A complaint over the RCMP’s role in the arrest in the United States of a Toronto-area ISIS recruit has been referred to Canada’s new national security review agency, handing its members a challenging case early in their mandate.
A copy of the complaint obtained by Global News alleges Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy was “entrapped” by the FBI with the help of the RCMP, which was aware of his history of mental illness and addiction.
“Both agencies knew of his mental health problem and so entrapped him online, taking advantage of his unstable mental health, while he was manic and on the waiting list for mental health treatment,” the complaint alleges.
The case has been referred to the government’s National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, formed six months ago to increase the transparency of Canada’s national security activities.
El Bahnasawy is now serving a 40-year prison sentence in the U.S. after pleading guilty to plotting ISIS attacks in New York City. He is appealing the sentence.
His parents said their son was 18, off his medication and “rarely left his room” in surburban Toronto when he was arrested in New Jersey in 2016 during a family road trip.
They have questioned why the RCMP, which knew about his mental health problems, cooperated with the FBI undercover investigation instead of helping their son get treatment.
“We hope our complaint is taken seriously and our government intervenes to bring our victim sick son back before it is too late,” his parents said in a statement.
Osama El Bahnasawy and Khadiga Metwally advocated for their imprisoned son at last month’s Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference in Toronto.
An official at the review agency, known as NSIRA, wrote to the parents on Nov. 6, saying their complaint was being examined to ensure it was “not trivial, frivolous or vexatious or made in bad faith.”
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NSIRA did not respond to questions from Global News.
But experts said there was no reason to decline the case, which touches on sensitive topics such as international cooperation and terrorism investigations in which mental illness is a factor.
“Sending the case to be reviewed by NSIRA was absolutely the right move,” said Prof. Stephanie Carvin, a national security expert at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.
“NSIRA has the authority and mandate to look at operational information to review the files across government agencies.”
She did not take issue with the RCMP’s decision to investigate El Bahnasawy, since mental illness “does not preclude someone from engaging in violent extremism.”
But while the RCMP did not encourage El Banhasaway to travel to the United States, it also did not stop him. “NSIRA will have to decide if this was the correct policy to follow in its review,” she said.
The investigation began when the FBI infiltrated a group of co-conspirators in Syria, Canada, Pakistan and the Philippines.
In online messages, they planned attacks to be carried out in New York for ISIS. El Bahnasawy not only participated but also purchased bomb-making materials in Canada and shipped them to the U.S.
During the investigation, the RCMP obtained El Bahnasawy’s medical records from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and passed them to the FBI, which arrested him when he crossed the border a week later.
U.S. prosecutors alleged he had been plotting what he had called “the next 9/11.”
“He planned to detonate bombs in Times Square and the New York City subway system, and to shoot civilians at concert venues,” said Geoffrey S. Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
But his parents deny El Bahnasawy is a terrorist, describing him as “vulnerable, weak, isolated” and awaiting an appointment with a specialist in Ontario when he was taken into custody.
He is currently being held in Oklahoma City, but the parents said he needed to be “in a hospital and not in a prison” and want him brought back to Canada, where they argue he will have better access to treatment and medication.
The Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., has been monitoring the case, emails released by the family show.
Questions over whether police should intervene to de-radicalize terrorism suspects were raised in the case of John Nuttall and Amanda Korody, who plotted to bomb the B.C. legislature on Canada Day in 2013.
They were convicted by a jury but later acquitted by a judge who said they had been entrapped by police, who continued an undercover investigation rather than examining a possible “exit strategy.”
“The RCMP has in place policies regarding vulnerability assessments in all undercover operations. So that was likely taken into consideration here,” Prof. Carvin said of El Bahnsawy’s case.
“In addition, recent court cases, such as the Nuttall/Korody entrapment decision are also having an impact on how the RCMP manages these kinds of cases with vulnerable individuals.”
Message Canadian Abdulrahman El-Bahnasawy wrote on his cell wall after he was arrested, according to U.S. prosecutors.
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The newly-created NSIRA reviews the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Communications Security Establishment, as well as the national security and intelligence activities of all other federal departments.
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It also investigates complaints, replacing and expanding on the role previously filled by the Security Intelligence Review Committee. Complaints against the RCMP that involve national security are part of its mandate.
Leah West, who teaches national security law at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, said she could not see why NSIRA wouldn’t investigate.
The review would likely look at RCMP information sharing practices and whether procedures were properly followed, said West, a former Department of Justice national security lawyer.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
