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Toronto: A Canadian-born software developer accused of participating in an Al Qaida-inspired cell that plotted bombings in Britain pleaded not guilty on Monday as his trial began under heavy security.
Momin Khawaja, 29, faces seven terrorism-related charges that could put him in prison for life if he is convicted.
In an Ottawa courtroom guarded by police sniper teams from surrounding rooftops and tactical officers armed with submachine guns inside it, Khawaja entered his innocent plea in a soft-spoken voice.
Khawaja, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani descent, was dressed in a white shirt and gray suit. He sat impassively as federal prosecutors said how British surveillance and electronic bugs betrayed a murderous conspiracy.
"The aim was to cause death, injury and damage for religious and political purposes," lead prosecutor David McKercher said. Co-conspirators in Britain had purchased more than 590kg of fertilizer for use in making bombs, he said.
"The result would be massive destruction and loss of life" if a single such bomb was detonated, he said. Khawaja is accused of collaborating with a group of British Muslims in 2004 in a thwarted bomb plan.
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