According to police wiretaps played in court near Toronto on Wednesday, members of an alleged Canadian terrorist cell believed a then-teenager would be the best candidate to behead the Canadian Prime Minister because of his wood-chopping skills. On the same tape, the young man and one of his co-accused discuss the global fight to get rid of the oppressors, even if on Western soil. You harm one Muslim and the whole Muslim [nation] has to defend that person, he said. The now twenty year-old is one of 18 suspects arrested in 2006 as part of an alleged terrorist scenario, which included taking hostages from the parliament in Ottawa, setting off bombs in Toronto and Ottawa and beheading Prime Minister Stephen Harper if demands for the release of prisoners in Afghanistan were not met. The conversations were taped by a police informant during a trip to northern Ontario in February 2006. The strength of the case has been called into question in recent months as the prosecution has chosen not to proceed with charges against 7 of the 18 accused.
