BBC

A man arrested in Canada on suspicion of planning what officials say was an al-Qaeda-backed plot to attack a train has appeared in court in Toronto.

Raed Jaser, 35, did not enter a plea during his brief appearance, when the court approved a ban on publishing evidence and testimony in the case.

A second suspect, Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, is due in court in Montreal later.

Officials said the alleged plot had support from al-Qaeda in Iran, although there was no sign of state sponsorship.

Canadian authorities said the two suspects were arrested in Montreal and Toronto on Monday.

Mr Jaser is understood to be a United Arab Emirates national of Palestinian origin, while Mr Esseghaier is thought to be Tunisian.

Mr Esseghaier was studying for a doctorate at National Institute for Scientific Research near Montreal, while Mr Jaser reportedly worked as a customer service representative at a removal firm.

‘Imam’s tip-off’

Mr Jaser wore a long beard during Tuesday’s hearing, which was reportedly attended by his parents and brother.

The two accused face charges of conspiracy to carry out an attack and kill people in association with a terrorist group.

The arrests came as Canadian lawmakers debated an anti-terrorism bill that would reintroduce “preventative detention” and investigative hearings, CBC News reported.

Those measures were part of legislation passed in 2001, but expired six years later.

Canadian media have reported the investigation was launched after a tip-off by a concerned imam in the Toronto Muslim community.

The imam was worried that young people in the city were being corrupted by an extremist, reports said.

Authorities say the two accused had planned to derail a passenger train in the Greater Toronto area.

The alleged attack was “definitely in the planning stage but not imminent”, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan said on Monday.

The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing sources, said a Toronto-New York City train was to be the target.

‘Hilarious’

But VIA Rail, which operates passenger rail services across Canada and carries nearly four million passengers annually, said the public was never in danger.

The RCMP said the investigation was a collaborative effort with FBI agents from the US.

Iran has denied any links with the two suspects.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said it was “ridiculous” to suggest any connection between al-Qaeda and Tehran.

“This is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard in my 64 years,” Mr Salehi told the Iranian Isna news agency.

Al-Qaeda – a militant Salafist Islamic movement – preaches a radical anti-Shia ideology that is seen as placing it firmly at odds with Shia Iran.

A US justice department official said there was no connection between the alleged Canada plot and last week’s Boston Marathon bombings.

Analysts say Iran’s links with al-Qaeda are shadowy and complex.

Some of the group’s senior figures – including Osama Bin Laden’s son, Saad Bin Laden, and former security chief Saif al-Adel – are said to have fled to Iran after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

They were allegedly held under house arrest by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, although Tehran never acknowledged their presence.

According to the US, Saif al-Adel’s father-in-law, Mustafa Hamid, is the link between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government.

After the fall of the Taliban, he is said to have negotiated the safe relocation of several senior al-Qaeda members and their families to Iran. In mid-2003, he was arrested by the Iranian authorities.

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