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COVID-19 is latest twist in Canadian family’s nightmare

COVID-19 is latest twist in Canadian family’s nightmare

thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/04/21/covid-19-is-latest-twist-in-canadian-familys-nightmare.html Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy’s parents were just leaving the American maximum security prison where he is serving a 40 year sentence when they were told not to come...

Justice isn’t served when double standards taint the system

Justice isn’t served when double standards taint the system

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 20, did not actually kill anyone, but was accused and pled guilty to plotting terrorist attacks against targets in New York City back in 2016. Unlike Bissonnette, the Mississauga man did not solely self-radicalize but was also caught up in an FBI sting operation at age 17.

His lawyer, Dennis Edney, said the young man had a clear history of mental illness, including psychotic episodes and had grappled with drug addiction since the age of 14. While the judge acknowledged all this, El Bahnasawy was convicted nonetheless this past December.

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"What makes this story even more disturbing is that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) knowingly participated in this sting with the FBI. They unlawfully obtained Abdulrahman’s medical records that described his mental health vulnerabilities and provided them to the FBI to better manipulate this damaged youth.

This raises serious human rights concerns of discriminatory investigations, targeting vulnerable youths such as Abdulrahman, who had no previous history of violence or criminality, until drawn in by a U.S. government actively involved in developing the plot, persuading and pressuring the target to participate."

Dennis Edney

Canadian Defence lawyer