Source: National Post - 7-Aug-08

A 20-year-old convert to Islam was unaware of an alleged nefarious plot to "cripple Canada" even though the scheme was nothing more than an unrealistic "delusion," a court heard Thursday.

Mitchell Chernovsky who is defending a suspected terrorist before court, said his client could not have agreed to the alleged conspiracy because the plan was a fantasy "with zero probability."

It was dreamed up by a self-aggrandizing liar who was gathering acolytes to pay attention to his ranting and play Mujahideen, he said in his closing arguments.

"The lies that [the alleged leader] told were quite indiscriminate. They never ceased from start to end. He lied to anybody and everybody."

Therefore, his claims about the defendant's involvement in the so-called sleeper cell cannot be trusted, he added.

In terms of direct evidence implicating his client, "There is almost nothing there," he said. In June, the Crown played hours of wiretap conversations for the court but the defendant was heard speaking in only a few of them.

The young man on trial was underage at the time of his alleged crimes and cannot be named. He is accused of attending two terrorist training camps and stealing camping supplies for the group.

A publication ban also prevents the identification of his 10 co-accused. They were among 18 people arrested in the summer of 2006 following Canada's largest anti-terror investigation.

Mr. Chernovsky Thursday targeted the "lynchpin" to the Crown's case: Mubin Shaikh, the police agent who infiltrated the alleged terrorist group.

He pointed out the Crown's inconsistency when asking the judge to believe Mr. Shaikh when he testified about the existence of a terror cell but to discount his testimony about the youths being kept in the dark about any deadly plot.

During the trial, crown prosecutor John Neader, accused Mr. Shaikh of fabricating evidence to protect the youth.

"What you do have here is a situation where the core [group members]are going to extreme lengths, without exception, to keep the younger recruits out of the loop."

Mr. Chernovsky and fellow defense attorney, Faisal Mirza, portrayed their client as a naïve 17-year-old convert at the time of his alleged crimes.

"When he decided to become a Muslim, he started with a blank slate," Mr. Mirza said.

Mr. Shaikh testified that he first met the youth when he was tasked by CSIS agents to befriend some of the suspects on Nov. 27, 2005 at a fundraising banquet for people.

The court heard that the youth became one of the standout recruits at an alleged terrorist training camp in Washago, Ont. in December 2005 -- so much so that his co-accused suggested him as the ideal candidate to behead the prime minister.

The alleged leader is overhead in intercepted conversations, praising the youth‚s penchant for stealing and his willingness to follow direction.

"For a recent convert like [the youth], to be taking some basic instruction from his Muslim peers can be premised on enthusiasm for the faith and not an agreement to contribute for the purpose of terrorism," Mr. Mirza said.

Prosecutors allege that the youth's attendance at a second camp at Rockwood Conservation area near Guelph, Ont. in May 2006, is a sign of his devotion to the group.

But Mr. Mirza said one of the attendees testified that it was a "recreational camp."

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