Crown wants life for Quebec-based terrorist
Saïd Namouh tells sentencing hearing that he is a non-violent man
Last Updated: Friday, November 13, 2009 | 6:38 PM ET
CBC News
The Crown is seeking a life sentence for Saïd Namouh. (CBC)A Quebec man convicted of terrorism charges spoke at his sentencing hearing Friday as a federal prosecutor demanded a sentence of life prison.
Saïd Namouh, 37, was found guilty last month of four terrorism-related charges stemming from a plot to attack Germany and Austria in an apparent protest against their military presence in Afghanistan.
In a quiet voice, Namouh described himself as a man opposed to violence. He told the judge that he does not own a gun and does not know how explosives work.
Namouh's lawyer, René Duval, said his client is not the kind of man who deserves a life sentence.
"What is urged on the judge today by the Crown is an atomic bomb to kill a fly," Duval said.
Was ready to be suicide bomber
But Crown prosecutor Dominique Dudemaine argued Namouh was arrested shortly before he planned to board an airplane to fly to Egypt, where he was to meet with co-conspirators.
Dudemaine said Namouh shouldn’t get off easy just because the RCMP did their work. He said Namouh should have no chance of parole before 10 years.
"Should Saïd Namouh have succeeded in [travelling] abroad, and pursued his goal … to commit a terrorist act — to cause death over there, he would necessarily have to face a life sentence," Dudemaine said.
Dudemaine said Judge Claude Leblond's ruling showed Namouh was ready and willing to become a suicide bomber.
Crown prosecutor Dominique Dudemaine says Namouh shouldn't get a lesser sentence because the RCMP stopped him from carrying out his deadly plan. (CBC)
The Crown also produced a case file showing Namouh had once punched a wall at an ex-girlfriend's house and cut himself with a knife.
Namouh was convicted on four terrorism-related charges, including conspiracy to detonate an explosive device, participating in a terrorist act, facilitating such an act and committing extortion for a terrorist group.
Cybercrime investigators extracted videos from his computer, including how-to guides for detonating suicide bombs and encrypting emails. They also found thousands of pages of transcripts of Namouh's posts suggesting he was active in chat rooms, and on message boards and jihad forums.
Namouh was also accused of publishing a video of BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped in Gaza in 2007 by the Army of Islam, a Global Islamic Media Front affiliate.
There is no evidence Namouh was planning an attack on Canadian soil.
Namouh, a Moroccan immigrant and permanent resident in Canada, was arrested at his home in Maskinongé, Que., in September 2007, following a lengthy investigation by RCMP and Austrian authorities. He is married to a Quebec woman and has lived in the province since 2003.
Leblond will sentence Namouh on Feb. 17.
With files from The Canadian Press
