Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Canada plot suspect accused of plan to behead PM (Reuters)

 Chi parlava della necessita' di fertilizzare le rose di casa? :-)
Am.
Canada plot suspect accused of plan to behead PM
By Cameron French and Jonathan Spicer  1 hour, 27 minutes ago
BRAMPTON, Ontario (Reuters) - One member of an alleged al Qaeda-inspired 
terror ring arrested in Canada last weekend faces the accusation that he 
sought to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his lawyer said on 
Tuesday.
The man, Steven Chand, 25, was among 15 members of the alleged ring who 
appeared in a heavily guarded courtroom northwest of Toronto on Tuesday 
to set dates for bail hearings.
"There's an allegation apparently that my client personally indicated 
that he wanted to behead the prime minister of Canada," Chand's lawyer, 
Gary Batasar, told reporters.
Canadian police arrested 17 Muslim men, five of whom are under the age 
of 18, on Friday and Saturday in Canada's largest counterterrorism 
operation. Several of them are charged with plotting bombings in major 
Canadian cities and training militants. Police said more arrests are 
possible.
Batasar said his client faces several serious charges and said he was 
concerned that intense media interest in the details of the case in 
Canada and the United States could jeopardize Chand's chances of a fair 
trial.
According to a synopsis of charges that Batasar said he saw, members of 
the group are alleged to have considered plans to take hostages and to 
attack the Canadian parliament in Ottawa with the aim of trying to force 
the government to withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. building in Toronto and power grids were 
also alleged targets, he said.
The accused men, wearing white T-shirts and gray sweat pants, were 
escorted into the small courtroom a few at a time, shackled together. 
About 20 family members sat together while more than two dozen others, 
mostly media, crammed inside.
Snipers were on the roofs of nearby buildings and police cradled guns 
beside an airport-style security checkpoint.
Defense lawyers succeeded in having bail hearings postponed, saying they 
had yet to gain adequate access to their clients or the evidence.
HEARINGS DELAYED
Most of the accused will appear June 12 to set bail hearing dates, while 
one, Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, will appear at a bail hearing July 4.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say the men took delivery of three 
tons of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be mixed with fuel oil 
to produce a powerful explosive.
That's more fertilizer than was used to build the 1995 Oklahoma City 
bomb that killed 168 people.
Other charges include trying to build bombs and training, or being 
trained, as terrorists, court documents say.
John Bolton, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, speaking on Fox 
News, pointed out on Tuesday that the arrests followed two years of 
police surveillance including wiretaps, observation and tracing of 
Internet usage.
"I hope the American public as a whole understands why these steps are 
being taken (in the United States), not to invade their privacy, not to 
find out things about legitimate activities, but to uncover these 
terrorist networks," he said.
President George W. Bush authorized domestic eavesdropping without a 
court order shortly after the September 11 attacks.
Canadian newspapers said the men had a training camp in a wooded area 
north of Toronto.
The accused were being held in solitary confinement and were barred from 
seeing family members or praying as a group. Lawyers also complained 
they were unable to see their clients without an armed guard within 
earshot.
"There's no possible way that you can either counsel your client, nor is 
it possible in these circumstances to receive clear unambiguous 
instruction from your client," said Arif Raza, lawyer for Saad Khalid, 
19.
The men and youths arrested were all Canadian citizens or Canadian 
residents. Seven worshiped at the same mosque and two were already in 
jail on weapons charges.
Muslims make up some 2 percent of Canada's population of 33 million, and 
leaders fear the arrests will spark attacks on their community.
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 By Cameron French and Jonathan Spicer  1 hour, 27 minutes ago
Vabbe', questa credo sia un'esagerazione.
Voglio dire, non aveva i mezzi, non aveva l'opportunita', aveva espresso
l'intenzione
Anch'io ho ripetutamente espresso l'intenzione di impalare Tony Blair,
non credo che potrei finire in galera per questo.
I giornali farebbero bene ad occuparsi delle accuse *serie* a questo
tipo piuttosto che di queste cazzate.
-- 
Rogue State (n.): country that owns and has used weapons of mass
destruction, supports or has supported terrorist movements and the
violent upheaval of foreign governments, ignores UN resolutions and
has not sent men to the moon during the 20th Century

 trained, as terrorists, court documents say.
Am.