(National Post) Zakaria Amara, leader of an al-Qaida-inspired terrorist plot to explode truck bombs in Ontario in 2006, recently faced two days of interrogation by RCMP national security investigators to assess what threat he might still pose as he sought release on parole.
The intense scrutiny of his radicalization and subsequent deradicalization while in prison for the past 17 years was his idea, one he hoped would fill a gap for the Parole Board of Canada in deciding if he was ready to be released. It was unprecedented, the hearing was told.
His effort paid off, Thursday.
Amara, 37, once a fiery leader of what became known as the Toronto 18 terror plots, was granted three months of day parole to a halfway house in Toronto.
