A Montreal man previously convicted in the United States of supporting al-Qaida is scheduled to appear in court today as he faces multiple terrorism-related charges in Quebec.
Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, 51, is facing a terrorism charge after allegedly telling a worker at the Old Brewery Mission shelter in Montreal that he knew how to make explosives and wanted to build bombs to use on public transit to kill a large number of people.
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Warsame is also facing two additional provincial charges, uttering threats and another terrorism count, for allegedly threatening to burn, destroy or damage Passport Canada offices in Montreal and Quebec City.
Prosecutors allege the threats were made during four phone calls on Nov. 20 while Warsame was detained at the Rivière-des-Prairies detention centre.
Warsame previously underwent a psychiatric evaluation at the Philippe-Pinel Psychiatric Institute to determine whether he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the alleged offences. The report has not yet been made public.
According to U.S. authorities, Warsame, a Somali-born Canadian, pleaded guilty in Minnesota in 2009 to providing material support to al-Qaida after attending lectures by Osama bin Laden. He served 92 months in a U.S. federal prison before being deported to Canada in 2010.
His lawyer has said Warsame currently has no affiliation with any terrorist organization.
