Source: The Canadian Press
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Date: February 5, 2009


OTTAWA — Convicted terrorist Momin Khawaja has already served enough time behind bars, his lawyer told the judge pondering the Ottawa man's sentence.

Lawrence Greenspon argued Thursday that Khawaja should receive no more than 7 1/2 years for the seven offences he was convicted of last October in a groundbreaking terrorism case.

Khawaja, arrested in March 2004, has spent almost five years in jail while his trial and sentencing play out. As the courts usually credit offenders with double such time served, Khawaja should be set free, Greenspon said.

He urged Justice Douglas Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court not to "pander to the collective, frightened will" by handing down an unduly harsh sentence.

The Crown is scheduled to make arguments next Thursday.The hearings will help Rutherford determine an appropriate sentence for Khawaja, an Ottawa software developer convicted last year of counts under the Anti-Terrorism Act as well as other criminal offences. They carry maximum penalties ranging from 10 years to life.

The 27-day trial was seen as the first major test of laws Canada ushered in after the 9-11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Khawaja, 29, was found guilty on five charges of financing and facilitating terrorism for providing cash to a group of British extremists, offering them lodging and other assistance, and undergoing training at a remote camp in Pakistan.

He was also convicted of two offences related to building a remote-control device to set off explosions, though there was insufficient proof Khawaja knew it would apparently be used to trigger terrorist attacks in London.

Khawaja pleaded not guilty to the charges and was tried without a jury.

He is a co-operative prisoner who had a decent upbringing, Greenspon said. He cited a submission from Khawaja's mother, Azra, describing him as a "good child" with an adventurous, independent streak.

As a youth, he shaved half his head, dyed his hair blond and wore an earring and ripped jeans.

"These issues aside, he never gave us any serious trouble. He has never been one to drink or use drugs," Azra Khawaja's submission says.

Her son didn't get into fights, and she has never seen him be violent.

"At home Momin was quite talkative. He would often sit with his chocolate milk and just talk about whatever. He was always very polite and respectful of others."

She says there was only a brief period when, as a student at an Ottawa college, Momin began skipping classes and hanging out with the wrong crowd. But after a talk he turned things around.

Greenspon told the hearing that Khawaja has been well-behaved in custody, studying science and English literature by correspondence.

During the trial last summer, Greenspon characterized him as an angry young Muslim who wanted to join insurgents in Afghanistan, not blow up targets in Britain.

Five associates, including bomb-plot ringleader Omar Khyam, were sentenced to prison after being convicted in London.

Greenspon argued Thursday there's a clear distinction between acts such as the 1982 bombing of Litton Industries in Toronto by left-wing activists and Khawaja's plans for the battlefield, which were far from the "true terrorism" of detonating explosives in a city.

Rutherford, however, questioned the reasoning. He said that if the remote-control device was intended to assist a group Khawaja knew was involved in terrorism, "is there a different value on some lives as opposed to others?"

Khawaja was born in Ottawa and moved with his family to Libya, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia before returning to Canada.

He obtained a college diploma in computer programming in 2001 and was working on a software project for the Foreign Affairs Department at the time of his arrest.

Greenspon met with Khawaja on Tuesday and found him anxious. "He's apprehensive about what's going to happen."

Khawaja's father Mahboob said during a break in Thursday's hearing he hopes his son will be set free. "I pray for that. We will wait and see. We hope for the best."

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