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Terry Newman: The Montreal arsonist who claimed he didn't know it was a synagogue

Akodad provided few details about who hired and paid him, or where, to commit arson on institutions he claimed he didn’t know were Jewish

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MONTREAL — Last Tuesday, attendees in a Montreal courtroom heard what seemed like a fantastical story from an admitted arsonist and his lawyer. Twenty-one-year-old Mohamed Ilyes Akodad was in court to be sentenced; he had already pleaded guilty to firebombing a synagogue and Jewish community centre. Yet he insisted to the judge that he had no idea the buildings were Jewish. Instead, Akodad and his lawyer Nazar Saaty claimed he was simply carrying out a paid “three barbecues” contract on unknown locations, arranged through Signal and FaceTime. Akodad told the court that the job came after he attended a party with a friend he refused to name at a place he claimed he could not remember due to stress and drug use.

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The Crown prosecutor told the court that Akodad could be released soon, a possibility which raises serious questions about the justice system’s ability to protect Jewish communities.

Terry Newman: The Montreal arsonist who claimed he didn't know it was a synagogue Back to video

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