Quebec terror trial hears arguments over admissibility of confession | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Quebec terror trial hears arguments over admissibility of confession

Original Publication Date January 23, 2017 - 11:00 AM

MONTREAL - A Quebec man who told undercover police officers he wanted to join the Islamic State in Syria will find out next month whether a judge will allow the comments as evidence at his trial.

Ismael Habib, 29, is charged with attempting to leave the country to participate in the activities of a terrorist group and with giving false information to obtain a passport.

At issue are statements made by Habib to undercover officers as part of an RCMP sting scenario involving a fictitious crime organization that pretended it could make counterfeit passports and smuggle people out of Canada.

Defence lawyer Charles Montpetit said Monday the evidence was obtained under a Mr. Big-type sting that went too far and that he wants it declared inadmissible.

Mr. Big stings involve officers posing as criminals to obtain confessions for serious crimes already committed.

Canada's highest court ruled in 2014 that Mr. Big-type operations tend to produce unreliable evidence because of threats and are acceptable only under strict guidelines.

Montpetit argued that Habib was exploited by police and, in February 2016, ultimately told an undercover officer posing as a crime boss what authorities wanted to hear: his plan was to join Islamic State in Syria.

"It's a Mr. Big," Montpetit said. "What's different is what they (police) wanted to get as a confession: It's a crime that wasn't committed. That's the difference."

The lawyer argued his client was desperate to get a travel document denied by the government so he could go see his wife and children overseas.

The Crown countered the statements are an important part of the entire evidence against the accused.

Habib was on the radar of federal authorities after going to Syria in 2013. He failed to obtain a new passport in June 2014.

The Crown said the case does not fall into the Mr. Big category because police were simply trying to pin down Habib's true intentions.

The scenario, according to the Crown, didn't include such Mr. Big hallmarks as threats, real or simulated violence, or promises of money.

"Whether you call it a Mr. Big or Mr. Average or however you want to call it, we're in a situation that's a little different," federal prosecutor Lyne Decarie said of the clandestine police operation.

The top court said Mr. Big confessions should be excluded where the prejudicial effect outweighs the value of the evidence or where they are the product of an abuse of process.

Decarie argued that isn't the case in the Habib trial, referring to his comments about engaging in jihad and martyrdom as well as the rest of the evidence.

"When we take everything he told the agents, that's when we know the probative value is very high," she said.

Quebec court Judge Serge Delisle is tentatively expected to rule Feb. 24 and the trial could resume in March.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2017
The Canadian Press

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