He dismisses Canadian law as manmade, opting instead for what he thinks is the law of the Creator. And that law — based on the Qur’an and Sunnah — tells him that murdering Infidels in the cause of Islam is A-OK.
“Terror suspect Chiheb Esseghaier: ‘Criminal Code is not holy book,'” by Michele Mandel for the Toronto Sun, April 24 (thanks to all who sent this in):
A Tunisian-born doctorate student accused of plotting with the guidance of al-Qaida to derail a Via Rail train showed his disdain for Canadian criminal law in a quiet but crowded Toronto courtroom.
Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, on Wednesday ignored Justice of the Peace Susan Hilton’s caution to “be careful what you say,” because his words could be used against him in future proceedings.
Instead of remaining silent, Esseghaier, listed as living at no fixed address in Montreal, embarked on a two-minute tirade on the Criminal Code and the serious charges he faces.
“All of those conclusions were taken out based on the Criminal Code and we all know that this Criminal Code is not a holy book,” said Esseghaier, who was busted in Montreal’s Central Station Monday near the Via terminus.
“It’s just written by a set of creatures and the creatures, they”re not perfect because only the Creator is perfect, so if we are basing our judgment … we cannot rely on the conclusions taken out from these judgments,” he said….
They are charged with conspiring to interfere with transportation facilities for a terrorist group between April 1 and Sept. 25, 2012.
Both also face charges of conspiring to murder persons unknown with the same terrorist guidance, between those same dates, and with participating with a terrorist group.
Esseghaier also faces a charge that between Sept. 7 and Dec. 20, 2012, he instructed someone to participate in a terrorist group.
Born in Tunisia on Sept. 18, 1982, he came to Canada in 2008 on a student visa and last year was granted permanent residency under Quebec’s skilled worker program.
For the last two years, he has been pursuing a doctorate at a Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), a research division of the University of Quebec, in suburban Montreal. He’s still officially a student and passed his doctoral exam in January.
Esseghaier has been threatened with expulsion for disruptive conduct driven by his strict religious views, which have driven a wedge between him and his academic peers.