Man planning to bomb Toronto synagogues 'to kill as many Jews as possible' gets house arrest as punishment
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Waisuddin Akbari, 41, was ordered to stay at home for 60 days, followed by three years of probation, after voicing clear, hate-filled threats last year.
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The 'light sentence' shows the urgent need to reform Canada's hate crime laws, said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, a director with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.
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'At a time of rampant antisemitism in Canada and elsewhere, it sends an alarming message that threats to slaughter Jews and bomb synagogues may be met with leniency. That is extremely disappointing and profoundly unsettling for our community,' Kirzner-Roberts said after Akbari's sentencing.
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The court heard community impact statements from five Jewish community groups that outlined a deep sense of fear and despair as news of the threats spread.
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'The result of the unprecedented rise in antisemitism has left a palpable dread hanging over the community. This atmosphere of despair is only amplified by the actions of Mr. Akbari,' Richard Robertson, a director with B'nai Brith Canada told court at the sentencing hearing.
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'Jewish Canadians did not and do not feel safe in their own communities. The constant threat of attack has left members of the community in perpetual fear for their wellbeing and has led to members of the community questioning their future as Canadians.'
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Edward Prutsch, judge at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, north of Toronto, defended his decision in his reasons for sentencing.
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'It is important to be clear about what Mr. Akbari is — and is not — being sentenced for. He is not being sentenced for taking any material steps to act on the threats he made. There is no evidence before me of the collection of weapons, explosives, maps, planning or coordination.
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'Indeed, following his arrest, police conducted extensive checks and searches on Mr. Akbari to ensure the safety of the community was not still at risk. Mr. Akbari's guilt is based on empty threats he communicated to a stranger, mistakenly assuming (he) would be sympathetic to Akbari's own warped and hateful worldview. There was no effort to publicize his threats beyond the conversation,' Prutschi wrote.
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'That is not to say that the threats were harmless. Mr. Akbari's threats were clearly motivated by bias, prejudice and hate towards Israelis and Jews. … Hate-based threats are not just words, they are the gasoline upon which even more serious offences burn. Where hate is normalized, harm follows.'
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