Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, the Toronto man arrested on September 4 in Ormstown on terrorism-related charges in the United States, is being detained at Montreal’s Bordeaux Prison while U.S. authorities prepare their case for extradition.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Khan, 20, a Pakistani national who had been living in Toronto on a student visa, with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, identified as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
“The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7th of this year, with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
The Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division is seeking the extradition of Khan from Canada to face a maximum sentence of 20 years in a U.S. prison.
Khan was expected to appear at the Montreal Superior Courthouse on September 13; however, the CBC reports a crown prosecutor told the court they were unable to proceed with the case as prosecutors were waiting on details from the FBI.
According to the Canada-U.S. extradition treaty, U.S. officials have 60 days from the date Khan was arrested to provide evidence supporting their extradition request. Canada will then have 30 days to decide whether to authorize or deny extradition based on the evidence presented.
Under the terms of the treaty, Canada could opt to deny the extradition request and file charges. The RCMP originally arrested Khan on three charges, including two terror-related charges and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating United States immigration law. He was subsequently re-arrested under a provisional arrest warrant under the Extradition Act.
Khan allegedly used three separate cars to travel across Canada towards the United States, before he was stopped around 5 p.m. in Ormstown by the RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) near the intersection of Gale and Church Streets.
According to eyewitness accounts, undercover officers who had been tailing the suspect from Toronto were joined by the ERT to make the arrest. Three others were also detained in the operation. Witnesses say the RCMP vehicle rammed the suspect’s car and that officers allegedly used stun grenades to immobilize him, before removing and arresting him.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Khan began posting on social media and communicating his support for ISIS on encrypted messaging applications in November 2023. It was around then that Khan began communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers. During these conversations, Khan described how he would cross the border from Canada to conduct a targeted attack at a Jewish centre located in Brooklyn, New York.
The CBC reports that Khan’s next appearance in court was set by Quebec Superior Court Judge Helene Di Salvo for December 6, exactly 92 days following his arrest.