Shareef Abdelhaleem
{{Short description|Alleged terrorist (born 1976)}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Shareef Abdelhaleem
| image_name =
| image_size =
| image_caption =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1976}}
| birth_place = Egypt
| death_date =
| death_place =
| cause =
| alias =
| motive =
| charge = 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests
| conviction = Found guilty
| conviction_penalty = Life imprisonment
| conviction_status = Incarcerated
| occupation = Computer programmer
| spouse =
| parents = Tariq Abdelhaleem (father)
| children =
}}
Muhammad Shareef Abdelhaleem (born 1976) is a database engineerFriscolanti, Michael, Maclean's, "It Comes Down to These Four", June 9, 2008 and one of 17 people initially arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He is alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario.
Life
{{Quote box
| quote = "I am the last person to be a threat{{nbs}}... this whole thing was staged to impress the public, to give them fear."
| source = Shareef Abdelhaleem
}}Born in Egypt as the oldest of four siblings, Abdelhaleem lived in Egypt, Jordan and England as a child, and moved to Canada with his parents in 1989 at the age of 10.
His father, Tariq Abdelhaleem, is an engineer on contract with Atomic Energy of Canada, and is well known for his own writings as an Imam, including a fatwa against watering down the message of Islam. He was interviewed prior to his son's arrests, denouncing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.{{cite web |url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=bd31f5c1-3426-43e8-8446-911c2e3e6bf0&k=81005&p=1 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2006-08-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121005657/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=bd31f5c1-3426-43e8-8446-911c2e3e6bf0&k=81005&p=1 |archivedate=2007-11-21 }} Tariq was among those who posted bail for security certificate detainee Mohammad Mahjoub earlier in the year. At Abdelhaleem's trial it was revealed that his father had issued a fatwa for the group declaring the attacks "acceptable".{{cite web |url=http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100121/national/terror_trial |title=Shareef Abdelhaleem, Toronto 18 member, found guilty of terrorism offences - Yahoo! Canada News |accessdate=2010-01-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125175535/http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100121/national/terror_trial |archivedate=2010-01-25 }}
Abdelhaleem was a 30-year-old computer programmer at the time of his arrest, and drove a metallic blue BMW convertible. He underwent open-heart surgery just two months before the arrest. He was by far the wealthiest of the group and had sought information on offshore bank accounts.{{cite news| title=Toronto 18| first=Isabel| last=Teotonio| url=http://www3.thestar.com/static/toronto18/index.html| work=Toronto Star| access-date=2010-07-11| archive-date=2018-10-06| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006004104/http://www3.thestar.com/static/toronto18/index.html| url-status=dead}}
His father has visited Abdelhaleem every Saturday morning for three years, but lied to his youngest daughter and explains her older brother is in a "hospital" and behind plexiglass for all visits because he's contagious.
Actions leading to arrest
Abdelhaleem is alleged to have been introduced to fertilizer purchasing by Zakaria Amara.Toronto Star, [http://thestar.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/fasttrack/20060607/TERRORFAHIM07?section=Legal]{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}Thomas, Vanessa and Make Becker. Buffalo News, [http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060605/1066828.asp A portrait of terrorist suspects], June 5, 2006{{dead link|date=October 2024}}
Amara gave Abdelhaleem money; Abdelhaleem then gave C$2,000 to Shaher Elsohemy, who was a former friend and current police mole. Elsohemy claimed that money was a downpayment for ammonium nitrate.{{cite web |publisher=CBC News: the fifth estate |work=Among the Believes: Cracking Toronto's Terror Cell |title=Timeline |url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/torontoterror/timeline.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109022636/http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/torontoterror/timeline.html |archive-date= Jan 9, 2013 }}
When police stormed Abdelhaleem's home, it was reported that he was mostly concerned with making sure the seven stray cats who resided in his home were alright.
