CBC News: Profile Of Young Terrorist Suspect Awso Peshdary.
Age: 20
Arrested in: Ottawa
Charges:
- Assault and uttering threats in April
- Assault and uttering threats Aug. 10
Awso Peshdary, sketched during an appearance in an Ottawa court Aug. 31. (Sarah Wallace/CBC)On his way to work early on the morning of Friday, Aug. 27, Awso Peshdary was stopped by police and taken into custody by the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.
According to the Ottawa Citizen his car was badly damaged and witnesses reported police guns were drawn. Undercover police cars, a tactical unit black SUV, and RCMP and Ottawa police cruisers were at the scene, on Esson Street near Hunt Club Road in Ottawa.
Until a few months ago he worked in advertising sales at Muslim Link, a community newspaper. Peshdary’s name still appears on the paper’s online rate card for ads. It has been reported that at the time of his arrest he was working at a call centre.
Peshdary is married and has a six-month-old daughter.
When he was 18 and single, he wrote on a matrimonial website that he wanted to study education at university. He listed basketball and soccer as his favourite sports. “I am looking for a special lady who first of all is a dedicated Muslim, second who looks very beautiful, don’t mean to be rude but a virgin. A person I can never stop talking to, one who will raise my children according to Islam, and who will be my companion to the afterlife inshallah,” he wrote in his listing.
Awso Peshdary was one of the speakers at “Resurrection,” an evening of speeches and entertainment in Ottawa in 2009.Last year, Peshdary was featured on posters for “Resurrection,” a series of events aimed at Muslim youth in Ontario and Quebec.
His family roots are in Iraq and his name is Kurdish. He has Canadian citizenship.
Peshdary has not been charged with terrorism-related offences.
On Saturday, he was granted bail and released after being questioned for hours. Then he was facing one charge of assault and one charge of threatening. Moments after he was released, he was rearrested on a third charge, and a fourth count was added Sunday. A publication ban forbids reporting what was said in court.
His lawyer, Richard Morris, said police were “seeking to detain this individual on the domestic charges in order to further the investigation by the RCMP.”
At a bail hearing on Tuesday Morris said he wanted more time to review documents and DVDs handed over to him. The hearing was moved to Friday.
A Free Awso Peshdary group was started Monday on Facebook, and over 90 members joined in less than a day. William McMann of Ottawa writes: “I remember an incredible athlete with pride, determination and empathy.”
Ottawa high school student Sharmarke Sahal, who created the group, wrote to CBC News that Peshdary is “a role model to young Muslims and wouldn’t do anything to sacrifice the well-being of his new family.”
CBC Article: Canaadian Police Have Wire Tap Evidence To Prove Case Against Young Muslim Terrorism Suspects!
Awso Peshdary, seen in a court sketch from Tuesday, has had his reputation unfairly tainted by recent events, his supporters say. (Sarah Wallace/CBC)Wiretaps that are expected to be introduced in an Ottawa court on Friday may help connect the dots between a suspect charged with assault and the arrests of three other men on terrorism charges.
Awso Peshdary, 20, was arrested Aug. 27 in Ottawa on his way to work and detained during a probe into an alleged homegrown terrorism plot.
He remains in custody after his bail hearing was put off until Friday. Peshdary has not been charged with any terrorism-related offences, but has been detained on domestic assault charges since Aug. 27.
Peshdary’s lawyer, Richard Morris, asked in an Ottawa court Tuesday for the hearing to be moved to Friday to allow more time to review material in the case.
Peshdary was not charged with any terrorism-related offences.
Charges unrelated to terrorism
Instead, police laid an unrelated assault charge. He was granted bail on Saturday, then immediately rearrested by Ottawa police on similar charges related to a separate incident. On Sunday, a justice of the peace adjourned Peshdary’s second bail hearing until Tuesday.
During this time, the RCMP have not questioned Peshdary again or come forward with any terrorism-related charges.
It’s not clear what Peshdary’s connection is to the RCMP terrorism probe, and police will only say that the investigation is ongoing.
Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, 30, and Misbahuddin Ahmed, 26, both of Ottawa, and Khurram Syed Sher, 28, of London, Ont., were arrested last week and are accused of conspiring to facilitate terrorism with others in Canada, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Dubai over the past two years.
They are scheduled to make a video court appearance on Wednesday, at which time their lawyers hope to set up bail hearings to argue for their release.
Friends rally outside courtroom
Outside the courtroom on Tuesday, dozens of Peshdary’s friends and family said they feel the justice system has let them down.
They described Peshdary as a calm, patient family man always willing to help and said the allegations have tainted their friend’s reputation.
Mohammed Abdur Haman said he was driving by when he saw police arrest Peshdary on Friday, but at the time didn’t know it was his high school friend surrounded by police.
“We seen the cars come up on a car, and then you hear on the newspaper the next day and it’s your own friend,” said Haman. “It just hurts a lot of people.”
PROFILE: Read more about Awso Peshdary.
A friend who gave his name only as Yahya said reports associating Peshdary with an alleged terrorism investigation will make it difficult for his friend to build a life in Ottawa.
“This guy is trying to go to school, this guy is trying to make something of himself, and who’s going to hire him?” he said. “What do you do in that situation when Canada is your home?”
With files from the CBC’s Susan Lunn and The Canadian Press
Globe & Mail Article: Is Terrorist Suspect Dr. Khurram Sher Proof Canadian Muslims Need To Acknowledge The Problem Of Radical Islam Within Their Community?
The most disturbing fact about the terrorism charge laid against Khurram Sher is not that he’s so different from the rest of us but that he’s so much like us. The guy could be your favourite son-in-law or your nicest neighbour – a smart, successful, considerate young doctor with three kids and a heart of gold. “Khurram wouldn’t hurt a fly,” insisted one long-time colleague.
Dr. Sher (who is, of course, innocent until proved guilty) is one of three men arrested last week and charged with conspiracy to facilitate an act of terrorism. He doesn’t fit our mental picture of a would-be terrorist. He’s not a disaffected kid who fell in with the wrong crowd. He’s not a hate-filled product of poverty and disadvantage. He’s not even a second-class citizen, such as France’s French-born Muslims who speak with perfect Parisian accents but will never break into the elites. Instead, Dr. Sher’s the product of Canada’s uniquely successful multicultural meritocracy – a homegrown, ball-hockey-playing, fun-loving fellow who zipped through one of the toughest med schools in the country and made fun of religious Muslims on Canadian Idol.
Oh, well, so much for stereotypes. The depressing truth is that radicalized Muslims in the West often work in medicine, engineering or computer science. According to terrorism expert Marc Sageman, they’re typically highly educated family men. They’re quite sane. And they may not even be particularly religious.
It’s nice to think that the roots of domestic radicalization must lie in discrimination, ignorance or social disadvantage. After all, that’s something we can try to fix. But how do we fix this? How do we dissuade fully integrated Canadians from rejecting the essence of what Canada is all about?
Some people have the answer. It’s our foreign policy, stupid! If only we stopped waging war in Afghanistan, kowtowing to the imperialist Americans and sucking up to Israel, then people wouldn’t get so riled up they’d want to blow up Parliament. “The solution is … to stop being in denial that there is no connection between the wars we wage and the terrorist mayhem that they trigger,” pronounced the Toronto Star’s Haroon Siddiqui (among others). In other words, it, too, is our fault.
The trouble is, lots of people hate our foreign policy. Some of them even go to Afghanistan to fight on the other side. These people are usually Muslims who’re convinced they’re engaged in a worldwide war of jihad. And I suspect that our foreign policy has far less to do with inciting their murderous fantasies than does the seductive ideology of Islamism – widely available via the Internet and disseminated through radical Muslim groups at many of our finest universities. Far too many young Muslim Canadians, especially Pakistanis, are being whipped up into a frenzy to hate the very society that sustains them.
