Two Muslims Planned to Derail a Train in Canada; One Says Charges Faulty, Not Based on Holy Book

One of two Muslim men accused in an alleged al Qaeda-backed plan to derail a passenger train in Canada appeared in court today (April 24, 2013) and disputed the authority of Canadian law to judge him, saying the criminal code was not a holy book, according to the Reuters website.

Chiheb Esseghaier -- a Tunisian-born doctoral student -- faces charges that include conspiracy to murder and working with a terrorist group.

He and another suspect, Raed Jaser, are charged with plotting to derail a passenger train, and U.S. security sources say they sought to attack at a bridge near the American-Canadian border. The two were arrested on April 22 after a joint Canadian-U.S. investigation.

In a brief hearing today where he was ordered back into custody, Esseghaier, 30, said the allegations against him are based on laws that are unreliable because they are not the work of God. "All of these conclusions were taken out based on the criminal code," he told a Toronto court. "The criminal code is not a holy book."