Three Ottawa men were sentenced after pleading guilty to terrorism-related offences today.
24-year-old Ashton Larmond pleaded guilty to instructing a person to carry out a terrorist activity and sentenced to 17 years, less 894 days for time served.
His twin brother, Carlos Larmond, pleaded guilty to attempting to leave Canada to commit terrorist activity and sentenced to seven years, less 894 days for time served.
Suliman Mohamed pleaded guilty to conspiring to carry out a terrorist activity and sentenced to 7 years, less 889 days credit for time served. Mohamed only gets 889 days credit because he was arrested after the twins.
Mohamed’s father called his son’s verdict ‘too harsh’.
“My son has nothing to do with this, but he has to get in it and plead guilty, easy. It’s just a matter of if you have a plan or say anything you get accused and convicted,” Idris Mohamed told reporters outside the Ottawa courthouse Friday.
Suliman Mohamed’s criminal defence lawyer said the decision to plead guilty was made by his client.
“I know that Suliman takes full responsibility for his actions and the fact is, he feels like he was in a completely different place back then, as he is now,” said his lawyer, Leo Russomanno.
In his closing remarks the judge said this type of terrorism is a form of cancer that needs to be aggressively eradicated, and that all three men would not be eligible for parole until half of their individual sentences were served.
RCMP said the plotting behind the arrests started in August 2014.
On January 9th, 2015 Carlos Larmond was arrested at a Montreal airport waiting to board a flight overseas. That same day Ashton Larmond was arrested in Ottawa.
A few days later the RCMP picked up Mohamed and charged him with participating in the activity of a terrorist group and conspiring to participate in a terrorist activity.
On Friday, both Larmonds also pleaded guilty to uttering threats to kill correctional officers and other inmates at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre.
