Canada’s first convicted terrorist sentenced

A judge sentenced a Canadian man to 10 1/2 years in prison for plotting with a group of British Muslims to bomb buildings and natural gas lines in the United Kingdom. Mohammed Momim Khawaja, 29, is the first person to be sentenced under Canadian anti-terrorism laws passed after the Sept. 11 attacks. His case is considered to be the first major test of the laws.

The Canadian-born Muslim of Pakistani descent was accused of collaborating with Britons of Pakistani descent in a thwarted 2004 plan to attack a London nightclub, a shopping center and electrical and gas facilities.

Khawaja pleaded not guilty to all charges but was convicted last fall of financing and facilitating terrorism. Wesley Wark, a University of Toronto professor and national security expert, said he had thought Khawaja would get a life sentence like the others. Wark said the ruling is bound to raise questions about Canada being light on terrorism, but he said the case shows the anti-terrorism laws do work.

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