The release of an alleged terrorist training camp video that's tied to a group accused of plotting attacks on Canadian soil is "very concerning" given the timing of its appearance on the Internet, a lawyer for one of the accused said Friday.
A verdict is expected next Thursday in the case of the first person to go to trial following the arrest of the so-called "Toronto 18" two years ago, and lawyer Mitchell Chernovsky said the public is seeing "provocative" images connected to the case without the proper context.
The video shows, among other things, men in camouflage carrying out alleged terrorist training exercises in a rural area during winter, and is featured on an American website.
The Nine-Eleven Finding Answers Foundation, which posted the clip, reportedly obtained the video from a British court where it was an exhibit at the trial Aabid Khan, who was convicted last month of being a terrorist propagandist.
The BBC, in its coverage of the trial, reported that Khan was friends with the alleged ringleader of the Toronto group and that Khan's former wife was Canadian.
"Why, however, it's being released right now, just prior to the decision ... which is scheduled for next week, is very suspect," Chernovsky said. "But I have no idea why it's being released now.
"It just is very concerning that it is being released at this time and without any context."
The video wasn't submitted as evidence at the trial in Brampton, Ont., nor is there any reason to believe Canadian prosecutors had it in their possession, said Chernovsky, who added he saw the video online for the first time Thursday.
"This video was never in the hands of the Crown, as far as I know," he said.
"If they did, they would have shared it in court. It's informative. They showed other videos that were far less helpful to them."
The 2 1/2-minute video -- posted at http://www.nefafoundation.org/ -- jumps from daytime scenes in the woods to a nighttime campfire and a van skidding around a darkened Canadian Tire parking lot. Islamic music runs throughout.
A police informant, Mubin Shaikh, is the only person on the video whose face is recognizable. A handgun is seen being fired, and court has heard it was the only weapon, apart from paintball guns, present at the camp.
There's also footage of hiking excursions through the woods and a man waving a black flag while yelling out "Allah."
The Crown alleges the group produced videos for recruitment purposes.
In June, Justice John Sproat denied a media bid to release videos used as evidence at the Canadian trial -- including one that shows an adult suspect testing what's alleged to be a cellphone bomb trigger.
Defence lawyers have questioned the strength of the Crown's case against the suspects after charges against seven of the accused men were stayed, whittling the "Toronto 18" down to 11.
Trial dates haven't been set yet for the remaining suspects.
