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Responding to a bomb threat, police direct people to evacuate at the intersection of Barrington Street and Duke Street, in downtown Halifax, Aug. 10.Devin Stevens/The Canadian Press
The Crown attorney prosecuting a man accused of making a bomb threat against the U.S. Consulate in Halifax says he could face life in prison for his alleged crime.
Federal lawyer Lee-Ann Conrod notified Halifax provincial court on Tuesday that the prosecution plans to increase the potential sentence for 54-year-old Ali Assakereh because his alleged offence is considered terrorist activity.
“It’s because it’s defined as a terrorism event under Section 2 of the Criminal Code. So because of that, the Crown can give this notice, and then it’s an increased maximum penalty,” Conrod told reporters after a brief court appearance Wednesday morning.
Halifax man faces new charge after alleged bomb threat against U.S. consulate
She said the prosecution likely will not seek a life sentence for Assakereh, but will pursue a longer prison stay than the usual maximum of 14 years for a federal charge he is facing.
Halifax Regional Police arrested Assakereh on Aug. 10 for allegedly placing a propane tank and flammable liquids in his car and parking near the U.S. consulate near Halifax’s waterfront, causing evacuations in a large section of the city’s downtown. He was charged with provincial offences of uttering threats and public mischief the following day.
Those charges, which Conrod said Wednesday are now being pursued by the federal Crown on behalf of the province, carry maximum sentences of five years.
On Aug. 18, RCMP laid the federal charge against Assakereh that deals with threats against internationally protected people, which includes diplomats. That section also refers to another section of the Criminal Code that applies to those accused of committing a violent attack on an official premises, endangering the life of a protected person.
Assakereh appeared through video conference at his bail hearing Wednesday. The balding man, with a short, grey beard was wearing a dark T-shirt and glasses and listened through a phone receiver as a translator relayed the proceedings to him in Farsi, the language mainly spoken in Iran.
The Crown is opposing the Halifax resident’s release. His legal aid lawyer, Lonny Queripel, told Judge Theodore Tax that he was not in a position to address the bail matter on Wednesday and asked that the matter be adjourned to Friday. His client consented to remain in custody until the next court appearance.
The judge approved the request. It’s the fifth time Assakereh’s bail hearing has been adjourned.
“I acknowledge, your honour, that this is coming to a head and it’s going to have to be decided one way or the other,” Queripel told the judge.
Police have confirmed they learned about the bomb threat on Aug. 9 and found the suspect’s vehicle parked near the consulate the next morning at 8:10 a.m. Assakereh was arrested 25 minutes later in the city’s west end, not far from his Halifax home.
By 2 p.m., an explosives expert determined the propane and liquids in Assakereh’s car posed no threat to public safety and all evacuation orders were lifted.
The alleged bomb threat came less than a week after two suspects were charged with shooting at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto in July – the second such incident at the building this year. A 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy are facing more than a dozen charges.
The consulate in Toronto was previously targeted on March 10, when two suspects allegedly fired multiple shots at the building. An 18-year-old and a 19-year-old are facing multiple charges.
No one was injured in either shooting.