The charge against Hassan Hajahmad confirms the importance of abolishing Canada’s civil liberties violating, anti-Palestinian, terrorism list. The charge must be dropped.
Wednesday it was reported that 33-year-old anti-genocide activist Ahmad Hassan Hajahmad was charged with “Participating in or Contributing to Activities of a Terrorist Group.” The offence carries a maximum of 10 years in jail.
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) release about the arrest mentions two speeches Hajahmad made at anti-genocide demonstrations on May 25 and September 7, 2024 “where he used amplification devices to make public statements that advocated for the detestation and harm against members of the Israeli and Jewish communities.”
While I’ve been unable to find the first speech, a 1:41 minute clip of the Sept. 7 one posted by arch genocidal X account Leviathan is totally innocuous. There’s no “detestation” or “harm” expressed whatsoever. All that Leviathan cites as evidence against Hajahmad is a reference to “our spokesperson”, which is purportedly a representative of Hamas.
Seven months after the second speech the police raided Hajahmad’s house and seized electronic devices. The statement by the Zionist-dominated Toronto Police noted, “A joint investigation by the Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit and INSET subsequently gathered evidence supporting the allegation that the accused acted for the benefit of, and in association with, Hamas, a designated terrorist group.”
In response, Hajahmad’s lawyer, Mohamed El Rashidy, told the press, “He faces a single charge arising from speaking at public demonstrations. No violence, no weapon, no one harmed. Speaking out at a protest about the killing of civilians is protected expression, not terrorism.”
As with other TPS moves, this case appears to be part of its anti-Palestinian activities. To target opponents of genocide under the guise of combatting hate the TPS greatly expanded its Project Resolute. After complaints from genocide advocates, they banned protests on a city overpass and in a neighbourhood because three in ten people living there are Jewish. Chief of TPS Myron Demkiw has repeatedly been photographed with Zionist vigilantes and had multiple calls with billionaire Zionist Heather Reisman after posters and fake blood were placed on an Indigo bookstore denouncing her role in “funding genocide”. As a result, the police launched pre-dawn raids on a dozen peoples’ homes and charged individuals with hate crimes for putting up posters and using water-soluble paint.
In their release the TPS use the arrest of Hajahmad to promote its new Counter-Terrorism Security Unit. “These complex investigations underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen our Counter Terrorism Security Unit so we can identify and investigate evolving threats to public safety”, it notes. In March the TPS established this unit to “substantially increase the resources dedicated to countering terrorism and violent extremism,” noted Demkiw. Framed as a response to shots fired at empty synagogues and the US consulate, the unit has led to police patrolling with semi-automatic machine guns in a bid to intimidate opponents of Jewish supremacist colonialism.
As has happened with police repressing anti-genocide activists across the country, the charges against Hajahmad will likely collapse. In recent days the charges against Palestine activist Wesam Cooley in Calgary and an Ottawa protester were abandoned. In Toronto dozens of individuals, including in the Indigo case, have had their charges quietly dropped by the Crown.
Irrespective of what happens with the charges against Hajahmad, they’ve served part of their political purpose. “ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST LEADER CHARGED WITH TERRORISM OFFENCE OVER ALLEGED HAMAS LINKS”, noted Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center while another genocidal Jewish supremacist posted, “For 1st time, Police have evidence that protest organizers are aligned with terror groups.” Former Jewish Defence League head Meir Weinstein wrote, “Toronto Hamas Supporter Ahmad Hassan Hajahmad Charged With Terrorism Offences Today & He Has Been A Featured Speaker At The Muslim Association Of Canada Conference. Israel Now Calls On Canada Revenue Agency To Investigate The Charitable Status Of The Muslim Association Of Canada!”
Even if somehow Hajahmad were found guilty of “Participating in or Contributing to Activities of a Terrorist Group”, the post-9/11 law is the problem. Canada’s terrorism list violates due process and is deeply anti-Palestinian. Over 10 percent of Canada’s terror list is made up of organizations headquartered in a long-occupied land representing one-tenth of one percent of the world’s population. Representing much of Palestinian political life, eight of the oppressed nation’s organizations are listed.
There are also at least two Canadian-based groups that have been added to the terror list for supporting Palestinians. In October 2024 the Liberals listed the grassroots Vancouver activist organization Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network.
With the coming into force of Bill C-9 last weekend, it is now a crime to display Samidoun’s logo in front of a religious institution hosting an Israeli general. The Combatting Hate Act reinforces the terror list in service of Zionism by criminalizing the display of listed “terror” groups’ symbols in certain contexts.
In recent weeks pro-genocide groups have called to list Palestine Action Canada and Masar Badil as terror organizations. They will keep pushing their authoritarian genocidal Jewish supremacy until stopped politically.
There are dozens of individuals currently in Toronto who’ve recently killed while serving with the Israeli military in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere. It doesn’t appear a single one of these genocidaires have been charged or even investigated. But the police have charged an individual who has repeatedly protested genocide.
Shame on all Canadians if we allow this foreign-inspired, pro-Israel authoritarianism to continue.