The accused brought a pre‑trial motion seeking to exclude documents and internet search evidence recovered from a laptop seized at the time of his arrest on terrorism charges relating to alleged attempts to join the group Al‑Shabaab and counselling another person to do so.
The court conducted a voir dire addressing the relevance and admissibility of ideological, military, and internet‑search material found on the computer.
Applying the principles governing relevance, bad character evidence, and the balancing of probative value against prejudicial effect, the court held that documents found in an accused’s possession may be admissible circumstantial evidence of knowledge or intent even without proof the accused read or adopted their contents.
The court admitted certain materials and internet search terms relevant to motive, knowledge, and intent, while excluding or limiting others whose prejudicial effect outweighed their probative value.
The court also rejected the argument that admission of the evidence violated the accused’s Charter freedoms of religion or expression.
