MONTREAL — An extradition listening to has been scheduled for February for a Pakistani nationwide arrested in Quebec for allegedly plotting to kill Jews in New York Metropolis on behalf of the Islamic State.
MONTREAL — An extradition listening to has been scheduled for February for a Pakistani nationwide arrested in Quebec for allegedly plotting to kill Jews in New York Metropolis on behalf of the Islamic State.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, who has been jailed since his arrest on Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., is being sought by authorities in the US to face trial. U.S. officers have charged Khan with one rely of making an attempt to supply materials help and sources to a terrorist group, and Canada has agreed to have him extradited.
Khan appeared for a quick listening to Friday in a Montreal courtroom, the place legal professionals set the date for his subsequent listening to for Feb. 20. He wore black pants and a black puffy winter jacket, along with his arms handcuffed in entrance of him. He was not requested to talk, however he consulted briefly along with his lawyer.
U.S. and Canadian authorities allege Khan was on his option to perform a mass taking pictures at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn round Oct. 7 to mark the one-year anniversary of the Hamas assault on Israel.
Earlier than his arrest, Khan was dwelling in Mississauga, Ont., in response to courtroom paperwork, and federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller has mentioned the accused arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a pupil visa granted in Might of that yr.
In keeping with paperwork filed by the U.S. prosecutor summarizing the case towards Khan, the FBI turned conscious of the accused after a paid informant noticed his pro-Islamic State musings on Fb in October 2023. On Oct. 8 of that yr, a publish from a “Shahzeb Jadoon” quoted a Saudi jihad proponent, and later that month the identical consumer posted a photograph of a disassembled weapon and referred to as for unity amongst Muslims.
Following a publish in November 2023, the informant began chatting with Jadoon, who mentioned he was a Pakistani nationwide dwelling in Canada. They moved their on-line conversations to an encrypted platform — unnamed within the U.S. courtroom paperwork — after Khan expressed considerations about being recognized by the FBI. He allegedly despatched the informant a variety of Islamic State movies and a PDF e-book with an in depth historical past of the phobia group.
“This ebook is soo useful,” Khan allegedly wrote. “Studying the ebook is giving me (an) adrenalin rush.”
Khan was unaware that his discussions with the informant on the encrypted community had been being documented and below the course of the FBI.
Authorities later recognized the particular person in command of the account as Khan and, on March 21, 2024, offered the RCMP with Ontario IP addresses, social media accounts and a Pakistani cellphone quantity, all allegedly tied to the accused. In August, the RCMP instructed U.S. authorities they’d recognized Khan and opened a legal investigation into him.
U.S. officers discovered that Khan had been collaborating in a pro-Islamic State group chat that mentioned methods to perform co-ordinated assaults in the US, Pakistan and India, amongst different areas. Two undercover officers had been a part of that chat, posing as fellow travellers.
In July 2024, Khan allegedly began to debate creating “an actual off-line cell” of Islamic State supporters and instructed an spy he “had already begun plans to hold out an assault” towards “Zionist Jews.” Over the next days, he started to elaborate his plan to hold out a mass taking pictures utilizing AR-style rifles.
After the RCMP disrupted a father and son’s alleged Islamic State-inspired homicide plot in Toronto, Khan allegedly instructed chat group members they wanted to “lay low, no social media” and that the cell “needs to be small and well-armed.” Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and his son, Mostafa Eldidi, 26, had been arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont., on July 28, 2024, and face 9 terrorism charges, together with conspiracy to commit homicide on behalf of the phobia group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
However after the 2 arrests, Khan continued along with his plan, and was recorded encouraging individuals within the chat group to obtain AR-style rifles, ammunition, magazines, holsters, boots and different supplies wanted for “kits.” By mid-August, Khan instructed the agent that he was readying to vacate his condo and start his journey to the U.S., having organized journey with a human smuggler. On Aug. 21 he determined that New York Metropolis, with its giant Jewish inhabitants, can be his goal.
“Brothers … we’re going to NYC to slaughter them,” Khan allegedly wrote.
Khan acquired in a automobile in Toronto at about 5:40 a.m. on Sept. 4 and switched vehicles in Napanee, Ont., and once more in Montreal earlier than he was arrested at about 2:45 p.m. in Ormstown.
Khan’s lawyer in Canada, Gaétan Bourassa, has mentioned the case towards his consumer quantities to entrapment.
On Friday Bourassa mentioned Khan was conscious of the proof towards him. Extraditions are difficult to battle, he added, as a result of the opposite facet has to show solely that the accused has been accurately recognized and that there is sufficient proof to carry the case to trial.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 17, 2025.
Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
