CBC News has learned that the 26-year-old Toronto man accused of plotting the deadly ISIS-inspired violence had previously lived in Egypt and studied at a university in the United States.
Mostafa Eldidi and his father, Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, were arrested last month and charged with terrorism in what police described as a plot to carry out a “serious and violent attack in Toronto.”
Mostafa Eldidi’s lawyer, Nate Jackson, appeared in court for the first time on his behalf on Thursday, telling the court he plans to meet with his new client in person at the prison on Friday.
“We intend to vigorously defend Mostafa Eldidi’s innocence,” Jackson told CBC.
RCMP said Eldidi, 62, is a Canadian citizen, but his son does not.
Little is known about Mostafa Eldidi’s past, but his social media presence gives some clues as to his whereabouts in recent years.
He attended Iowa Wesleyan University, a now-defunct private United Methodist liberal arts college in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
“Our records do not indicate he received a degree,” the University of Iowa’s academic affairs office said in an email, which has been responding to requests for transcripts since Iowa Wesleyan closed last year.
“[Mostafa Eldidi] He enrolled at Iowa Wesleyan University in the spring of 2020. No further records or information are available.”
It is not clear when he came to Canada, but a photo posted to Facebook in April 2021 appears to show Mostafa Eldidi, with his distinctive long curly hair, standing in front of a detached home in Toronto’s east side that is now listed in court records as his family’s residence.
A man who identified himself as Mostafa’s brother outside the home earlier this week declined to comment on the criminal case.
In June 2021, Mostafa Eldidi posted an image of the Canadian flag to his Facebook profile. “I will fight for this flag until I die,” he wrote.
A Facebook friend recalled befriending Mostafa Eldidi over video games, saying he was in his early 20s and living in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Representatives of the Egyptian embassy in Ottawa and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether Mostafa Eldidi and his father hold Egyptian nationality.
Police allege ISIS links
CBC previously reported that sources said the two suspects filmed a video pledging allegiance to ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) while holding an axe and a machete in front of the militant group’s flag.
Mostafa Eldidi is charged with possessing a machete “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in coordination with a terrorist group” calling himself the Islamic State, according to court documents. His father faces a similar charge for possessing an axe.
“We believe they were very close to moving from simply possessing the paraphernalia to engaging in threatening conduct,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent James Parr told reporters in July, days after the men were arrested at a hotel in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto.
They each face one count of conspiracy to murder and other terrorism-related charges.
The federal opposition party has recently peppered the government with questions about the Eldidi family’s immigration status.
This week MPs from all parties agreed to investigate why the pair were allowed into the country despite allegations their father had been involved in an assault overseas.
Ahmed Eldidi is also charged with aggravated assault. Court records say the attack took place outside of Canada in June 2015. An ISIS propaganda video posted online that month shows a man dressed in black dismembering a motionless victim in an orange jumpsuit with a sword.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS BRUTAL VIOLENCE | MPs have voted unanimously in favour of an investigation into how Ahmed Eldidi and Mostafa Eldidi, father and son accused of plotting a terror attack in Toronto, arrived in Canada, especially in light of a gory ISIS video allegedly linked to the father several years ago.
Government officials have not confirmed whether Eldidi had already come to Canada by 2015.
The House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Public Security and National Security voted unanimously on Tuesday to investigate the Eldidi case and question the ministers of public security and immigration, as well as other senior security and intelligence officials.
Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Mark Miller said this week he was considering whether the father’s citizenship should be revoked.
Father requests to visit son in prison
Mostafa Eldidi appeared by video link in court in Newmarket, Ont., on Thursday and confirmed his name and date of birth in English.
His father then appeared, speaking through an Arabic translator. Ahmed Eldidi said he had not yet hired a lawyer.
He stated his request directly to the judge in English.
“Can I see my son?” asked Brother Eldidi.
“No,” Magistrate Judge Linda DeBartolo responded. “The answer is no. … You have a court order that you are not to have any contact with your son by any means or with any person. Do you understand that?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s right,” he said.
Both defendants remain in custody pending bail hearings.
