5 days Ago By Carolina Avendano
One of two men accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Toronto has been charged with war crimes in connection with an ISIS video that shows one person dismembering another with a sword. Ahmed Eldidi, 62, was charged with war crimes, including murder, mutilation, torture, and outrages upon personal dignity, during a Dec. 16 hearing in a Newmarket, Ont.
, courtroom. The charges are based on a 2015 ISIS propaganda video outside of Canada that allegedly shows Eldidi dismembering a prisoner with a sword. The charges have not yet been proven in court.
Eldidi’s defence lawyer, Kabir Sharma, told The Epoch Times he is working to ensure his client gets a fair trial as the Crown tries to show that Eldidi is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The two Egyptian-born men were initially charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity, one count each of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and conspiracy to commit murder. The father had an additional charge for an ISIS-related aggravated assault that reportedly occurred outside of Canada in 2015.
CBSA Executive Vice-President Ted Gallivan told a House of Commons public safety committee on Aug. 28 that the ISIS propaganda video was not available to border authorities when Ahmed Eldidi was screened. “I can say that the preliminary indications were that that video of the father was not available in that instance that we found, in 2018 or 2021, that it was only made available more recently,” said Gallivan, confirming the father is linked to the video and referring to the dates of screenings for asylum and permanent residency.
Ahmed Eldidi entered Canada in February 2018 on a temporary resident visa after being denied a visitor visa on the grounds of being a “potential non-genuine visitor,” according to Immigration Canada. He applied for asylum in June 2018 and was granted refugee status in February 2019. He obtained permanent residency just over two years later.
His son had been denied a study permit in July 2019, but entered Canada in February 2020 through the Fort Erie border crossing from the United States to file an asylum claim. He was granted refugee status in July 2022..
