Adil Charkaoui's mosque referenced as possible recruiting zone in Habib trial
Well-known Muslim leader denies allegations, writes 'media aims to maintain unfounded suspicions'
Controversial Quebec imam Adil Charkaoui is denying involvement in radicalizing youth after his mosque was named in the Ismael Habib trial.
During a sting operation conducted by the RCMP, Habib allegedly said the mosque where Charkaoui is an imam is where Habib would go if he had to recruit young people to go overseas to wage Jihad.
Habib, represented by lawyer Charles Montpetit, is accused of trying to leave the country to commit acts of terrorism and trying to obtain a passport by providing false information. The 29-year-old's trial is being heard by Quebec Court Judge Serge Délisle. Crown witnesses have testified saying Habib wanted to go to Syria and fight with ISIS.
He told me that if he had to recruit, that's where he would go,- An undercover RCMP agent describing what Ismael Habib said about Adil Charkaoui's mosque.
On Thursday, an undercover RCMP agent known as "the Boss" described an operation where he confronted the accused with a package of compromising information about his past, and asked him to explain. On Friday, the court heard the package of information was given to the Boss by RCMP investigators.
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The court has heard that the Boss, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, built Habib's trust over the course of months, hiring him to do odd jobs.
If Habib had to recruit, he'd go to Charkaoui's mosque, court hears
On Thursday, when the Boss asked whether there were other youth who wanted to go to Syria. In response, the Boss said Habib named two Montreal-area mosques: one the Boss couldn't remember, and an east-end mosque called Assahaba.
"He told me that if he had to recruit, that's where he would go," testified the Boss on Thursday.
The Boss said Habib specifically pointed to one imam who "preached" but did not clarify what he was preaching or which imam he was referencing.
Habib also allegedly said some Montreal youth were "hot," or willing to go overseas.
Language lessons
On Facebook, Charkaoui responded to the allegations in the testimony, saying the verb tense the RCMP agent used was conditional, indicating the allegations were a possibility but not a certain fact.
He also said "its use by certain media aims to maintain unfounded suspicions and mislead the masses."