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Bizarre Terror Trial in Canada Ends With Two Life Sentences

Chiheb Esseghaier and his co-conspirator Raed Jaser were found guilty of plotting to derail a passenger train bound to New York from Toronto in 2013.
Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

Two men convicted of terrorism-related charges in one of the most high-profile terror cases in Canadian history were sentenced to life in prison without parole on Wednesday, finally ending the series of bizarre and unusually lengthy hearings.

In March, Chiheb Esseghaier and his co-conspirator Raed Jaser were found guilty of plotting to derail a passenger train bound to New York from Toronto in 2013. But what should have been a straight-forward sentencing process went haywire when forensic psychiatrist Dr. Lisa Ramshaw testified that Esseghaier was "actively psychotic," possibly with schizophrenia, and therefore unable to participate and comprehend the sentencing process.

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That prompted questions about when precisely Esseghaier started suffering from mental illness and whether this had been his state of mind during his trial or even when he committed the offences.

After Ramshaw's testimony, presiding judge Michael Code ordered a second psychiatric opinion from Dr. Philip Klassen who told the court earlier this month that while he agreed with Ramshaw that Esseghaier suffers from a mental illness, he was nevertheless fit enough to be sentenced.

Throughout the hearings, Esseghaier, who rejected a government-appointed defense attorney, displayed a range of erratic behavior, from shouting his disbelief that it's the year 2015 to throwing water into the courtroom in protest of the psychiatrists' lies.

But on Wednesday, Justice Code dismissed both of the psychiatric assessments, ruling that Esseghaier is a religious extremist and does not suffer from schizophrenic.

"The life sentence doesn't have any meaning for me," Esseghaier retorted after Code delivered his sentence.

Code told reporters after the hearing that both Esseghaier and Jaser are remorseless for their actions and it remains to be seen if rehabilitation for either of them is possible.

"The evidence is overwhelming that [Esseghaier] was not delusional or psychotic at the time of the offence," Code said. "It is unprecedented to adjourn a sentencing hearing indefinitely to await treatment." He described Jaser as "intelligent, devious, and untrustworthy" adding that he has "not yet renounced his violent and racist beliefs."

Esseghaier and Jaser were arrested in 2013 after an undercover FBI officer, posing as an Egyptian-American real estate mogul, secretly recorded hours of conversations with the two men as they talked about how they were derail a Via Rail train and other ways they could carry out attacks in retaliation for the actions of the Canadian military in the Middle East.

According to Global News, Jaser's lawyer says he may appeal the decision. It's unclear whether the amicus for the court will apply for leave to appeal on Esseghaier's behalf.

Follow Rachel Browne on Twitter: @rp_browne