Bartamaha (Montreal):- The National Parole Board is expected to decide on Tuesday whether an Ontario man convicted of helping a terrorist group to obtain firearms should be released.
Ali Dirie, currently serving a prison term at the Special Handling Unit in Ste. Anne des Plaines, 30 kilometres north of Montreal, appeared before the board Monday morning. But in a rare occurrence, the parole board members who heard his case decided to deliberate for a day before making a decision on whether he is ready to released.
Dirie was part of the so-called Toronto 18, a group of 14 adults and four teens whose members followed an extremist interpretation of Islam and plotted to carry out attacks on Canadian-based targets.
Dirie was already behind bars when police in Ontario moved in and arrested members of the group in June 2006. On Aug. 13, 2005, Dirie, a resident of Scarborough, Ont., at the time, and another man were arrested while trying to enter Canada from Buffalo, N.Y.
Dirie was found to be carrying two loaded semi-automatic firearms taped to his thigh. He quickly plead guilty and was sentenced to a two-year prison term. It was while he was serving that sentence that Dirie was further linked to Fahim Ahmad, the ringleader of the group who currently awaits sentencing in the Toronto court case.
While behind bars, Dirie, who was born in Somalia, was recorded while he spoke over the phone to Ahmad about recruiting other people and questioned the commitment level of existing members who had gone so far as to begin military-style training.
In conversations secretly recorded by police, Dirie talked about recruiting federal inmates to join the group and mentioned he met others who could supply them with firearms and passports. Dirie also later admitted the firearms he was caught with in 2005 were destined for Ahmad’s group.
As part of an agreed statement of facts filed in court, Dirie stated he joined the group because he was opposed to Canada’s military presence in Afghanistan.
On Oct. 2, 2009, Ontario Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno sentenced Dirie to seven years for participating in the activities of a terrorist group so it could carry out a terrorist act. With time served factored in, Dirie had two years left to serve. He was ordered to serve at least half that time before being eligible for parole.
Dirie is an Ontario resident and would normally serve his sentence in that province, but the Special Handling Unit is considered among the most secure in the country.
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Source:- The Montreal Gazette
