‘Waterloo Suresh’ loses legal battle over terrorism charges

A former Waterloo man lost a six-year legal battle Friday to avoid prosecution in the United States for alleged support of terrorists. In one of two key rulings upholding anti-terror laws, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an appeal by Suresh Sriskandarajah of an extradition order to stand trial in New York. Sriskandarajah and two other men — Piratheepan Nadarajah of Brampton and Momin Khawaja of Ottawa — challenged the constitutional validity of terrorism laws passed in the wake of 9/11 attacks in the U.S.

But in unanimous rulings written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, seven judges soundly rejected arguments the laws are too broad and improperly infringe on freedom of expression rights.

“The scope of the provision excludes conduct that a reasonable person would not view as capable of materially enhancing the abilities of a terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity,” McLachlin wrote.

Judges also dismissed arguments by Sriskandarajah and Nadarajah that they have a right to be tried in Canada rather than the U.S.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson welcomed the rulings and pledged to remain tough on terrorists.

“Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism,” he said in a statement. “Our government will continue to work with its domestic and international partners to actively combat this threat at home and abroad.”

The decisions mean Sriskandarajah, 32, will be turned over to authorities in New York to face charges of supporting the Tamil Tigers during a bloody civil war in Sri Lanka.

He is accused of researching and buying communications equipment and submarine and warship design software for the rebel group in the country he left as a boy.

Portrayed as the leader of four suspects with ties to the University of Waterloo, Sriskandarajah also allegedly laundered money and used students to smuggle goods into Sri Lanka under the code name Waterloo Suresh between 2004 and 2006.

Arrested in 2006 following a joint FBI-RCMP investigation, he faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted in the U.S.

While on bail as he fought extradition, Sriskandarajah earned a prestigious academic award and a master of business administration degree at Wilfrid Laurier University to go along with an engineering degree from UW.

Recently married, he was a first-year law student at the University of Ottawa before surrendering to authorities Thursday in advance of the Supreme Court rulings.

Charges against two of the four UW suspects were dropped by U.S. authorities.

Ramanam Mylvaganam, a close friend who once lived with Sriskandarajah in Waterloo, was sentenced to time served earlier this year after giving up his extradition fight and pleading guilty in New York.

Sriskandarajah has said he was most concerned with helping children and young people in northern Sri Lanka, especially after a devastating tsunami hit the island nation while he was there in 2004.

He has also said he focused on education after his arrest so he is well-equipped to put his life back together and be a productive citizen when he is finally free.

Nadarajah, who was also appealing an extradition order, is accused of involvement in an attempt by four Canadians to buy almost $1 million worth of missiles and assault rifles for the Tamil Tigers.

The Tigers fought for an independent Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka for 26 years before their defeat by government forces in 2009.

The most high-profile of the three men, Khawaja challenged the constitutional validity of anti-terrorism laws as well as his life sentence in Canada for involvement in a British bomb plot for al-Qaida.