Toronto 18 ringleader Zakaria Amara granted full parole after deradicalization
The Parole Board of Canada found he has shown no signs of extremist beliefs after four years of supervised day parole.
OTTAWA — Zakaria Amara, a ringleader of the thwarted Toronto 18 terror plot, has been granted full parole by the Parole Board of Canada.
The board found the 41-year-old no longer showed “any signs of holding onto extremist beliefs or radical ideologies.”
Amara has been on day parole with multiple conditions for four years, and the board upgraded his release after reviewing his case last week.
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In a written decision issued Friday, a two-member panel said Amara undertook a process to deradicalize while incarcerated and used his day parole “for its intended rehabilitative purpose,” demonstrating “positive change, both in attitude and in behaviour.”
The panel said he was closely supervised while on day parole and his internet use, friendships and relationships were monitored, with no reported safety concerns or breaches.
The decision, which includes several redactions, says Amara now plans to live in his own home and continue to structure his time around his full-time job, attending a mosque, seeing his family and “appropriate leisure activities.”
Strict conditions remain in place
He is barred from communicating with anyone involved in criminal activity, including any of the others arrested in the June 2006 anti-terrorist raids, or come into contact with anyone with extremist ideologies.
The only exception is for his work as a consultant with a specialized program.
He must also continue to participate in counselling and be subject to financial monitoring as well as restrictions on his phone and internet use.
The board’s decision comes two decades after the dismantling of the homegrown plot that shocked the country and shifted public discourse around terrorism.
Amara and an accomplice recruited people for a group based on jihadist ideologies, planning to carry out terrorist acts to demand the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan.
The group eventually splintered in two, with Amara taking the helm of a plot focused on building truck bombs.
The targets were the Canadian Security Intelligence Services headquarters, the Toronto Stock Exchange building, and a military base.
He was arrested on the day bomb-making materials were delivered to a warehouse.
Legal proceedings and sentence
Amara pleaded guilty to participating in a terror group with the intention of causing an explosion or explosions that were likely to cause serious bodily harm or death.
He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
He challenged the sentence but it was upheld on appeal.
The parole board document said his “problematic and extremist ideologies and attitudes” remained during his first few years behind bars, which also included several incidents of misconduct.
His ideology “began to shift” in 2014, according to the board.
He was eventually transferred to a medium-security institution in 2019, where correctional officers reported he was “respectful, polite and quiet.”
Gradual reintegration into community
Amara was granted day parole for three months in 2022 and it was extended several times.
“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 directly to Amara in its decision.
The board concluded that his risk to public safety is manageable under the strict conditions of his full parole.
The Toronto 18 plot, which aimed to storm Parliament Hill and bomb several locations around Toronto, was thwarted by police and intelligence services in 2006.
Amara's full parole marks a significant point in the long-term case of one of Canada's most prominent domestic terrorism plots.
The board's assessment focused on his demonstrated change over many years, both in custody and under community supervision.
With files from The Canadian Press, CityNews and CBC News