EDMONTON— A Canadian construction worker wanted in the United States on terror-related charges made a brief court appearance Thursday, marking the start of a months-long legal process as the U.S. seeks to have him extradited.
Meanwhile, the lawyer for Sayfildin Tahir-Sharif said RCMP had given him limited access to his client, refusing to let the lawyer interrupt their interrogation following the terror suspect’s arrest in Edmonton on Wednesday.
A slight man with long black hair and a goatee, the 38-year-old Tahir-Sharif— who U.S. authorities allege is also known by several other names, including Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa — entered an Edmonton courtroom with his wrists shackled.
He did not address court during the proceeding, which lasted only for a few minutes. His case was adjourned for one week, when it will be back in a bail review court.
Outside the courthouse, lawyer Bob Aloneissi said his client, who was born in Iraq but is a Canadian citizen, has a home and a family, including children, in Edmonton.
Tahir-Sharif was“surprised” by the charges, he said.
“These are probably some of the most serious charges that an individual could face,” Aloneissi said.
Asked whether Tahir-Sharif would fight extradition, Aloneissi said,“I think any Canadian would want to stay to answer to these charges.”
Tahir-Sharif is accused of conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals and providing material support to terrorists, including Tunisian suicide bombers who killed American soldiers in Iraq.
“Faruq Khalil Muhammad Isa” is the name used by the U.S. government in its sworn statement seeking his extradition.
The man is also alleged to have sought permission to travel there to martyr himself, and to“obtain weapons and facilities from terrorist networks in Iraq to use in attacks in North America,” according to documents filed Jan. 14 in U.S. District Court in New York state.
Contacted by Global News, a woman living at the apartment identified as Tahir-Sharif’s home address suggested she had been misled by the man now standing accused of conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
“I don’t need anybody to ask me or question my life. I am questioning my life as it is, you know. I don’t need anybody else to come and question my life,” the woman said in a brief telephone interview.
“How can you even call him my husband? You know, the person I knew is not even the person I know. He’s like somebody else.”
Tahir-Sharif was arrested Wednesday morning in the area of 132nd Avenue and 82nd Street, provincial RCMP confirmed.
Court records list Tahir-Sharif’s address as an apartment building in the area. According to the records, he has lived there since at least May 2009.
The building’s site manager said he didn’t have much interaction with the man who lived in the apartment suite, but did say that he lived with a woman and a few young children.
The man’s lawyer said he only met with his client early Thursday morning, after receiving an initial phone call from him around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, shortly after Tahir-Sharif was taken into RCMP custody.
After that, he said, RCMP refused to let him speak to the accused that day, either over the phone or in person.
Aloneissi said he went to RCMP headquarters on Wednesday evening, but was not allowed to see Tahir-Sharif.
He said RCMP told him they did not want to interrupt their interrogation.
“I have concerns about that,” said Aloneissi. “That they would not even tell him I was there. I don’t think it helps when the RCMP separates you from your client.”
RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said he could not comment on Aloneissi’s concerns about being denied access to his client during interrogation.
“I can’t speak to that at all. If he has a concern over it, he has to bring it up through the court system.”
Aloneissi said both U.S. and Canadian authorities have 60 days to fulfil requirements for the extradition process. It could then take up to six months before an extradition hearing is set.
An Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench judge will decide whether Tahir-Sharif should be extradited, Aloneissi said. The consent to extradition must then be given by the federal justice minister.
Aloneissi described his client as an ethnic Kurd who moved to this country from Iraq in 1993.
The lawyer said Tahir-Sharif moved to Edmonton from Toronto. He has a family and was working in Edmonton as a construction worker, applying stucco, the lawyer said.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Patrick Webb confirmed there are no Canadian charges against the suspect, and that none are expected.
Tahir-Sharif is being held in segregation at the Edmonton Remand Centre, pending his bail hearing.
“His English is OK, but he prefers to speak in Arabic, his mother tongue,” Aloneissi said.
He said it’s important for the community to understand that despite the nature of the allegations, his client is entitled to a proper defence.
“Every person has a right to counsel, and a right to be guided through the legal system fairly.”
Postmedia News
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