A Pakistani national who was arrested last September in Ormstown, Que. on terrorism charges has agreed not to contest his extradition to the United States where he’s facing charges.
Twenty-year-old Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, who was living in Toronto, was arrested as he was about to cross into the United States.
The RCMP alleges he was plotting to attack a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, N.Y. According to police, he allegedly wanted to shoot as many Jews as possible on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Six months after Khan’s arrest, the young man agreed not to oppose his extradition at a Montreal courthouse Thursday.
“His wish was to be extradited as soon as possible to face trial,” his lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, said after the brief court appearance.
Khan, who was dressed in a blue tracksuit and bore bushy hair and beard, answered “yes” when the judge asked him if he agreed to waive his right to a hearing to oppose his extradition.
Khan was on the FBI’s radar in November 2023, when he was alleged to have posted messages on social media, where he expressed sympathy for radical Islamic group, ISIS.
He was allegedly shopping for weapons and made contact with people willing to help him, U.S. authorities alleged.
It turns out Khan’s alleged accomplices were in fact undercover police officers.
Although Khan will be tried in the U.S., his lawyer claims the undercover officers likely violated his client’s rights.
“I think he has a chance to be acquitted [given] the work of the police officers, informants, and double agents,” Bourassa said.
The extradition order first needs to be signed by Canada’s justice minister. Once the paperwork is done, U.S. authorities will bring Khan to the States to be tried.
If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
