It was not a father and child reunion.
Instead, the accused terrorist duo of Ahmed Eldidi, 62, and his son Mostafa, 26, made separate video appearances Thursday from the Central East Detention Centre where they’re both being held since their shocking arrest last week at a Richmond Hill hotel.
According to the RCMP, the Scarborough pater et filius were in the “advanced stages” of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto on behalf of the Islamic State. Who were their alleged targets? The police wouldn’t say.
But with the frightening rise of anti-Semitism since the Hamas massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7 and ensuing Gaza war, it’s not difficult to guess.
The Eldidis had been under investigation since early July by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) and were arrested by an RCMP tactical team after they allegedly acquired an axe and a machete for the benefit of ISIS. According to Global News, they allegedly recorded a video while wielding the blades before an ISIS flag.
It’s terrifying to imagine the maiming and murder that could result with those weapons let loose on an unsuspecting crowd of people.
The elder Eldidi is accused of having already done such a horrific deed.
He faces five terror-related charges, including possessing an axe for the benefit of the terror group and aggravated assault outside of Canada at the direction of ISIS in 2015. Global News has reported that latter charge relates to an ISIS propaganda video where he allegedly uses a sword to dismember a prisoner.
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His son is charged with four terror-related counts, including the alleged possession of the machete.
He appeared first in the virtual Newmarket courtroom dressed in prison-issue orange, his hair a wild ‘fro. His father appeared about an hour and a half later in a similar outfit, his grey hair shorn close to his head. Both used an Arabic interpreter who helped explain that they were being remanded in custody to Aug. 7 when they should hear about their Legal Aid requests to fund lawyers.
Their bail hearings are still a while away.
At the request of the federal and provincial Crowns, Justice of the Peace Tina Rotondi imposed a non-communication order — the father and son are not allowed to communicate directly or indirectly except through their lawyers to prepare their legal defence.
Asked if they had any questions, both made statements that can’t be reported due to a publication ban in place.
They are hardly the first accused of planning to wreak terror on our city. We’ve long been immune to believing that it couldn’t happen here.
In 2006, it was the Toronto 18 who were charged with plotting al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist attacks on home soil. In 2013 came the RCMP’s stunning arrest of Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier who were convicted two years later of terrorism charges — Esseghaier wanted to blow up a bridge and derail a VIA Rail train while Jaser favoured a Toronto sniper plot targeting prominent Jews and national leaders.
In 2017, Rehab Dughmosh attacked workers at a Canadian Tire store in the city’s east end, armed with a golf club and a knife and while wearing a homemade ISIS banner and bandana. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.
Three years later, Annie Hang-Kam Chiu would not be as fortunate. Selecting her at random, Saad Akhtar was intent on committing multiple murders in the name of ISIS and attacked her with a hammer, beating her to death on the sidewalk of a street in Scarborough.
Most recently, it was the disturbing Chicken Land case where three ISIS-supporters were convicted of first-degree murder in the Mississauga shooting that killed Naim Akl and injured four other family members because they feared he was going to the authorities.
So it would be nice to downplay the arrests and believe the alleged plot didn’t pose much actual danger.
But then you wouldn’t be a Jew living in this increasingly frightening city.