Unrepentant Jihadi 'Gunrunner' Gets Out of Jail

A young jihadi, the "gunrunner" of the infamous Toronto 18, is set to get out of the slammer, and there's nothing you can do about it. He's served him entire sentence (30 months plus two years, spent mostly in the company of those who share his worldview), and soon--aren't we the lucky ducks?--he'll be back among us (and likely up to no good):

[Ali] Dirie, who came to Canada from Somalia with his mother when he was 7 and lived in Scarborough, Ont., was initially arrested in 2005, while trying to cross back into Canada from Buffalo with two loaded handguns taped to his thighs. He pleaded guilty to weapons offences and was given a two-year jail term.

But evidence later emerged the weapons were intended for use by the Toronto 18, who planned to blow up the Toronto Stock Exchange, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service office in Toronto and a military base between Toronto and Ottawa, among other targets, and take politicians hostage in an attempt to force Canadian troops out of Afghanistan. Wiretaps showed Dirie, while serving his initial prison sentence, "continued to mentor and recruit inmates to adopt extreme beliefs," the parole board stated last year, and was "actively involved in seeking contacts to obtain more guns and false passports" for Toronto 18 members. 

Dirie pleaded guilty in September 2009 to one count of participating in a terrorist group, and was sentenced Oct. 2 to seven years for that offence. Dirie was credited with five years served for the 30 months he'd already spent in custody, leaving two years for him to complete his full sentence. Eligible for early parole in 2010, Dirie told an NPB panel he had changed since being convicted: he was still opposed to Canada's role in Afghanistan, but had renounced violent means in favour of political and peaceful solutions. 

He refused to participate in the annual review of his detention order scheduled for Tuesday, however. Instead, the National Parole Board met without him and decided to keep him behind bars until his warrant expiry on Oct. 1. 

In their decision dated Aug. 10 and addressed to Dirie, the two members of the review panel noted that in the past year, Dirie has not had major disciplinary problems. 

But they also noted that he has spent most of his stay with "inmates who share the same beliefs as you and who were convicted for similar types of offences ... Given the potentially devastating consequences of your reoffending based on these beliefs, the board concludes that you continue to pose a high risk of violent reoffending."

Can't we ship him to Gitmo? ;)