Ex-Saudi spy urges Canadian court to free up sources; says he’s victim of death plot

TORONTO —
A former top intelligence agent who alleges Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler sent a hit squad to Canada to execute him actually helpful a court on Friday to free up his sources, pronouncing the in discovering who froze them wasn’t given all of the relevant information.

In submissions ahead of Ontario Superior Court, lawyers for Saad Aljabri argued the alleged assassination plot and totally different key information must were disclosed at a secret listening to closing month.

“They simply repeated their very occupy facet of the story,” felony professional Paul Le Vay told Justice Cory Gilmore. “They did no longer divulge field matter information and obtainable defences. This abject and deliberate failure matters very a lot.”

A group of Saudi companies, which state Aljabri embezzled a whole lot of tens of millions of bucks ahead of fleeing the kingdom, received an injunction in Superior Court on Jan. 22 that froze his sources worldwide. The listening to modified into carried out without see to Aljabri, who subsequently had no design of giving his facet of the story.

In court on Friday, his lawyers argued the plaintiffs failed to divulge that Saudi Arabia plot up the plaintiff companies for counterterrorism positive aspects, and that they are now managed by Mohammed bin Salman, who took energy in a palace coup in Can also neutral 2017.

“Bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, controls this litigation and does so for an ulterior operate,” Le Vay acknowledged.

The lawyers told Gilmore that Aljabri, who spent a long time in Saudi intelligence and now lives in Toronto, has filed suit within the U.S. all the design thru which he alleges a long-standing and ongoing bin Salman plot to execute him.

Allotment of the animosity, Aljabri argues, is because of this of he pointed the finger at bin Salman as the mastermind within the assist of the dismemberment and killing of Washington Put up journalist Jamal Khashoggi on the Saudi embassy in Turkey in 2018.

“Bin Salman considers Saad a “valuable threat” because of this of of the former spy’s shut ties with U.S. intelligence and the “extremely gentle files” he has, his lawyers acknowledged.

Saudi authorities contain disappeared two of his teenagers as part of the campaign, court heard.

For his or her part, the companies preserve here’s simply an enormous and meticulous fraud case 11 years within the making, and that Aljabri’s U.S. lawsuit is a “public family members campaign.”

Munaf Mohamed, felony professional for the 11 plaintiff companies, acknowledged he stood by the guidelines he offered the in discovering on Jan. 22. Aljabri, he acknowledged, is never any “contemporary-day James Bond” and has offered no substantive defence.

As a change, the felony professional acknowledged, Aljabri’s claims read take care of a spy recent infused with political rhetoric that targets to “vilify the present crown prince” but totally ignore his occupy crimes. Within the extinguish, he acknowledged, It makes no difference whether bin Salman is using the court fight as Aljabri alleges.

“The reality that the present crown prince is a terrible fellow or a gargantuan fellow, whether you take care of him or detest him, is inappropriate to the apt concerns of whether these corporate plaintiffs can sue Mr. Aljabri as a resident here for amounts that he has stolen from them,” Mohamed acknowledged.

But Aljabri’s lawyers acknowledged the plaintiffs failed to divulge how bin Salman had threatened their consumer. Nor did they let on that Interpol had rescinded a “pink see” for Aljabri issued at Saudi Arabia’s demand on the premise that it modified into “politically motivated.”

“None of this modified into brought to your consideration,” Le Vay told Gilmore.

Aljabri says he fears for his existence by the fingers of bin Salman and has been below RCMP protection. The October 2018 plot against him failed because of this of Canadian border officials intercepted a bin Salman hit squad, Aljabri alleges in his unproven American lawsuit.

“The plaintiffs provide no clarification of what the U.S. litigation is ready,” Le Vay acknowledged. “It is a story vastly totally different from how he is portrayed by (them).”

The Saudi Arabian embassy in Ottawa did no longer reply to a requirement for issue.

Gilmore extended Aljabri’s asset freeze till she decides whether the injunction have to stand, seemingly next week.

This document by The Canadian Press modified into first printed Feb. 19, 2021.