Ban lifted on convicted terrorist's identity

An Ontario Court of Appeal judge has lifted the ban against identifying the firstperson to be convicted in a prominent Toronto terrorism case.

Nishanthan Yogakrishnan, part of the so-called Toronto 18,was convicted in September 2008 of knowingly participating in, and contributing to, aterrorist group.

He was 17 at the time ofthe offences but was tried as an adult and sentenced to two and a half years in jail. After the timeservedbefore trial was taken into account,he was released in May.

Yogakrishnan was seeking an order that would have protected his identity under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.His lawyers argued that publishing his name would hurt his rehabilitation while his casewas under appeal.

But Sun Media Group and the CBC arguedthe man was not entitled to privacy under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, because he was sentenced as an adult.

Judge J.A. Epstein, in a ruling released Wednesday, agreed there was no basis for a publication ban pending Yogakrishnan's appeal.

Yogakrishnanwas among 18 Muslim-Canadians arrested in June 2006 in raids across the Greater Toronto Area, when police seized alleged bomb-making materials. Hewas the first person to be convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act passed in 2001.

In a letter submitted to the court during his pre-sentencing hearing, Yogakrishnan said that he was not a violent person, and that he wanted to get his life back on track.

"I would like your honour to know that my goal is to complete my education and obtain employment. I want to complete high school and then college," Yogakrishnan said in the letter.

"I will not associate with anyone that has a view of life or religion that does not believe in being a productive and peaceful member of society," he said.

Saad Khalid, the only other man to be sentenced in the Toronto 18 case, gota 14-yearprison term this month after pleading guilty in May to participating in a militant plot with the intention of causing an explosion.

Nine other men, including the alleged leaders of the group, are in custody awaiting trial. The Crown has dropped or stayed charges against seven others.