Judge rules Hisham Saadi exploited prejudice against muslims, fear of terrorism.
Hisham Saadi, author of the bomb threats made towards Concordia in 2017, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Following his term, Saadi will face 3 years of probation. He will be required to take medication prescribed to him and stay 200 metres away from any Concordia facility, except when riding the metro or visiting his lawyers or doctor.
In a decision rendered Friday afternoon, Judge Mélanie Hébert said that Saadi exploited both a widespread prejudice against Muslims and a fear of terrorism when he issued his threat.
She said that Saadi’s actions were not simply an error of judgement, but a meticulous and deliberate plan as shown by the time he invested in it.
Saadi had previously admitted to sending the bomb threats that temporarily shut down three buildings on Concordia’s downtown campus in March 2017. The letters, in which Saadi posed as a fictitious group called the “Council of Conservative Citizens of Canada,” threatened to detonate small explosive devices in areas of the Hall and EV buildings, “Where Moslems hang out.”
He previously testified that he was motivated by the stress of two midterm exams he had that week, and that he had taken unusually large doses of antipsychotic and antidepressant medications prior to the incident.
Photo by Ian Down.
