Another 'Toronto 18' member pleads guilty
Another member of the so-called Toronto 18 group has pleaded guilty to charges of participating in a terrorist group.
Amin Mohamed Durrani admitted in court Wednesday that he took part in training camps organized by the 18 men and youths who were accused of plotting to blow up several landmarks and attack other high-profile targets.
Durrani was sentenced to 7½ years in prison, but taking into account time he has already spent in custody, he could be released by Thursday.
He told the Brampton, Ont., courtroom that he participated in the group's terrorist training camp in December 2005 near Washago, Ont. Durrani, who was 19 when he was arrested on June 2, 2006, told Justice Bruce Durno he made a "mistake" and wanted to get on with his life.
"The Toronto 18 group, which is normally referred to as one group in fact encompassed two plots — one was the bomb plot that we've heard a lot of," said Bill Gillespie, CBC's security correspondent.
"Durrani was involved in the second side of that — the attempt to create a large al-Qaeda type cell in Toronto — to arm themselves with weapons, and then to create some sort of mayhem that would scare the Canadian public into withdrawing troops from Afghanistan."
This group planned to storm Parliament Hill in Ottawa and behead politicians, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
His sentence comes two days after the group's ringleader, Zakaria Amara, received a life sentence for his role in the bomb plot, in which the suspects planned on blowing up the Toronto Stock Exchange and other prominent Toronto buildings.
Amara pleaded guilty in October 2009 to knowingly participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion for the benefit of a terrorist group.
Of the 18 people arrested in 2006, four have pleaded guilty, seven have had their charges dropped or stayed, one youth was found guilty, one man's trial began last week and five others will be tried in March.