Profile for Misbahuddin Ahmed
Arrested in: Ottawa
Charges:
Conspiracy to knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity.
Possession of explosives with intent to harm.
A court sketch of Misbahuddin Ahmed shows him during a court appearance in Ottawa on Aug. 27, 2010, on charges related to what the RCMP say was a domestic terrorist plot. (Sarah Wallace/CBC)
Like the other suspects charged with terrorism-related offences, Misbahuddin Ahmed is described by those who know him as a most unlikely terrorist — a Muslim family man leading a quiet life with no apparent history of radicalism.
At the time of his arrest, he had been working as an X-ray technologist at the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital, his employer for the last two years.
By all accounts, the 26-year-old was a model employee who was very good at his job. His boss at the hospital, Guy Morency, told a variety of media outlets there were no issues with the quality of his work and that he got along well with his colleagues.
He passed the hospital's reference and security checks, which include checking for any criminal record.
The Ottawa Citizen reported that Ahmed took several weeks off from work about 16 months ago. He apparently didn't say where he was going, but when he got back to work, the paper said, he was sporting a full beard.
Ahmed and his young family recently moved into a rented townhouse in Ottawa's west end with his wife and seven-month old daughter. He had lived in an Ottawa highrise before that and had previously lived and worked in Montreal.
Neighbours described him as easygoing and said the family kept to themselves. "He seemed friendly, quiet, well-groomed," Louise Lavoilette told CBC News. "Nothing alarming or out of the ordinary."
Several reports detailed Ahmed's involvement in an amateur Muslim ball hockey league.
The Citizen said he played for many years in a charity tournament in Montreal that raised money to help the poor in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Co-accused Khurram Sher apparently played in the same tournament, and in 2008, the two played on the same team.
Imam Foudil Selmoune of the Islamic Community Centre of Brossard, Que., who knew Ahmed and Sher in Montreal, said he finds the allegations difficult to believe.
"They were active in the positive way," he said. "Honestly, I never heard from them or from anybody else talking negative on their side."
His lawyer, Ian Carter, confirmed that Ahmed has family in Canada but wouldn't say more until he's had a chance to talk to his client more thoroughly.
At a bail hearing Sept. 15, Ahmed learned that he faced a charge of possession of explosives with intent to harm, in addition to the original charge of conspiracy to knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity.
It's believed Ahmed grew up in Canada but was originally from India or Pakistan. The RCMP say he is a Canadian citizen
are not.
