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Inquiring minds want to know.
Is the lawyer Gary Batasar, representing the suspect known as Abdul Shakur—or as Batasar now prefers he be known: “Steven Chand” —trying this case in the media, for the media? Just wondering because (a) he decried the trial-by-media phenomenon yesterday as he was blathering over and over all day long to any media who would listen, and (b) he said (to the throngs of media) that there were outlandish allegations against his client and that it all seemed to be a “fear” tactic cooked-up in such places as “Crawford, Texas” (where President George Bush’s family home is located), and Ottawa.
I watched it on TV. He was quite sad about it. He said:
“It appears to me whether you’re in Ottawa or Toronto or Crawford, Texas, or Washington, D.C.—what is wanting to be instilled in the public is fear,” he said. “That’s precisely why everybody’s here today. That’s unfortunate.”
— Gary Batasar quoted at CTV.ca
And then there’s item (c). One of the outlandish allegations that Batasar complained about repeatedly to all the media who would listen was that his client was being accused of planning to “behead” the Prime Minister—Harper specifically. “The allegations suggest that [Mr. Chand] would personally like to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper,” he said, according to the Globe and Mail.
According to a Canadian Press report:
Batasar said the synopsis of accusations provided by the Crown included allegations that the group wanted to “storm the Parliament buildings” and “take politicians hostage.” It also indicated that the CBC building in downtown Toronto was a potential target.
The synopsis also alleges Chand indicated “he would personally like to behead Stephen Harper,” Batasar said.
But the Globe and Mail got its hands on what is ostensibly the document—the synopsis—in question. According to the copy of a Crown synopsis viewed yesterday by The Globe and Mail, and ONE of their stories today about that dossier, “One lawyer’s assertion yesterday that his client stands accused of plotting to “behead” Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not seen in the document The Globe viewed yesterday.”
They wrote:
According to the document, they had a name for their project: Operation Badr. A list of possible targets was overheard, according to the Crown synopsis.
The Parliament buildings are said to have came up. So did the Toronto headquarters of the CBC and RCMP headquarters in Ottawa. So, too, did the notion of taking politicians hostage. (One lawyer’s assertion yesterday that his client stands accused of plotting to “behead” Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not seen in the document The Globe viewed yesterday.)
Are there different sets of documents flying all over the place? Different versions? Not likely.
If not, what is Batasar up to? Would he be trying to make out like this whole alleged terrorist arrest ordeal is a nothing more than a ploy? A personal vendetta against random Moslems cooked-up in the homes of a couple of “neo-cons”—U.S. President Bush in “Crawford, Texas” (his words), and Prime Minister Harper who —what with that “beheading” thing hanging over his head —was personally ticked, scared, angered, or chagrinned, and ordered the arrests to avenge them Ayrabs? (You know, like how George W. Bush started the war against terror and for freedom in Iraq because Sadam threatened to kill his dad?)
The Globe and Mail clearly doesn’t seem to have it straight either. But of course that didn’t stop them from making a big splash about it on their front page today and writing about it in a front page story with the huge alarming headline.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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