It’s too bad that our elites are generally too timid to say this. They understandably don’t want to demonize Muslims. But plenty of Muslims are too easily offended by the truth. Instead of acknowledging that there may be a problem in their communities, their first reaction is to circle the wagons and claim that all Muslims are being victimized. “Any Muslim male between 20 and 30 will now be a suspect,” said one Montreal man gloomily. “It’s very unfair,” added Saira Rahman, a Winnipeg filmmaker. “You’re demonizing communities again and creating a situation where everyone’s guilty till proven innocent.”
Yet, some people aren’t afraid to tell the truth. And some of them are religious Muslims. Mohammed Shahid Shaikh, for example, runs programs in Toronto that are aimed at deradicalizing youth, pointing out the virtues of the West and teaching them the difference between religion and politics. He says, “There’s more to come like this unless we do something about it.”
Daily Times Article: Pakistani Officials Helped Canadian Police Capture Terrorist Suspects In Project Samossa!
Operation ‘samosa’ and the Pakistani connection
By Ali K Chishti
Pakistani intelligence agencies played a crucial role in uncovering a terrorism plot in Canada, which led to the arrest of three suspected terrorists earlier this month.
According to official sources, Pakistani agencies tipped off their Canadian counterparts, who then launched ‘Operation Samosa’, one of the biggest clandestine efforts in the history of Canada.
The operation culminated in the arrest of Misbahuddin Ahmed (26), Hiva Alizadeh (30) and 28-year-old Dr Khurram Sher from Ontario on August 18.
Ahmed and Alizadeh both are from Ontario, while Khurram is a resident of London.
All three of them have now been charged with “conspiracy to knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity”.
Official sources told Daily Times that an intensive investigation is continuing inside Pakistan about the alleged links of at least one of the suspects with terrorist groups in Pakistan and his multiple visits to Pakistan over the years. The ringleader of the terror plot travelled to the area located on the Pak-Afghan border to receive weapons training.
Talking to Daily Times, a Pakistani security official refused to comment on the actual role of Pakistani intelligence agencies, however, he confirmed that, “Pakistani authorities are working closely with the Canadian authorities”.
Khurram, a Canadian of Pakistani descent, travelled to Pakistan during the 2005 earthquake as part of an aide mission. A Western intelligence source confirmed that “it is where he formed ties with al Qaeda and that is exactly why we need to have a better co-ordination with the Pakistani intelligence services”. Another diplomat stated that, “the plot ranged from Canada to Iran, Afghanistan, Dubai and Pakistan and that the terrorists are linked to a group in Afghanistan”. However, he did not elaborate.
It is the second al Qaeda-linked terror plot to be unearthed in Canada. In 2006, 18 Muslims had been arrested from Toronto for plotting to blow up government buildings. Eleven of the plotters were later convicted.
Pakistani intelligence agencies had helped Canadian authorities uncover the plot in 2006.
CBC News: Profile Of The Terrorist Suspsect Canadian Born Doctor Khurram Sher.
Age: 28
Arrested in: London, Ont.
Charge: Conspiracy to knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity
A court sketch shows Khurram Sher during an appearance in Ottawa on Aug. 28, 2010, on a charge related to what the RCMP say was a domestic terrorism plot. (Sarah Wallace/CBC) While Khurram Sher claimed on Canadian Idol to have come to Canada from Pakistan in “2K5,” that was just part of the joke, along with a thick accent, stereotypical clothing and comical dance moves.
Sher was actually born and raised in Montreal and speaks both English and French fluently. He is a graduate of the McGill University medical school and completed his pathology residency in June.
In 2006, Sher went to Pakistan as part of an aid group sent to help out after an earthquake in Kashmir. In June 2008, Sher spent three weeks doing an elective rotation in the pathology department of the Maqassed hospital in East Jerusalem.
Sher’s former supervisor and co-workers said they were stunned to hear of the charges laid against him.
“I don’t believe that Khurram is a bad man, never,” said Dr. Barkat Sharabati, a pathologist.
The imam at the mosque where Sher worshipped — the Islamic Community Centre on Montreal’s South Shore — found news of the arrests depressing.
“I was really shocked to hear that two of our brothers were arrested. They’re still young,” Foudil Selmoune said.
Both Sher and alleged co-conspirator Misbahuddin Ahmed attended prayers at the mosque.
