov cocktail attack at
DDO Synagogue in Montreal
A second antisemitic attack took place at the Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Dollard-des-Ormeaux this morning. As in the first attack, it was a firebombing by Molotov cocktail. This time the Molotov shattered a glass panel adjacent to the front doors and sparked a fire in the vestibule leading to the inner door. A door was also broken. The previous attack last year flashed at the front doors.
Montreal police (SPVM) received a 911 call just before 3 a.m. as the flames were visible on Westpark St. near Roger Pilon. The area of the synagogue also comprises the Hebrew Foundation School and Federation CJA's West Island office.
The police did not allow worshippers in to conduct services. B’nai Brith Quebec director Henry Topas, who is also the Cantor at the Synagogue, told The Suburban that, “We demand that Valerie Plante stop the atmosphere of hate both through her own words and by supporting the Police in enforcing the law. That is the only way to end the acts of violent antisemitism that have been the shame of Montreal the past year.”
Police spokesperson Véronique Dubuc said, "Firefighters extinguished the blaze. They found at least one incendiary device." She said witnesses told police they saw at least one suspect in the area prior to the fire.
The SPVM says it investigated possible activity at the Federation CJA building nearby, but so far there does not seem to be any signs of damage. There were no injuries, and there have been no arrests in the case. Investigators are on site to determine the circumstances leading up to the fire.
War crimes charges against Toronto ISIS suspect are
a first for Canada
A Toronto delivery driver accused of dismembering a prisoner in Iraq almost a decade ago has become the first suspected ISIS member to face war crimes charges in Canada.
An indictment filed in the Ontario court has charged Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi with four counts, including torture and murder, under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.
The alleged incidents occurred during the height of ISIS in 2014 and 2015. Three years later, Eldidi flew to Toronto and made a refugee claim that was accepted. He is now a Canadian citizen.
Global News revealed last summer that Eldidi, a former Amazon driver originally from Egypt, was allegedly seen in a 2015 ISIS video, using a sword to chop the hands and feet off a prisoner.
“This is the first national security investigation where war crimes charges have been laid in Canada,” the RCMP’s Ontario spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The charges are groundbreaking for Canada, said Prof. Michael Nesbitt, associate dean of research at the University of Calgary law school, and a leading expert on national security law.
“It’s kind of a big deal,” he said.
As far as he is aware, Canada’s prosecution service has never before used the war crimes act against a suspect for alleged crimes committed in the territory of the Islamic State, he said.
Rather, Canada has mostly used war crimes laws for deportations and citizenship revocations. In 2021, a B.C. resident pleaded guilty to war crimes for promoting hatred against residents of the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
There's more on this story on Global News at:
Ontario revokes licence of dentist who changed name after helping Iran evade sanctions
Regulators have revoked the licence of an Ontario dentist after Global News revealed he was practicing under a name he adopted following his conviction for helping Iran evade sanctions.
Dr. Aurash Cohen is no longer entitled to practice in the province, according to the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, which said it cancelled his certification on Nov. 20.
A college spokesperson said she could not provide details about cases.
But she said dentists seeking certification are “required to disclose their criminal conduct history, in any jurisdiction, on their application for registration in Ontario.”
“The application form is a legal attestation – dentists are required to declare the accuracy of the contents of their application when it is submitted,” Lesley Byrne said in a statement.
The decision came six weeks after Global News reported that “Dr. Cohen” was, in fact, Arash Yousefijam, an Ontario resident who pleaded guilty in 2021 to running an Iran sanctions dodging scheme.
Together with his brother Amin Yousefijam, he exported sensitive manufacturing equipment to Iran. The Yousefijams pleaded guilty in the U.S. to sanctions evasion charges, and were sentenced to time served.
The U.S. then returned them to Canada, where they used the Ontario name change system to become Aurash and Ameen Cohen.
Under their adopted identities, Aurash Cohen graduated from McGill University and became a dentist in June, while Ameen Cohen was hired as a corporate compliance officer.
No comments:
Post a Comment