The Author of That Misfortune

"I am sorry for the hurt my actions have caused my family, my community and my fellow Canadians. I am humbled by the support I have received."
"It is not who I am. I will never do anything like this again."
Misbahuddin Ahmed, 31, Ottawa

Misbahuddin Ahmed, seen in this May 2014 photo, faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in a terrorism plot.   Mike Carroccetto / Ottawa Citizen

"We disagree with everything [defence lawyer Mark Ertel] has said [in his client's defense], except that we are miles apart."
"Mr. Ahmed was committed to violent jihad. There is no evidence that his extremist beliefs have been attenuated or extinguished."
"Mr. Ahmed knew that Mr. Alizadeh was fanatical and knew he was dangerous. Hew knew he was planning to carry out attacks in Canada and had the means to do so."
"He wasn't a passive participant. He wasn't a hanger-on."
"Sixteen to 20 years less than Alizadeh is simply untenable [sentencing time]. He supported a man he knew was planning attacks. They didn't have a target, but they did have a plan."
"No doubt he was a good family member and friend. But there were two sides to Mr. Ahmed -- the side depicted in the letters [of support] and the jihadist side he kept hidden."
"It is truly regrettable that they [he and his family] will have to be separated for a number of years, but Mr. Ahmed is the author of that misfortune."
"The people who would have been killed by Mr. Ahmed and Mr. Alizadeh have children, too. They have families, too. Don't lose sight of that."
Jason Wakely, lead Crown prosecutor

Clearly, Mr. Ahmed's defence lawyer feels otherwise, insisting it was "plain wrong", contrary to the evidence exhibited at trial that his client was deserving of a penalty as severe as his co-conspirator, Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, who was the leader, and sentenced to 24 years in prison after having pleaded guilty to a series of terrorism charges brought against him. He, among the three charged, was the most radicalized.

Father to three young girls, Mr. Ahmed, as he apologized for his part in the planning of a terrorist act to take place in Canada, said he had abandoned his extremist attitude. And at his sentencing hearing before Ontario Superior Court Justice Colin McKinnon, said he would never again make such a judgement error.  His lawyer has asked for a eight to ten year sentence, minus credit for time served in jail and while under house arrest.

Eight to ten years' incarceration is a meaningful length of time, adequate to offer anyone the opportunity to engage in deep introspection. A man who had formerly held a responsible position in a highly respected hospital as a medical technician, a family man with responsibilities and an extended caring family had permitted himself to be overtaken by a pathology of hatred and violence. Except that the time while under house arrest need not be taken into account as a credit.

A juried trial found him guilty of conspiracy to commit a terrorist offence and of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Before him there was another Ottawan, Mohammad Momin Khawaja, the first Canadian charged and convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act for his active part in an international terrorist plot. And then members of the Toronto 18, arrested eight years ago when their plan to organize a terrorist cell in Toronto was revealed before they could embark on their bombing campaign.

Crown prosecutor Wakely pointed out that the ringleader, Mr. Alizadeh, considered the most fanatical of the three involved in their plot, had demonstrated remorse, admitting his crimes, while Mr. Ahmed demonstrated no remorse, denying he was guilty of committing any crime. Now it will be up to Justice McKinnon to decide the sentence to be imposed on Mr. Ahmed, a week from now.