Burlington man, who made up a tale about being an Islamic State executioner, sees terrorism-hoax charges dropped
A Burlington man, who made up a story about being an Islamic State executioner, has seen the rare terrorism-hoax charges he faced dropped, after his stories became the focus of major media reports, capturing worldwide attention and creating a political storm in Canada.
Justice Donald McLeod accepted the Crown's decision to withdraw terrorism-hoax charges laid against 26-year-old Shehroze Chaudhry in a Brampton court Friday.
The charges were withdrawn after it was found the accused had made up claims to have fought for Islamic State and he posed little threat to the public.
Chaudhry came to international attention after a series of his social-media posts, in which he claimed to have participated in ISIS activities, gained media attention, notably in The New York Times' popular podcast Caliphate.
When his claims that he committed atrocities fell apart, the Times labelled him a fabulist."
The outcome of a year's negotiation between the Crown and defence counsel will see Chaudhry being served a $10,000, no-deposit, 12-month, terrorism peace bond, which McLeod called appropriate for what he called a misstep," during a time when he was very impressionable.
McLeod said based on everything he sees Chaudry is of a low threat," and is not someone that he foresees getting into trouble.
You are a person that is salvageable," the Ontario Court judge said to Chaudhry, who appeared via Zoom video conference. Don't let anyone down!"
McLeod said it appears that Chaudhry was seeking attention online and then it just blew up," adding that sometimes attention like that can be dangerous; it's a ball that keeps rolling."
He said this was not an easy resolution to hash out.
It's by no means a slap on the wrist," he said.
Chaudhry thanked Justice McLeod for his advice, saying it actually means a lot to me.
I appreciate everything that you said and it will be followed very closely."
Chaudhry's lawyer Nader Hasan said by entering into the peace bond, Chaudhry makes no admission of guilt on the terrorism-hoax charge, nor one that he had any criminal intent.
It was born out of immaturity, not anything more sinister," Hasan said. Mr. Chaudhry made an untrue boast on social media, a lie, that he had been to Syria and done things for ISIS."
He said his client is cognizant that his conduct caused alarm within the community."
Hasan said Chaudhry's story picked up steam due to reckless reporting from the media.
The terrorism peace bond applies in this case because the police (RCMP) took the position that when Chaudhry's publicly proclaimed his ideological motivations, extremists views, and acts, it raised the fear that he might commit a terrorism offence or activity.
Because what Chaudhry claimed to have done was a lie, he was charged under the terrorist hoax provisions of the Criminal Code as those lies, the Crown alleged, caused the public to fear that terrorist activity would occur.
The resolution by way of a terrorism peace bond, while not an admission of criminality, is an admission that there were reasonable grounds to fear that he may commit a terrorism offence.
The recent York University environmental sciences graduate, who works at his family's Burlington business, has no criminal record and has engaged in counselling over the last two years, the court heard.
An agreed statement of facts detailed how Chaudhry's bizarre tale started in 2016, when he frequented chat sites that supported ISIS, a listed terrorist group under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Chaudhry proceeded to plagiarize some of the information he read and posted it on his own social media accounts, fabricating stories that he had gone to Syria and had participated in ISIS activities.
In one of his 2016 Instagram posts, Chaudhry claimed he had fought with ISIS and that he was assigned to the Amniyat section stationed in Manbij, Raqqa and Rabia. Chaudhry added that he had been to the battlefield," that he went for a bit less than a year."
Chaudhry's postings drew the attention of the mainstream media, such as The New York Times which reported on Chaudhry's story, as well as the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which produced a report excerpting various of Chaudhry's social media posts, which they provided to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The RCMP launched an investigation.
The Times popular podcast, Caliphate, listened to by millions of people, featured Chaudhry as a central figure, the statement of fact said.
The New York Times later recognized there were significant falsehoods and other discrepancies" in Chaudhry's story, admitting there was no corroboration" for any of his assertions at the time, the court heard.
New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi flew to Canada to interview Chaudhry for her 10-part series that began on April 18, 2018. Chaudhry asserted that he had joined the Hisbah unit of ISIS, contrary to his initial Instagram posting wherein he stated that he had joined the Amniyat section.
In one episode of the series, Chaudhry asserted he had murdered ISIS prisoners.
Since then, the Times admitted the podcast did not meet its standards for accuracy," that it was not scrutinized properly by editors, that basic fact-checking was not done, the court heard.
Chaudhry was subsequently introduced to Mubin Shaikh, an individual who has worked with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP as a paid agent in the past.
The court heard that Shaikh frequently met with Chaudhry for purported counselling" and deradicalization" purposes but it is unclear whether any actual counselling occurred and Shaikh's motives in approaching Chaudhry remain unclear, the Crown read.
Shaikh arranged interviews for Chaudhry on mainstream Canadian media programs such as the CBC's The Fifth Estate (When Terror Comes Home") and Global News.
In the CBC's When Terror Comes Home" aired on Sept. 2019 Chaudhry, who used an alias, is captured in an interview from his family's restaurant stating, I know I got off scot-free." His comments prompted then Conservative House leader Candice Bergen to address Parliament saying, This individual described how he executed individuals by shooting them in the back of the head. This guy is apparently in Toronto. Canadians deserve more answers from this government."
Shaikh stated that Chaudhry did not seek out these media organizations on his own; was agitated after the interviews; and had not wanted the Caliphate podcast to come out at all, the court heard.
His comments were picked up and reported on by other media outlets including the National Post, Toronto Sun, The Washington Post, Vice Media, Arab News, The Guardian and the Toronto Star.
Chaudhry's story created a political storm in Canada with his assertions that he participated in atrocities by ISIS in Syria," according to a statement agreed between the Crown and the defence. Chaudhry has never entered Syria, nor participated in ISIS operations anywhere in the world, the agreed statement indicates.
Chaudhry would later admit to the RCMP that he had lied and that he never went to Syria.
Chaudhry also made Facebook posts where he quoted ISIS propaganda and displayed images of military weaponry.
The RCMP said, at the time, that Chaudhry's claims in numerous media interviews of travelling to Syria in 2016 to join the Islamic State raised public safety concerns among Canadians.
Hoaxes can generate fear within our communities and create the illusion there is a potential threat to Canadians, while we have determined otherwise," Supt. Christopher deGale said in a statement at the time.
Jason Miller is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering crime and justice in the Peel Region. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic