TORONTO — Jurors at the trial of two men accused of plotting to derail a passenger train between Canada and the U.S. are now into their sixth day of deliberations.
The jurors who heard the case of Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier were sequestered Wednesday morning.
Jaser and Esseghaier are both facing four-terror related charges, while Esseghaier faces a fifth separate charge.
Jaser pleaded not guilty and Esseghaier, who chose not to participate in his trial because he wanted to be judged by the laws of the Qur'an, had a not guilty plea entered for him by the judge presiding over the case.
The jury has submitted three questions so far — the first was a request for a large screen TV to view evidence, the second was a request for printed copies of closing submissions and the third was a request for an alternate copy of a scratched DVD carrying a series of wiretap conversations played at trial.
The judge granted the jury's first request, told them that printed copies of closing submissions weren't available as lawyers had made their arguments from notes that they elaborated on, and gave the jury a new external DVD player to deal with their third request.
While the judge was consulting Esseghaier on the jury's third request, the Tunisian national emphasized his non-participation in the trial.
"I believe my future is in the hands of God, not in the hands of the jury," Esseghaier said.