“Honestly … it makes me even depressed because you know that these kind of brothers were active in the positive way,” said Selmoune.
Selmoune said Sher used to volunteer to collect and distribute food for needy families on the South Shore, as part of the mosque’s activities.
Other friends of Sher describe him as a well-adjusted Canadian.
A friend from McGill, who preferred not to be identified, said Sher was a “fantastic hockey player who was an avid organizer of ball hockey.”
The friend, who knew Sher for three years, said he was “funny, charming, intelligent — the kind of Muslim youth that is well adjusted to life in Canada.”
A doctor who invited Sher to participate in the relief mission to aid earthquake victims in Pakistan said he was “surprised” at Sher’s arrest.
Sher moved to London, Ont., in July with his mother, wife and three children to start work as a pathologist at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital.
Paul Collins, chief executive of the hospital, said Sher began work at the hospital on Aug. 3.
“From what I understand, he was pretty much head down, getting the job done,” said Collins, who had not yet met the doctor.
Sher was arrested in London, Ont. on Aug. 26, the day after his accused co-conspirators were arrested in Ottawa.
It Is Official Tennis Fans Say The Ugly Masculine Butch Mary Carillo Is The Worst Commentator On Television!
Last year, I created a non scientific poll so tennis fans can vote and write openly about ESPN Television’s pathetic tennis coverage. Unfortunately for Canadian tennis viewers, our sports network TSN buys American feed for three out of the four grand slam events. Mary Carillo ran away with the most votes over 366 people, which equals 53% of the voters, believe she is the worst tennis commentator on television.
The sexism of Brad Gilbert, Patrick and John McEnroe was also discussed on the thread. However, tennis fans are outraged at the unprofessionalism of Mary Carillo. Carillo’s covert racism against the Williams Sisters was commented on the thread as well.
Tennis fans also complained about Carillo’s favouritism for the blonde Russian Maria Sharapova despite the fact she is not American.
The comments on my blog concluded because Serena Williams is not white, thin, or blonde means she is constantly attacked by the sexist and racist American media. Serena Williams holds thirteen grand slam singles titles she is a legend. Serena is not competing at the 2010 US Open because she is injured. However, at the 2010 US Open why is Mary Carillo still talking about Serena Williams? Serena Williams is an A list celebrity she transcends tennis and ESPN Television knows this.
Mary Carillo doesn’t just attack Serena Williams she also hates other women. Although Carillo is a woman, she has an anti woman attitude. Carillo’s disgust for women’s tennis illustrates her sexism against women. Carillo says women’s tennis players are too emotional on the court and they grunt loud. However, Rafael Nadal screams like he’s having an orgasm when he competes. Male tennis player such as David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, James Blake, Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Murray all grunt.
Carillo’s prejudice against women’s tennis is bizarre she acts like she is not a woman. The public understands Carillo is an ugly masculine butch, she wears men’s suits, has no class, grace, lacks femininity, and cuts her hair short. Just because Mary Carillo identifies as a bulldyke doesn’t give her a right to put down women’s tennis.
According to Wikipedia, Mary Carillo never won a WTA Tour title and her highest rank was number thirty-three in the world. How can such an untalented tennis player be a professional tennis commentator? What experience does Carillo have with winning? Carillo is famous for losing on the WTA Tour!
The answer is obvious, Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe obtained their jobs at ESPN Television due to nepotism.
Mary Carillo and Patrick McEnroe work at ESPN Teleivison because they have a connection to seven time grand slam champion John MEnroe.
Patrick McEnroe is also very unprofessional he talks too much during the points yet he was a very untalented tennis player. Patrick only won one ATP Tour title and he never reached the top 10 of men’s tennis. Yes Pam Shriver and Brad Gilbert are annoying, but at least they reached the top 5 of the WTA and ATP Tours.
I think Darren Cahill, Cliff Drysdale, and Mary Joe Fernandez are the most humble and professional commentators on ESPN television. Cahill, Drysdale, and Fernandez actually are professional most of the time and they have class.
Link: If you want to complain to ESPN Television about the tennis commentators.
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