A Montreal activist of Lebanese origin who has been an outspoken critic of Ottawa's Middle East policies was charged Thursday with illegal export of weapons to Lebanon.
The case appears to be of limited scale, with police saying that it involves rifle parts found in airline luggage and that there will be no further arrests. The accused, Mouna Diab, was released after promising to return to court.
Ms. Diab, a 26-year-old Canadian citizen, is known for her involvement with Muslim associations in Montreal and for pointed criticism of the Harper government's policy in the Middle East.
After the 2006 war between Israel and the Hezbollah forces that control the southern part of the country and large parts of Beirut, Ms. Diab told local newspapers she could sympathize with Lebanese who turned toward Hezbollah. She said her relatives mostly live in the south, where the heaviest fighting and bombardment took place.
"When you are being attacked and the only ones defending you are members of Hezbollah, you will identify with Hezbollah. It's normal," Ms. Diab told Le Devoir.
More than 1,000 Lebanese civilians were killed in the fighting, and Ottawa conducted an emergency evacuation of thousands of Canadian citizens from the country. Ms. Diab said the Canadian government reacted slowly to the crisis, and she described its support of Israel in the matter as "shameful."
Just this summer, she spoke out against the intervention of the West in the Libyan civil war. Canadian warplanes took part in supporting rebel forces.
Ms. Diab's legal troubles actually stem from the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon. In August, 2006, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1701, which called for an end to hostilities and asked all nations to prevent their citizens from supplying weapons to factions in Lebanon.
Since then, federal regulations prohibit Canadians from supplying "directly or indirectly, arms and related material … to any person in Lebanon."
The RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team began investigating Ms. Diab last February, spokesman Corporal Luc Thibault said.
On May 19, Ms. Diab was arrested at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport as she was about to fly to Lebanon. "Weapons parts" were found in her luggage, Cpl. Thibault said.
"We are talking about AR-15 assault rifles," he said, referring to a firearm most commonly known by its U.S. military version, the M-16.
Ms. Diab was charged on indictment. If found guilty, people who contravene the regulation can face a prison term of not more than 10 years. Ms. Diab and her lawyer, Richard Prihoda, declined to comment when contacted Thursday.
Tu Thanh Ha
Les Perreaux