Conspiracy to Commit Jihad : Project Samosa

"You have effectively been convicted of treason."
Justice Colin McKinnon

"I realize how much mistakes I have done."
"[...desire to] break their back in their own country [and persuade other Muslims to join]..."
Hiva Mohamma Alizadeh, 34, Kurdish Canadian

Hiva Alizadeh, one of three men charged with terrorism-related counts after a 2010 RCMP investigation, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Ottawa to explosives possession with intent to cause harm as part of a terrorist conspiracy. (Sketch by Laurie Foster-MacLeod)

"Today's outcome is a clear sign that the work and the dedication of professionals prevented Canadians from potential harm."
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney

"That was his primary objective: to train a cell, to finance it and to equip it."
"Those are the preliminary steps you have to take, as a terrorist, before you can identify a target and plan to attack."
Crown attorney Jason Wakely

"What's tragic is that Mr. Alizadeh came to Canada not as a religious fundamentalist. [He] came to Canada for a better life."
"[Hiva Alizadeh] grew up in the midst of war [witnessed Saddam Hussein's chemical attacks on the Kurds]."
Defence lawyer Leo Russomanno

Two years after Hiva Mohammad Alizadeth acquired his Canadian citizenship he travelled in 2009 to Iran, then Afghanistan where he spent time in a training camp for terrorists, learning how to assemble explosive devices. When he returned to Canada, he brought back with him the tools of a trade he aspired to; jihad. Planning to organize a terrorist cell, he was interrupted in the process. The 56 circuit boards whose purpose was to trigger remote bombs became very interesting to investigating authorities.

At his pre-trial hearing, he decided to plead guilty and in this way avoiding a trial and with it the possibility of a life sentence under Canada's terrorism laws. That he never actually succeeded in mounting a terrorist attack, the type he dreamed of, such as an attack at a military installation during a ceremony with returning Canadian soldiers felled in combat in Afghanistan, mostly through IED devices to demonstrate his solidarity with the Taliban solely due to a multi-agency investigation.

Police raids in August 2010 took place after a year-long investigation claimed to be the largest such event in Canada since 9/11, took place to stop Mr. Alizadeh from leaving the country with his family for travel to Saudi Arabia where his wife Julie Harper had been offered a teaching job. Their two children will now grow up without their father close by them, since he will be serving an 18 year term for his jihadist ambitions.

Those charged as his co-conspirators have had their days in court; two other Muslim men whom he planned to build a jihadi cell with. One, Misbahuddin Ahmed, 30, who was attracted to Alizadeh's jihad-adventure found guilty of conspiring to facilitate a terrorist activity and participating in a terrorist group activities, acquitted of the most serious charge of explosive device possession for terrorist activities.

In his home was found a shopping bag of circuit boards along with bomb-making instructional videos that had previously been observed at Alizadeh's apartment. Ahmed's personal defence was that he had taken the components from his friend with the intention of destroying them.

Pathologist Khurram Sher, the third of the triad, was found not guilty of conspiring to commit terrorism. Both Ahmed and Sher were brought into the conspiracy by Hiva Alizadeh who had maintained contact with a master bomb maker in Afghanistan who had aided foreign travellers to Pakistan and Afghanistan for training in terrorism. Alizadeh also maintained close contact with the Taliban.

His brother Rizgar was described as being a member of a terrorist group in Iran. When Ahmed and Sher were solicited for funds which they claim they believed was to help Kurdish orphans, the money was funnelled through to Alizadeh's brother for the purchase of grenades and a shoulder-mounted grenade launcher.

Their activities were first noted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service who alerted the RCMP, which in turn assigned the file to the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team located in Ottawa.