VANCOUVER — An expert witness for the Crown has testified in British Columbia Supreme Court that a man charged with four terrorism-related offences cheered the killings of Canadian soldiers in Ottawa and Quebec in 2014.
A trial for Othman Hamdan of Fort St. John, B.C., has begun with RCMP Const. Tarek Mokdad, an expert in Islamist-inspired terrorism and so-called "lone wolf" attacks, describing several posts on the man's Facebook page.
Hamdan has pleaded not guilty to encouraging the commission of murder, assault and mischief, all for terrorist purposes, and has also entered a not guilty plea to inducing and instructing someone to carry out a terrorist act.
Mokdad says after two Canadian military members were killed in separate terrorist attacks in Quebec and on Parliament Hill in October 2014, posts appeared on Hamdan's Facebook page celebrating the attackers, calling them "brother" and "martyr."
It was unclear whether Hamdan was accused of authoring the posts himself or sharing posts written by someone else.
Mokdad also discussed images and messages that appeared to be promoting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including the use of a hashtag used by members of the terrorist group.
