Canada has listed Samidoun, a pro-Palestinian group behind a rally where people chanted “death to Canada” and burned the Canadian flag in Vancouver earlier this month, as a terrorist entity.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc made the announcement on Tuesday and noted that the listing was made alongside the U.S. Treasury Department’s own decision to list the group as a specially designated global terrorist entity.
“Violent extremism, acts of terrorism or terrorist financing have no place in Canadian society or abroad,” LeBlanc said in a statement.
“The listing of Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate this type of activity, and will do everything in its power to counter the ongoing threat to Canada’s national security and all people in Canada.”
Samidoun has been previously listed as a terrorist entity by Germany and the Netherlands and, in a release, Public Safety Canada, said the group has “close links with and advances the interests of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
That group is also listed as a terrorist entity by Canada, the U.S. and European Union.
1:41 Canadian flag burning at Vancouver anti-Israel demonstration condemned
The U.S. Treasury Department designated Samidoun as “a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization,” and laid terrorism-related sanctions against both Samidoun and its leader Khaled Barakat, who holds Canadian citizenship.
The department said its actions were taken in coordination with the Canadian terrorist entity listing.
“Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups,” Bradley T. Smith, acting under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
The U.S. statement said Samidoun and Barakat “play critical roles in external fundraising for the PFLP.”
Public Safety Canada (PSC) lists Samidoun as an international network of organizers and activists that “claims to be campaigning for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
According to PSC, the organization first emerged in 2011 and has at least 20 chapters in 12 countries, including Canada and the United States.
It also has a chapter in Iran, which has designated as a state supporter of terrorism.
The department says many of the prisoners Samidoun is advocating for release have ties to terrorism, assassinations and countless attacks against Israel.
“Samidoun’s ideology revolves exclusively around the worldview that Israel and Zionism are the greatest danger to the Middle East and the world,” the listing notes. “Their main goals are the destruction of Israel and establishing a Palestinian state in its place.”
The leadership of Samidoun is reportedly composed of current and former members of the PFLP, Public Safety Canada says.
Being a listed terrorist entity carries severe consequences. It is illegal to contribute to any activity of a listed group, and its property can be seized and forfeited.
The listing comes just over a week after MPs in the House of Commons condemned the group, whose supporters chanted “death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel” and burned the Canadian flag at a rally in Vancouver.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc made the announcement on Tuesday and noted that the listing was made alongside the U.S. Treasury Department’s own decision to list the group as a specially designated global terrorist entity.
“Violent extremism, acts of terrorism or terrorist financing have no place in Canadian society or abroad,” LeBlanc said in a statement.
“The listing of Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate this type of activity, and will do everything in its power to counter the ongoing threat to Canada’s national security and all people in Canada.”
Samidoun has been previously listed as a terrorist entity by Germany and the Netherlands and, in a release, Public Safety Canada, said the group has “close links with and advances the interests of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
That group is also listed as a terrorist entity by Canada, the U.S. and European Union.
1:41 Canadian flag burning at Vancouver anti-Israel demonstration condemned
The U.S. Treasury Department designated Samidoun as “a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization,” and laid terrorism-related sanctions against both Samidoun and its leader Khaled Barakat, who holds Canadian citizenship.
The department said its actions were taken in coordination with the Canadian terrorist entity listing.
“Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups,” Bradley T. Smith, acting under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
The U.S. statement said Samidoun and Barakat “play critical roles in external fundraising for the PFLP.”
Public Safety Canada (PSC) lists Samidoun as an international network of organizers and activists that “claims to be campaigning for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
According to PSC, the organization first emerged in 2011 and has at least 20 chapters in 12 countries, including Canada and the United States.
It also has a chapter in Iran, which has designated as a state supporter of terrorism.
The department says many of the prisoners Samidoun is advocating for release have ties to terrorism, assassinations and countless attacks against Israel.
“Samidoun’s ideology revolves exclusively around the worldview that Israel and Zionism are the greatest danger to the Middle East and the world,” the listing notes. “Their main goals are the destruction of Israel and establishing a Palestinian state in its place.”
The leadership of Samidoun is reportedly composed of current and former members of the PFLP, Public Safety Canada says.
Being a listed terrorist entity carries severe consequences. It is illegal to contribute to any activity of a listed group, and its property can be seized and forfeited.
The listing comes just over a week after MPs in the House of Commons condemned the group, whose supporters chanted “death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel” and burned the Canadian flag at a rally in Vancouver.
