Beheading the PM
Authorities are claiming that one of the accused terrorists arrested in Toronto expressed the desire to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and that the group may have planned to behead other hostages if their demands were not met.
UGH!!
We don't yet know if these accusations are true, but it certainly gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Gary Batasar, who represents Steven Chand, accused the authorities of trying to instill fear in the public, and he chastised Harper for expressing 'happiness' that the suspects had been arrested over the weekend. He said:
"I expect my client to get a fair trial, as fair as every other trial that occurs in Canada. ... In fact, the comments made by the prime minister himself with respect to his happiness that these persons had been arrested certainly is surprising and shocking. I believe the prime minister should keep out of the process and let justice take its course."
Wow! I totally disagree with the lawyer on this one. It has nothing to do with the presumption of innocence or receiving a fair trial, but isn't the PM allowed to be happy that people, about whom the police have evidence of a coordinated terrorist plot, have been arrested? He's not saying that they shouldn't be given a fair trial, or that the police should stop investigating. I bet that many people are happy that arrests have been made, just as they'd be happy if any suspected violent offender was arrested (wasn't everyone happy when they arrested a suspect in the Cecilia Zhang murder?). We all know that the accused deserve a fair trial, and we all pray that the innocent are not convicted, but in the meantime, it's comforting to know that the police have some suspects in custody, so they can continue to get to the bottom of the story.
And if the police told me that someone planned/hoped to behead me, I'd be awfully glad that they were in custody.
Technorati tags: Canada, Toronto, terrorist, Stephen Harper
Posted in: politics on June 06, 2006
