Suspect in alleged Via Rail terror plot wants evidence to be made public

BRAMPTON, Ont. – One of two terror suspects charged in an alleged plot to attack a Via Rail passenger train says he wants all the information that police used to get a search warrant in his case to be made public.

The materials that police presented to a judge in order to get search warrants for Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser are under a sealing order, but media lawyers are fighting for access to them.

In a hearing in a Brampton, Ont., court today, Esseghaier is representing himself on the motion, as he insists he wants a lawyer who will use the Qur’an rather than the Criminal Code for his judgment.

He has so far been unsuccessful and today refused to even read the materials filed by Jaser’s lawyer because they are based on the Criminal Code.

The men were arrested in April and face several terrorism-related charges in what police allege was a plot guided by al-Qaida in Iran to attack a Via train that runs between Toronto and New York City.

Police stressed at the time of the arrests that there was no imminent threat to the public.