Trial
Throughout the trial Abdelhaleem maintained that he was merely a middle-man keeping contact between ringleader Zakaria Amara and mole Shaher Elsohemy. His lawyer has stated that the accusations against his client were due to an old friend seeking revenge through his connections to the police.http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/canada/article/453588--convicted-toronto-18-member-the-antithesis-of-a-good-witness-judge-says?pageno=all {{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In his testimony Elsohemy stated that Abdelhaleem was initially opposed to the plan but changed his mind when he realized he could benefit financially from the attack. He had also contributed various suggestions about the plan such as spreading out the timing of the attack to increase the terror factor. This was opposed by Amara who wanted to inflict "maximum casualties". On January 21, 2010, Abdelhaleem was found guilty of plotting to bomb financial, intelligence and military targets. He was not convicted however as the defense was awarded a stay of proceedings in order to look into whether or not the case could be considered as entrapment. The argument of entrapment was dismissed by the courts, citing "virtually no evidence" to support the claims as well as Abdelhaleem's erratic and bizarre behaviour while on the stand. On March 4, 2011, Ontario Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson sentenced Abdelhaleem to life in prison.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/convicted-toronto-18-member-handed-life-sentence-1.614656 |website=CTV News |title = Convicted Toronto 18 member handed life sentence|date = 4 March 2011}}
Abdelhaleem was released to a Montreal halfway house on day parole in January, 2021, after spending 14 years in a Quebec prison and receiving de-radicalization counselling.
In October 2022, he began full-time studies at an unknown educational institution and is expected to graduate in February, 2024.
In June, 2023, Abdelhaleem was granted full parole. His caseworkers deemed his risk to reoffend as low and, given his progress, he was longer considered an "unacceptable risk to society."
''Homegrown''
In 2009 and 2010 playwright Catherine Frid wrote a play, Homegrown, about a friendship that developed between herself and Shareef.
{{cite news
|url = http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/07/30/14883921.html
|title = Sympathy for the devil
|publisher = Toronto Sun
|date = 2010-07-30
|author = Don Peat
|accessdate = 2010-08-09
|quote = Homegrown's playwright Catherine Frid says the play is a "sympathetic portrayal" of Abdelhaleem, not of a terrorist. "He wasn't planning to blow up Bay and Front Street with a truck bomb," Frid said. "People don't know the whole story behind Shareef's conviction, I'm not speaking for all the Toronto 18, I'm just focusing on the one person I met and whose case I followed and I'm telling that story."
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100802011044/http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/07/30/14883921.html
|archivedate = 2010-08-02
}}
{{cite news
|url = https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/844640--homegrown-two-wrongs-don-t-make-for-a-very-good-play
|title = Homegrown: Two wrongs don't make for a very good play
|publisher = Toronto Star
|date = 2010-08-06
|author = Richard Ouzounian
|author-link = Richard Ouzounian
|accessdate = 2010-08-10
|quote = Definitely not a play that supports or romanticizes terrorism, but one that raises some interesting questions about the government's purchase of undercover "moles" to entrap and deliver so-called terrorists, often at prices well into the millions.
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100807203751/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/844640--homegrown-two-wrongs-don-t-make-for-a-very-good-play
|archivedate = 2010-08-07
}}
The play premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille on August 5, 2010. The play stirred controversy because it portrayed Shareef sympathetically.
Theatre critic Richard Ouzounian did not recommend the play to the general public. He commented that it was "definitely not a play that supports or romanticizes terrorism, but one that raises some interesting questions about the government's purchase of undercover "moles" to entrap and deliver so-called terrorists, often at prices well into the millions."
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184734/http://www.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=2043 Cageprisoners: Shareef Abdelhaleem]
- [https://swap.stanford.edu/20110322200615/http%3A//www.captiveincanada.com/ CaptiveInCanada.com], site run by Abdelhaleem's father
{{TorontoTerror}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdelhaleem, Shareef}}
Category:2006 Ontario terrorism plot
Category:Egyptian emigrants to Canada
Category:Criminals from Toronto
Category:People imprisoned on terrorism charges
Category:People convicted on terrorism charges