The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) expressed concerns that they did not have enough evidence to detain a terror suspect who was being sought by the United States, according to court documents.
The suspect, Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi, was arrested in September 2020 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, on a U.S. extradition warrant. He is facing charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit murder outside the United States.
In a court hearing on Monday, RCMP Sergeant Stephen Camp stated that the evidence against Abdullahi was “not strong” and that there was a “lack of direct evidence” linking him to the alleged crimes. Camp also mentioned that the RCMP had concerns about the reliability of some of the evidence provided by the U.S. authorities.
The court documents also revealed that the RCMP had been monitoring Abdullahi for several months before his arrest, but had not found any evidence of criminal activity. However, the U.S. authorities claimed to have intercepted communications between Abdullahi and an individual who was involved in a terrorist attack in Kenya in 2019.
Abdullahi’s lawyer argued that the evidence presented by the U.S. was not enough to justify his extradition and that his client should be released on bail. The judge has reserved his decision on the bail application.
The case has raised questions about the strength of the evidence required for extradition and the role of the RCMP in such cases. The RCMP has declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
Abdullahi remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court again on May 31 for a hearing on his extradition.
