Doctor pleads not guilty in terrorism case

OTTAWA – A man who once auditioned for the Canadian Idol TV show has pleaded not guilty to a terrorism charge.

Khurram Syed Sher, a doctor of pathology from London, Ont., is being tried by judge alone in Ontario Superior Court.

Sher, 31, was charged along with two other men in August 2010 with conspiracy to facilitate terrorism.

The others cannot be named due to recently imposed publication ban aimed at ensuring the jury in their trial, slated for April, is not prejudiced.

Following the high-profile arrests, police said they seized terrorist literature, videos and manuals, along with dozens of electronic circuit boards allegedly designed to detonate homemade bombs remotely.

Three additional men, all believed to be living abroad, have been named as unindicted co-conspirators.

Police claim the alleged plot stretches from Ottawa to Afghanistan, Dubai, Iran and Pakistan.