Hassan Almrei

Hassan Ahmed Almrei (حسن أحمد المرعي also childhood name Abu al-Hareth) (born in Syria on January 1, 1974), a Syrian citizen, arrived in Canada in 1999 claiming refugee status.

He has been since held, and accused of terrorist connections and ideology, for his "reputation... for obtaining false documents", and his relationship with Ibn al-Khattab following time shared together during the Civil war in Tajikistan.

He had "not supported Khattab financially or otherwise", but "admired Khattab... had pictures of Khattab on his computer; and visited Chechen extremist websites".

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has also alleged that Almrei has demonstrated a "devotion to Osama bin Laden and his ideals... by fighting in Afghanistan", although he fought Communist-backed troops and rival forces in Afghanistan between 1990 and 1994 while bin Laden was still living in the Sudan.

He has argued that it is "gross stereotyping" to suggest that every person who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan must therefore support Osama bin Laden.

He claims to believe al-Qaeda is "contrary to the teachings of Islam", and refers to them as a terrorist organisation which participates in unjustified violence.

CSIS claims that his role as a soldier in both Afghanistan and Tajikistan prove that he believes in "guns and violence" nevertheless.

After a special prison was built for the five long-term prisoners held on security certificates, four were released on bail and house arrest terms, leaving Almrei as the sole occupant of the prison which continued to operate at a cost of $2.6 million annually to house Almrei alone.

He claims to have been self-employed since February 1990 when he finished high school, though he later stated that he'd spent several months doing office work for the charitable Muslim African Agency following graduation.

He later explained that he had traveled towards Afghanistan, after using his father's contacts in the Muslim Brotherhood to purchase a forged Syrian passport, to attend a Jalalabad camp run by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a commander in the Northern Alliance.

However, he contracted malaria and remained in a guest house called Bait al-Ansar in Peshawar for a year before attending Sayyaf's camp, where'd he trained on an AK-47 with a group named Ittihad-i-Islami.

He made three subsequent trips into Afghanistan to stay at the camps under Sayyaf's leadership, using his savings to finance the third trip.

In 1994 left Sayyaf's company and traveled to Kunduz to follow Ibn al-Khattab instead, and met Nabil al-Marabh.

Almrei claims he traveled to Pakistan to investigate business possibilities selling honey and perfume.

He was in Pakistan from November 1994 through March 1995, and went to Yemen in March 1995.

He also claims to have traveled twice in Tajikistan during the year, where he scouted on Soviet positions for Ibn al-Khattab, and although he was willing to fight in combat, he claims he served chiefly as an Imam to the group and was never involved in any major combat, though he saw several skirmishes.

When Khattab moved on to fight in the First Chechen War, he would still phone and fax Almrei with updates on the struggle.

He has stated that he closed his business from as early as 1996 to as late as January 1998, and was unemployed from thence on.

Although New York Times reporter Judith Miller claimed that he used his honey business to smuggle money for militants, analysts say there is no evidence to support that and Almrei has raised issue with Miller's history of controversy.

After her story was published, he claimed that he sold chiefly perfume and oud, but later stated that he sold primarily honey, importing 500 kg from Pakistan.

He unsuccessfully tried to immigrate to Canada with his Syrian passport #3286630 on April 19, 1998, stating that he wished to visit Hisham Al Taha in Richmond, British Columbia.

He later claimed to have never spoken to al Taha and that he'd just put down his name on the advice of a friend who told him it would improve his chances of being accepted for a visa.

He traveled to Thailand in August 1998, where he met a Palestinian people smuggler named Ghaled whom he befriended given his own reputation for acquiring false passports.

On January 2, 1999, he flew to Toronto Pearson International Airport from Jordan.

Upon landing he claimed that he had used a forged passport from the United Arab Emirates and had destroyed it.

He was picked up at the airport by his "good friend" Ahmed Al Kaysee, whom he'd met while in Afghanistan.

In September 1999, Almrei and five other men had been in a restricted portion of Pearson Airport, as they "appeared to have access cards and codes".

The explanation has been offered that these six men were working in the airport at temporary jobs, and their credentials were legitimate.

He also maintained contact with the Thai smuggler.

Attending Jami Mosque, Almrei met Ibrahim Ishak, who introduced himself as a Bosnian immigration consultant.

Almrei later directed two people seeking help acquiring G-class driver's licences to Ishak, who paid him for the referral.

Within months of arriving, he had become close friends with Hassan Ahmed, and would help him with his fruit stand, where he initially had trouble speaking to female customers due to his religious upbringing; but later began to flirt openly with them as his religious stance relaxed.

He suggested that he was interested in finding a prospective wife.

He was ordered released under house arrest by a Federal Court judge on January 2, 2009.

On December 14, 2009, he was further released and not considered a suspect anymore.

The evidence against him was based on informants' tips, wiretaps, and his admission of travel to places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The case against him was based on outdated and sketchy knowledge of Al Qaeda and other extremist Islamic groups, and loaded with information that "could only be construed as unfavourable to Almrei without any serious attempt to include information to the contrary."

Although born in Syria, Almrei's family moved to Dammam, Saudi Arabia when he was 7 since his paternal uncle had been sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his role in the Muslim Brotherhood - his father was sentenced to death in absentia in Syria, as he worked as a teacher in Saudi Arabia.

He has eight siblings in Saudi Arabia, and one sister who moved to Lebanon with her husband.

He memorised the Quran while he was young.