Momin Khawaja, who was sentenced to life in prison for participating in a plot to blow up targets in England, had his parole application rejected by the Parole Board of Canada’s appeals division, which believes he still does not take responsibility for his actions.
• Read more: Momin Khawaja was burnt in jail
His request was initially denied last February, but the man later appealed the decision, according to the report. National Post.
“Accepting responsibility for funding and training terrorist organizations to advance their interests without fully understanding how your role contributed to and facilitated their broader goals is problematic,” the Appellate Division told the outlet.
The 43-year-old has been jailed for 18 years in England for his role in an al-Qaeda plot. He was arrested in March 2004 and put on trial in 2008. Five Britons were also sentenced to life imprisonment in the same case.
Recall that Khawaja was the first Canadian to be convicted under Canada’s anti-terrorism laws, which came into effect just months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
According to the Appellate Division, the individual said during a psychological evaluation last November that no one was injured while working on the detonator.
When he was first denied parole, the commission said he posed an “excessive risk to society”.
But for Khawaja, he may not have taken into account the evolution of his beliefs during his time behind bars. The inmate had specifically said he wanted to go to a halfway house in Ottawa, study law and help refugees.
However, the Appellate Division argued that the man had not provided a viable release plan or convincing evidence of his changed beliefs.
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