LTTE fundraiser pleads guilty in Canada
May 12, 2010 07:34 am
A fundraiser for the outlaw Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers pleaded guilty in
Prapaharan Thambithurai “pleaded guilty to providing financial services, knowing that they will benefit a terrorist group, namely the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),” Nathalie Houle, of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, told AFP.
The Tamil Tigers, outlawed in
Police arrested Thambithurai, 46, in this Pacific coast metropolis in early 2008. He was released on bail days later.
Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, with the maximum penalty 10 years in prison.
In court on Tuesday the prosecutor recommended a two-year jail term, while defense lawyer Kathleen Bradley asked for a three-year conditional sentence.
Fund-raising for the LTTE’s cause was banned under terrorism laws in many
countries, and they have been successfully prosecuted for 27 years in
“It just took
He said LTTE supporters “asked” most families of Tamil heritage in
“There were other people who tried to get away from the system, and they’d get a letter from their parents back home saying, ‘for God’s sake, pay,’” Thompson said.
AFP