Throat-slasher convicted of ISIS-inspired B.C. bus attack

A man who slashed a Surrey bus rider’s throat on behalf of the terrorist organization ISIS was convicted of attempted murder for the benefit of a terrorist organization.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A man who slashed a Surrey bus rider’s throat on behalf of the terrorist organization ISIS was convicted of attempted murder for the benefit of a terrorist organization and now awaits sentencing in the New Westminster Supreme Court.

Justice Miriam Gropper on Monday convicted Kawam of attempted murder for the benefit of a terrorist organization and assault with a weapon committed in association with a terrorist group.

The case has been adjourned to July 10 for sentencing.

The circumstances behind the charges and verdict are disturbing, appearing as a top-line item in a recent U.S. Department of State’s “Country Reports on Terrorism” for Canada.

The April 1, 2023, attack that led to Kawam’s conviction earlier this week left one man with life-threatening injuries after his throat was slashed aboard a Route 503 Coast Mountain bus at Fraser Highway and 148 Street.

A second victim, also attacked at a nearby bus stop, sustained a similar injury. Both victims survived the harrowing attacks.

During the crown’s closing arguments, the court heard that on April 1, 2003, just after 9 a.m., Kawam first approached someone at a Surrey bus stop and asked if they were a Muslim. When the person replied no, Kawam stepped away to pray for roughly two minutes, then returned and slashed at the man’s neck with a knife.

Roughly 13 minutes later, Kawam boarded a Coast Mountain bus and, without provocation, attacked another rider, slashing at his neck multiple times. That victim managed to push Kawam off the bus and survived despite serious injuries.

During closing arguments, federal Crown prosecutor Sharon Steele told the court there was no dispute about the facts of the attack, but that Justice Gropper had to determine whether Abdul Aziz Kawam acted “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with” the Islamic State.

In the days before the attack, Steele told the judge, Kawam had downloaded a document from the information-sharing app Telegram which explained “it is not permissible to kill Muslims until it is proven that they committed an eye deferment, the shedding of blood which links to the question posed to the first victim.”

She added that the “attack technique, using a knife to slash at the victims’ throats” was also “consistent with the Islamic State’s signature execution style.”

Even further, ten days before the attack even occurred, Kawam made a call to 911 himself, telling the operator he “pledged allegiance to Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi” — the leader of the Islamic State at the time.

As ISIS’s leadership had changed numerous times and was in a period of dynamism and flux in the spring of 2023, prosecutors noted Kawam’s understanding of the present leadership structure at the time demonstrated “more than a passing engagement in Islamic State information” at the time of his attacks.

Based on the totality of evidence provided to the court, federal prosecutors called Kawam’s motivation for the attacks “unambiguous.”

The defence agreed.

“At the close of the evidence, and from the expert, I’m prepared to formally concede, on the record, “ said defence lawyer Kevin Westell, “we concede that those have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

However, the defence added: “We are leaving open the possibility of trying the case from the perspective of an NCRMD (not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder) verdict, so we’re not conceding a full conviction at this point.”

Justice Gropper’s decision stayed two charges — including aggravated assault for the benefit of a terrorist organization — but still went to verdict for Kawam on the more serious charges of attempted murder with terrorist benefit and assault with a weapon for terrorist benefit.

Courts often stay charges due to issues like overlapping factual bases, evidentiary considerations, or to streamline proceedings, but no formal reason is on the public record, and Justice Gropper’s written decision has not been published as of yet.

True North will be covering Kawam’s sentencing on July 10.