A man accused of slashing a Surrey bus rider's throat on April 1, 2023 on behalf of the Islamic State, otherwise known as ISIS, will find out on July 10 when he'll be sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
Justice Miriam Gropper on June 30 found Abdul Aziz Kawam guilty of attempted murder for the benefit of a terrorist group and assault using a weapon for the benefit of a terrorist group.
Charges were stayed on two other charges. The case was then adjourned for a fix-date.
The attack happened on a route 503 Coast Mountain bus at Fraser Highway and 148 Street. The man was rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital with life-threatening injuries. A second person was also attacked at a bus stop. Kawam was arrested by Surrey Mounties and Metro Vancouver Transit Police. Another victim's throat was also slashed at a bus stop. Both survived.
Staff Sergeant Kris Clark, of RCMP’s “E” division, said the Federal Policing’s BC (E Division) Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (EINSET) assumed conduct of the investigation in consultation with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).
Kawam was charged with attempting to commit murder, in association with a terrorist group, assault causing bodily harm, in association with a terrorist group, aggravated assault, in association with a terrorist group and assault with a weapon, in association with a terrorist group.
Mike Farnworth, who was B.C.'s public safety minister and solicitor general at the time, noted police "acted very quickly."
During closing arguments federal Crown prosecutor Sharon Steele told the judge Kawam should be found guilty, pending a hearing to determine if he should be found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder. She said the facts of the attack weren't in dispute and the question before Gropper was to decide whether the crimes were committed "for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group.
"Considered in its totality," Steele said, "the only reasonable inference is that Mr. Kawam's attacks were done in the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with the Islamic State."
The court heard a 911 call, pledge of allegiance video done 10 days before the attacks, the Islamic State propaganda Kawam that "had consumed," and encrypted text messages on his phone.
Steele said one of the victims was bound for work, waiting at the bus stop at around 9:10 a.m. when Kawam demanded to know if this person was Muslim. The victim replied no.
"Mr. Kawam went back to the bus stop, prayed for approximately two minutes, returned, taking a large knife out of his jacket and attacked the victim, aiming a slashing motion at the victim's neck," Steele said.
The victim then pushed Kawam and ran while Kawam chased after him with the "knife still in hand." The first victim was able to escape and called 911.
Steele said the second victim boarded the same bus as Kawam at 9:23 a.m.
"Approximately three minutes into the ride, I'll note unprovoked, with no prior discussion or interaction between the parties, Mr. Kawam attacked the victim with the knife, slashing at the victim's neck three times. The victim used his body to push Mr. Kawam out of the bus. The victim was seriously injured in the attack," the prosecutor said.
In the days before the attack, Steele told the judge, Kawam had downloaded a document from Telegram that "explained that it is not permissible to kill Muslims until it is proven that they committed an eye deferment, the shedding of blood which links to the question posed to the first victim," and that Kawam was "striving to conform to the morality of the Islamic State as he understood it."
She added that the "attack technique, using a knife to slash at the victims' throats, is consistent with the Islamic State's signature execution style."
There is "abundant evidence" of Kawam's motive for the attack, Steele said. "His inspiration was unambiguous."
Kawam made 911 call himself, telling the operator he pledged allegiance to Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, the leader of the Islamic State at the time.
"I will also note parenthetically that there had been a number of changes to the leaders of the Islamic State in recent years, so the fact that he was aware of the current leader at that point in time speaks to more than merely a passing engagement with the Islamic State information," the Crown prosecutor said,
The operator then asked Kawam what had happened.
"Mr. Kawam replies, 'On behalf of the Islamic State, I just did an attack in the bus,'" Steele said. At this point, the operator asked Kawam to confirm whether he had done the attack and where the bus was located.
"Then Mr. Kawam makes a slightly lengthier statement that echoes many of the sentiments in the Pledge of Allegiance that we saw on the phone," the Crown said.
This included a reference to wanting the "war to end." Earlier in the trial, an expert witness testified that this reflects a sentiment within the Islamic State Network that there is an ongoing war between the Islamic State and Western nations.
Kawam went on to tell the operator that he wanted people to convert to Islam or pay the jizya to the Islamic State. The Oxford dictionary defines jizya as a tax that non-Muslim populations pay to Muslim rulers. "The expert testified that this notion of jizya is particular to not just jihadist thinking, but the Islamic State, particularly," the prosecutor said.
Kawam then told the 911 operator, "Don't be a fool and hide this message from your people, because this will hurt civilians."
Steele noted the attacks weren't personal but rather "intended to convey a message to the wider community in support of Islamic State objectives."
On the first day of the holy month of Ramadan (March 22), 10 days before the attack, Kawam recorded a video of the pledge of allegiance on his cellphone. In the video, he pledged his allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State at the time, told Westerners to convert to Islam or pay the jizya. He also identified himself as a Mujahideen, a jihadi fighter.
"(He) urged monotheists to jihad, promised slaughter at Dabiq, which is a Muslim analog to Armageddon, and discussed an operation during the month of Ramadan, which is, of course, significant because he does, in fact, commit his attacks during the month of Ramadan," Steele said.
The same day the video was created, he had a text conversation with someone about deleting Telegram messages "in anticipation of an operation."
Several videos containing Islamic State propaganda were downloaded to Kawam's phone that very same day. He continued to access "Islamic State content" in the 10 days leading up to the attacks.
"In the early morning hours of April 3, 2023 before the attacks, there was a series of web searches suggesting that he was considering a possible trip or move to Lebanon," Steele told Gropper.
Defence lawyer Kevin Westell did not have any closing arguments to present.
"At the close of the evidence, and from the expert, I'm prepared to formally concede, on the record, that is the defence position that all the elements of Section 83.2, the terrorism provisions, we concede that those have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt," Westell told the judge.
