Confession of Quebecer accused of terror-related offence is admissible, judge rules

A damning confession made by a Quebec man days before his arrest on a terrorism-related chargecan be used against him, a judge has ruled.

After months of deliberation, JudgeSerge Dlisle of Quebec provincial court has decided the RCMP did notbreak the rules in conducting an elaborate undercover sting operation againstIsmael Habib.

In the sting, Habib, 29, told an undercoverRCMPofficer it was his "duty" to fight jihad alongside ISIS. He also confessed to whipping a prisoner on a 2013 trip to Syria.

He was arrested days later in his home in Gatineau, Que.,on unrelated charges, after an apparent domestic dispute. Once in custody, he was charged with the terrorism-related offence.

The trial ofHabib, who was born and raised in Montreal,resumed Monday after a six-week recess. Defence lawyer CharlesMontpetitis expected to begin his arguments on Wednesday.

First adult tried under new terrorist law

Habibis charged with attempting to leave Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group and providing false information to obtain a passport.

He is the first adult being tried under a section ofthe Anti-terrorism Act that was enacted under the Conservative government in 2013.

In the course of the police sting, he confessed to an undercover agent posing as a crime boss peddling fake passports that once he found a way out of Canada,he planned to goto Syria to fight with ISIS.

• Puppet master of covert RCMP operation describes how Ismael Habib was reeled in

Unbeknownst to Habib, his confession was videotaped, and the Crown, led by federal prosecutor Lyne Dcarie, aired thattape to bolster its arguments.

Questions surrounding confession

In the ruling issued Monday, the judge had to decide whether the undercover operations constituted what iscalled a "Mr. Big" sting, where police officers create a fictitious criminal organization and then seduce the suspect into joining it.

The method has resulted in hundreds of recorded confessions, often in cold case murders.

However, in 2014,alandmark Supreme Court decisionput limits on how police are allowed to use Mr. Big stings.

A Mr. Big confession can be found admissible only if it proves to be a critical piece of evidence that is corroborated by other evidence and if the police can show they have not abused their power in persuading the accused to confess.

In his decision, Dlisle foundthat, despite some modifications made by RCMP, the method used against Habibstill qualified as a Mr. Big sting.

The judge ruled it should be admissible, sinceHabib was not coerced into giving his confessionandbecauseit was corroborated by other evidence.