Canada terror suspects 'have no chance of fair trial'

BRAMPTON, Ontario - Seventeen men accused of planning al Qaeda-inspired attacks in densely populated southern Ontario stand no chance of a fair trial after prejudicial comments from police and the intelligence community, one of their lawyers said today.

Lawyer Rocco Galati also complained of tough prison conditions for the men, and oppressive security at the Brampton courtroom, where most of the 17 appeared today. He said lawyers had inadequate access to their clients, who are all Canadian citizens or residents.

Police allege the group was inspired by al Qaeda and that its members plotted to detonate massive bombs in Ottawa and Toronto. Defence lawyers have said police and intelligence officials also claim one of the suspects wanted to behead the Canadian prime minister.

"All these actions by the police and politicians are completely unheard of in a real criminal case," said Galati. "All this has completely undermined and obliterated the rule of law and turned ... this court room into a police or army barracks."

Defence lawyers said the oppressive prison conditions included holding the suspects in rooms that are lit 24 hours a day, giving them just five minutes to eat and forcing them to keep their eyes on the ground and not speak to guards.

They say security at the suburban courthouse is "entirely unnecessary" -- it includes bomb sniffing dogs, police snipers and heavily armed officers inside and outside the courthouse. The accused men appeared in small groups today, handcuffed together with legs shackled.

One suspect said he been beaten by a prison guard.

The 17 Muslim men, five of them under the age of 18, were arrested on June 2 in Canada's largest counter-terrorism operation. The young people, who cannot be named, will reappear in court at month end to set a date for a bail hearing.

All 17 are charged with participating in a terrorist organisation, and some are charged with plotting bombings in major Canadian cities and training or being trained as terrorists.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say the men took steps to acquire three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser that can be mixed with fuel oil to produce a powerful explosive. That is more fertiliser than was used to build the 1995 Oklahoma City bomb that killed 168 people.

Ahmad Shehab, director of the Coalition of Muslim Organisations, said the suspects' families were "devastated, frustrated and confused," while Galati said declarations of their guilt by politicians and some media had made a fair trial all but impossible.

"Discredited is the notion that the authorities are intent on conducting a fair criminal trial with an impartial process," Galati said.

"Discredited is also the notion that this anything but a show trial for political ends, to manufacture denial of bail, to ensure a fair trial does not occur and to influence the vote in the House of Commons on extending the anti-terrorism provision and to influence the Supreme Court of Canada in its constitutional review of anti-terrorism provisions."

The Supreme Court holds two days of hearings this week to rule on the constitutionality of laws that allow foreign terrorism suspects to be held for long periods without trial.

- REUTERS