BRAMPTON, Ont. — The mastermind behind a “spine-chilling” terrorist plot that would have caused untold deaths and destruction was handed a life sentence Monday — the maximum sentence under Canada’s anti-terrorism laws — though he’s able to apply for parole in 2016.
Zakaria Amara, 24, whose religious ideology fuelled plans to set off massive truck bombs outside the CSIS and Toronto Stock Exchange buildings in downtown Toronto and at a military base in Ontario, is the first person to be given the maximum penalty for terrorist offences.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno said Amara’s “spine-chilling” plot would have been “the most horrific crime Canada has ever seen.”
“There is no dispute that what would have occurred was multiple deaths and injuries,” he said.
The life sentence does not mean he will necessarily be jailed for life, but that if he receives parole he will be under supervision for the rest of his life. He is eligible to apply for parole 10 years after his arrest, which would be in just over six years.