Toronto 18 ringleader Zakaria Amara granted full parole

Zakaria Amara, a key organizer of the Toronto 18 terrorist conspiracy, has been approved for full parole. The Parole Board of Canada determined he no longer exhibits signs of extremist beliefs or radical ideologies. Amara had been living under day parole conditions for the past four years. The board upgraded his release following a review of his case last week, formalizing the decision in a document issued on Friday.

The two-member panel stated that Amara, now 41, engaged in deradicalization during his imprisonment. It found his time on day parole served its rehabilitative goal and reflected positive changes in his attitude and conduct. His supervision on day parole included close monitoring of his online activity, associations and personal relationships. The board reported no safety issues or breaches of his conditions during that period.

"During the latter part of your federal custody and for the past four years in the community, you have undertaken a process to distance yourself from extremist ideologies and others who share the same views," the board wrote. Its decision notes Amara intends to reside in his own home. His schedule will revolve around full-time employment, mosque attendance, family visits and what the document calls "appropriate leisure activities." His parole carries strict prohibitions against contact with anyone involved in criminal activity, including other individuals arrested in the June 2006 anti-terror raids. He is also barred from associating with people holding extremist views, with an exemption for his consulting work with a specialized program. Additional conditions mandate continued counselling, financial monitoring and restrictions on his telephone and internet use.

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The ruling arrives twenty years after authorities dismantled the domestic plot, an event that deeply altered national conversations about terrorism. Amara and an accomplice had recruited followers based on jihadist ideology, aiming to force Canada's military withdrawal from Afghanistan through violent acts. The group later split, with Amara leading a faction plotting truck bomb attacks on CSIS headquarters, the Toronto Stock Exchange and a military base. Police arrested him on the same day bomb-making components arrived at a storage facility. Amara pleaded guilty to participating in a terrorist group intending to cause explosions likely to kill or maim. He received a life sentence with no parole eligibility for a decade, a penalty upheld after he appealed. Parole documents indicate he maintained problematic extremist views and committed several misconducts early in his incarceration.

His ideology "began to shift" in 2014, according to the board. By 2019 he was moved to a medium-security prison where staff described him as "respectful, polite and quiet." He first received day parole for three months in 2022, with subsequent extensions. The panel concluded he successfully used his community release to further his rehabilitation and demonstrate a sustained departure from his past convictions.

With files from The Canadian Press, CityNews and CBC News