Mohammad Momin Khawaja
Mohammad Momin Khawaja was the first man charged under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act. He was arrested March 29, 2004, accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, and facilitating a terrorist activity. The RCMP raided Khawaja's house in Orleans, a suburb of Ottawa, and his workplace. The raid was part of an investigation involving Canada and Britain in which nine men of Pakistani heritage were arrested. Khawaja was the only person arrested in Canada.
The charges allege that terrorist activities took place in London, England, and Ottawa between November 2003 and March 29, 2004. Khawaja had made trips to London but his brother said it was to find a wife.
Khawaja had been working on contract as a computer software operator for the Foreign Affairs Department, but authorities said he had no access to classified documents.
On Oct. 24, 2006, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruling on Khawaja's case struck down the motive clause of the Anti-Terrorism Act, saying it violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This clause defines a terrorist act as one committed "for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause."
Although the judge struck down this part of the law, he said Khawaja's trial on the charges could go on.
On Oct. 29, 2008, Khawaja was found guilty of five charges of financing and facilitating terrorism and two Criminal Code offences related to building a remote-control device that could trigger bombs. Five months later, Judge Douglas Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court sentenced Khawaja to 10½ years jail, calling him "a willing and eager participant" in a terrorist scheme.
Mohammad Momin Khawaja
- Born in Canada to Pakistani immigrants, April 14, 1979.
- He has three brothers and one sister.
- Went to Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School.
- Studied computer programming at Algonquin College, given a placement in HRDC offices in Gatineau in 2000.
- Worked as a software developer with a contract at Foreign Affairs (no access to classified documents).
- Mother, Azra, lives in Orleans.
- His father, Mahboob Khawaja, is in Saudi Arabia working at a technical college. Since moving to Canada he has published several books and papers critical of Western influence on Mideast politics.
- Mahboob is a specialist in strategic studies and has also written several books on conflict resolution (MA in political science, 1981, and PhD in social science, 2001). Mahboob is rarely in Canada.
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