His father, Tariq Abdelhaleem, is an engineer on contract with Atomic Energy of Canada, and is well known for his own writings as an Imam, including a fatwa against watering down the message of Islam. At Abdelhaleem’s trial it was revealed that his father had issued a fatwa for the group declaring the attacks “acceptable”.
He is alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario. He was interviewed prior to his son"s arrests, denouncing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tariq was among those who posted bail for security certificate detainee Mohammad Mahjoub earlier in the year.
Abdelhaleem was a 30-year-old computer programmer at the time of his arrest, and drove a metallic blue Bayerische Motoren Werke convertible.
He underwent open-heart surgery just two months before the arrest. He was by far the wealthiest of the group and had sought information on offshore bank accounts.
He is alleged to have been brought into the fertilizer purchasing by Zakaria Amara,
When police stormed his house, he reported that he was mostly concerned with making sure the seven stray cats who lived in his home were alright. Throughout the trial Abdelhaleem maintained that he was merely a middle-man keeping contact between ringleader Zakaria Amara and mole Shaher Elsohemy.
His lawyer has stated that the accusations against his client were due to an old friend seeking revenge through his connections to the police.
In his testimony Elsohemy stated that Abdelhaleem was initially opposed to the plan but changed his mind when he realized he could benefit financially from the attack. He had also contributed various suggestions about the plan such as spreading out the timing of the attack to increase the terror factor. This was opposed by Amara who wanted to inflict “maximum casualties”.
On January 21, 2010, Abdelhaleem was found guilty of plotting to bomb financial, intelligence and military targets.
He was not convicted however as the defense was awarded a stay of proceedings in order to look into whether or not the case could be considered as entrapment. The argument of entrapment was dismissed by the courts, citing "virtually no evidence" to support the claims as well as Abdelhaleem’s erratic and bizarre behavior in the while on the stand.
On March 4, 2011, Ontario Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson sentenced Abdelhaleem to life in prison. The play premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille on August 5, 2010.
The play stirred controversy because it portrayed Shareef sympathetically.
Theatre critic Richard Ouzounian did not recommend the play to the general public. He did comment that it was "Definitely not a play that supports or romanticizes terrorism, but one that raises some interesting questions about the government’s purchase of undercover “moles” to entrap and deliver so-called terrorists, often at prices well into the millions.".
