(Ottawa Citizen) Ottawa’s Momin Khawaja, the first person convicted under Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act, has lost his bid for full parole.
The Parole Board of Canada denied Khawaja’s application in a recent decision, saying he still represents an “undue risk to society” even after spending more than 19 years behind bars.
“Your current convictions are very serious as they are related to planned and widespread violence,” the parole board told Khawaja. “The nature of these offences suggests you have the potential to cause serious harm to many people should you return to your offence cycle, and re-offend.”
Khawaja, 44, has been in custody since March 2004 when he was arrested at Global Affairs Canada, where he worked on contract as a software developer. He was charged with seven terrorism-related offences.
