Accused Terrorist gets Bail

After being granted bail yesterday, following 17 months in jail – many of them in solitary confinement – accused terrorist Qayyum Abdul Jamal spent his first minutes of freedom locked in an embrace with his four sons and wife in a Brampton courthouse.

"I'm grateful to Allah, to see my kids and to my community that came forward for me," the emotional 44-year-old said outside, as family and friends stood nearby.

"Hopefully I'll be found innocent."

Jamal, eldest of the 18 arrested in a massive police sweep in June 2006 for allegedly belonging to a terror cell plotting to detonate truck bombs and storm Parliament Hill, was released after the most serious charge against him was dropped.

"I'm elated," said defence lawyer Anser Farooq, shortly after Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson delivered his decision, much of it protected by a publication ban.

"It's taken a long time to get to this point and we're looking forward to the ultimate trial," he said, adding it could be years before the case winds through the courts.

Now charged with participating in a terrorist group, and receiving/providing terrorist training, Jamal faces 10 years in prison if found guilty. An additional bomb charge was dropped when the Crown filed a direct indictment in September, halting a preliminary hearing and pushing the case straight to trial.

Because of the direct indictment, the original charges were stayed against the 14 men, and new charges were laid, meaning those still behind bars can again apply for bail. Jamal is the first adult to be granted bail in this second round of bail hearings and joins two co-accused adults out on bail since last year. Another suspect, Steven Chand, was denied bail last month.

"I'm really glad he got out," said defence lawyer Royland Moriah, who represents co-accused Jahmaal James, whose bail hearing has not yet been scheduled. "Hopefully that will bode well for the rest of the accused."

Moriah credited the judge's decision, in part, with the additional evidence heard at the preliminary hearing for the youths and adults. During the first round of bail hearings, immediately after the arrests, most available evidence was contained in the Crown's synopsis, which hadn't been tested by the defence.

"It's heartening that the judge has taken into account the evidence the Crown has against this accused," said Moriah.

"I would expect that there will be more released."

Jamal, originally from Pakistan, was released on a $100,000 bond, nearly three-quarters donated by the Muslim community.

Jamal must remain under the supervision of six sureties. According to some of the bail conditions, Jamal must remain at home except when attending court, his lawyer's office, medical appointments and Friday prayers.

He must surrender his passport, and is barred from using the Internet and communicating with his co-accused, some of whom he met at the Ar-Rahman Islamic Centre in Mississauga.

His wife, Cheryfa MacAulay Jamal, was thrilled to have him return to their Mississauga home and their four sons, aged two to nine.

"I'm relieved," she said.

"I'm grateful to the court for the decision. I look forward to the day that his name will be exonerated."

Of the 14 adults charged, 11 remain in jail. Of the youths, three have had charges stayed and the fourth, out on bail, is set to go to trial in March.

Authorities allege the men, mostly in their 20s, were part of an Al-Qaeda-inspired cell planning to storm Parliament Hill and take politicians hostage.

They were also accused of plotting to bomb targets such as a Canadian Forces base and CSIS offices in Toronto and Ottawa.

A dozen men and youths allegedly attended a so-called terrorist training camp in a wooded area in Washago, near Gravenhurst, wearing camouflage and playing paintball.