Ottawa terrorism case to go to pretrial in June

Two men from a groupaccused of plotting terrorist attacks in Canadaappeared briefly in court in Ottawa Wednesday to learn some of the conditions of their upcoming trials.

Misbahuddin Ahmed and Khurram Syed Sher and a third man, Hiva Alizadeh, were arrested and their homes raided last year in an RCMP investigation dubbed Project Samossa.

All three were charged with conspiracy to facilitate terrorism. Police accused the three men of plotting with others in Canada and abroad to aid terrorism activities.

Ahmed, an Ottawa X-ray technologist, is also charged with possessing an explosive substance with the intent to harm.

On Wednesday, an Ontario court judge set aside a time from June 18 to July 13 next year for the pre-trial for both Ahmed and Sher.

Ahmed, who faces the more serious charges, also learned he will have a trial with a judge and jury.

The trial for Sher, a pathologist from London, Ont., will be with a judge only.

Alizadeh, who police have suggested is the ringleader of the group, is also charged with being in possession of an explosive substance with intent to harm and faces the additional charge of providing property or financial services for the benefit of a terrorist group.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 27 for a bail review hearing.