"Duped" into thinking he was only killing NATO forces, not UK civiliansAn Ottawa software developer whom prosecutors accused of promoting a unique brand of ideological hatred has been found guilty of some terror-related charges against him, but not all.
Momin Khawaja, the first person charged under Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act, faced seven charges in connection with a foiled U.K. bomb plot.
An Ottawa judge found him guilty on five counts of financing and facilitating terrorism and two Criminal Code offences related to building a remote-controlled detonator with the intent of causing an explosion.
However, the judge said the prosecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Khawaja, 29, was aware his U.K. associates planned to bomb domestic targets using the so-called Hi-Fi Digimonster detonator he built.
As a result, the charges related to the detonator weren't counted as terrorism-related charges, said CTV's Rosemary Thompson, outside the courtroom.
"So he faces a very stiff sentence down the road but the one caveat in this is his lawyer did convince the judge that his client wasn't aware of plans to bomb a night club and shopping centre as this cell was planning to do," Thompson told CTV Newsnet.
Khawaja's high-profile Canadian lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, has argued his client was duped by the extremists into believing the group intended to wage an attack on NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, rather than targeting civilians in the U.K.
Crown Prosecutor David McKercher has pointed out that the British plotters bought and stockpiled a large quantity of fertilizer that could be used in a home-made bomb. He also said there was no chance Khawaja believed the plotters were going to carry the fertilizer into Afghanistan for use there, but that he knew they were planning to hit U.K. targets.
Evidence submitted in the case also indicated Khawaja met with people involved in the British plot to discuss remote-control technology, attended a terrorist training camp and that he supported the 9/11 terrorist bombings.
A shopping mall, night club, and electric and gas facilities were said to be on the group's list of U.K. targets.
Five of Khawaja's alleged co-conspirators were convicted in London last year and sentenced to life in prison.
