http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/politics/amand ... -1.3110671
Ali Omar Ader, a Somali national alleged to have been part of the 2008 kidnapping of Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout and her Australian colleague, was arrested in Ottawa by RCMP, the Mounties said today.
Ader was arrested on June 11 by the RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET).
The RCMP allege he was the "main negotiator" in the hostage-taking of Lindhout and photojournalist Nigel Brennan.
Ader, 37, has been charged under Sec. 279.1(2) of the Criminal Code, and is in custody in Ottawa. He made a court appearance by videoconference Friday morning and his case was put over until next week. No details of the charges were read into the court record Friday. Ader remains in custody.
An indictable offence for kidnapping and forcible confinement under this section carries a maximum sentence of ten years.
International investigation created 'challenges'
Lindhout and Brennan were held near Mogadishu on Aug. 23, 2008. The RCMP said Friday it began a criminal investigation named Project Slype at that time.
Lindhout was released on Nov. 25, 2009, after more than a year in captivity. She has written and spoken extensively about the abuse she endured during that time. Lindhout said she survived torture and repeated rape by a group of teenage boys.
The RCMP investigation located Ader in Somalia. Undercover operations, surveillance and wiretaps followed.
Police also acknowledged witness statements by Lindhout and Brennan "greatly assisted in advancing the investigation."
The RCMP did not disclose how or why Ader was in Ottawa. He was not living in Canada at the time of his arrest, but had been in the Canadian capital for a few days, RCMP said.
"Because the investigation was conducted on an international basis, it did create some challenges," said James Malizia, RCMP assistant commissioner, as it was carried out in an "extremely high-risk environment in a country plagued with political instability."
It's unclear how much the government of Somalia co-operated with the investigation.
The RCMP said the Canada Border Services Agency, the Foreign Affairs Department and the Australian Federal Police collaborated.
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said during remarks to reporters in Levis, Que. Friday that this was a police operation first and that there wasn't necessarily a political or diplomatic approach carried out.
