Quebec man guilty in Austrian-German bomb plot
Saïd Namouh, a Moroccan native, produced and distributed how-to jihad videos
Last Updated: Friday, November 13, 2009 | 4:28 PM ET
CBC News
Quebec resident Said Namouh was found guilty of taking part in an international terrorist plot. (CBC)A Quebec man was found guilty Thursday of being involved in an international terror plot threatening European countries involved in military operations in Afghanistan.
Saïd 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.
After the verdict was rendered, Namouh's attorney René Duval said he did his best for his client, but isn't sure he will appeal.
Quebec Court Judge Claude Leblond "is a very good jurist, so when you read his decision, there's nothing at first sight would stand up as an egregious error," Duval told reporters at the Montreal courthouse.
Namouh, 36, was accused of participating in a plot to force the Austrian and German governments to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.
During his three-week trial, the court was told Namouh was an active member of the Global Islamic Media Front, considered to be a media tool of al-Qaeda and involved in jihad recruitment.
Crown prosecutor Dominique Dudemaine presented evidence that Namouh posted terrorist propaganda on the internet, on behalf of the front.
The court said Namouh produced and distributed instructional videos for jihadists. (CBC)Dudemaine argued that Namouh spent hours creating and distributing propaganda videos, including images of the deaths of Western soldiers and suicide bombings.
Cybercrime investigators extracted videos, including how-to guides for detonating suicide bombs and encrypting emails, from his computer. They also found thousands of pages of transcripts of Namouh's posts suggesting he was very active in chat rooms, 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.
Leblond said Namouh also prepared ransom demands on behalf of the Army of Islam.
The judge reminded the court that the Islamic front is a terrorist organization in the eyes of the Canadian law.
There is no evidence Namouh was planning an attack on Canadian soil.
Namouh, a Moroccan immigrant and permanent resident in Canada, was arrested in September 2007 in Maskinongé, Que., following a lengthy investigation by RCMP and Austrian authorities. He is married to a Quebec woman and has lived in the province since 2003.
Namouh faces life in prison. He is scheduled to return to court in November.
With files from The Canadian Press
