Crawling Out of the Woodwork

"WAKE UP Muslims. And what is the matter with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed young men, women and children."
"Honestly, I feel that as Muslims we are all walking on egg shells. If such a reputable person can be accused [Project Samossa accused Khurram Syed Sher] where do the rest of us stand?"
"We can't enjoy the liberties of regular Canadian citizens. There are hundreds of Muslim Canadians who are on an AMERICAN no fly list without having ever committed a single crime or have been suspected by Canadian authorities.":
"As we speak there are Canadian Spy agents who go around the Muslim communities trying to drag young men into terrorism charges by pretending to be friends seeking justice in foreign countries."
"[Camping, paintball and hunting] labelled as jihad training. Brothers and sisters we should stand up and speak out against the arrogant authority who tries to exploit our community for the benefit of gaining funding from the Canadian government."
Facebook ramblings, Awso Peshdary, Iraqi-born Canadian, terror suspect

Awso Peshdary, seen here giving a speech at Algonquin College's Muslim Student Association Islamic Awareness Week in 2014. (Facebook)

"Peshdary was actively looking for sources on the street that could sell him a gun. Peshdary was still working with the intention of travelling overseas for jihad and was accumulating money in order to follow through with his plans."
CSIS affidavit, October 2009

Another jihadist cell revealed. Awso Peshdary, a former Iraqi-born, Canadian activist at Algonquin College arrested in 2010 as part of the Project Samossa investigation into an Ottawa group of three men whose leader had trained in Afghanistan, was questioned at the time, but then released. Three of the group's members, though stood trial on terrorism charges; one had the case against him dismissed and two were sentenced to long prison stays when they were found guilty as charged.

Now, it was Awso Peshdary's turn to be arrested as the leader of a recruiting cell for Islamic State. The young man was a very popular activist at Algonquin College, an outspoken member of the Algonquin College Muslim Students' Association. Their Facebook page has a photograph of Mr. Peshdary with a microphone, posing at the campus's Islam Awareness Week last March.

On his own Facebook page he had posted an image showing an assault rifle across a map of Canada and the United States. Provocative, that message, and unmistakable. But on the other hand, it's a form of protest perhaps and in a society that values free speech, a heads-up but not quite a punishable offence; there have been much, much worse. Another image he posted had the legend that one should not consider those "killed in the cause of Allah" as dead.

He posted a photo of two scale models of passenger aircraft, a WestJet plane, the other an Air Canada plane. "Found some toys on my friend's bed ... looks suspicious. Trying to get caught by CSIS bro ... lol." Court documents have it that Mr. Peshdary and his friend, Heva Alizadeh were investigated by CSIS six years ago, but CSIS had discussed the issue with him of overseas jihad travel and were convinced his plans had changed; investigators "confident that he is no longer looking to purchase a gun" so the "matter will no longer be pursued."

He was arrested Tuesday morning and international arrest warrants issued for two others, the notices sent out through Interpol. According to the RCMP the radicalization of the three men who were charged took place on the Internet. RCMP Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan spoke of the threat of homegrown extremists as "persistent, multi-faceted and unpredictable. Through each terrorist-related charge we lay and each arrest we make, we send a message which illustrates our strong resolve to root out terrorist threats."

"My son? Charged? Why?" asked Peshdary's mother Swara Peshdary, while Awso's father stated that the arrest and charges against his son were "not true. My son is good. He doesn't have any relationship with any organization. He's working." These new arrests arrive soon after 24-year-old Ottawa twins Ashton and Carlos Larmond and Suliman Mohamed, 21, were arrested on charges also related to terrorism which the RCMP noted was a "spin-off" of another investigation.

They stated that it is likely additional spin-off investigations will be added since the networks are "very complex".