The judge-only trial for the man charged with terrorism-related offences in a 2023 bus attack in Surrey started on Monday (May 5) in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.

Abdul Aziz Kawam was arrested for attempted murder after allegedly slashing a person's throat on a bus in Surrey in the 14800 block of Fraser Highway on April 1, 2023. Police alleged that the assault was carried out for the Islamic State. 

The victim was attacked on a route 503 Coast Mountain bus at Fraser Highway and 148 Street and rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police said Kawam乌鸦传媒檚 arrest was related to two assaults, one at a bus stop and one on the bus.

Soon after his arrest, Kawam was charged with attempting to commit murder, in association with a terrorist group; assault causing bodily harm, in association with a terrorist group; aggravated assault, in association with a terrorist group; and assault with a weapon, in association with a terrorist group.

On Wednesday (May 7), the trial day started with counsel continuing to interview Dr. Steinberg, an expert witness on the Islamic State (IS). 

Steinberg was asked to describe the different types of attacks often carried out by the Islamic State: organized, directed and inspired attacks. 

"Organized attacks means that the organization, in this case the Islamic State, plans the attack, trains the attackers, organizes everything that has got to do with the attack plan, sends them back to their home country, or the second country, where this Islamic State cell then perpetrates an attack," Steinberg said. 

The second kind "are attacks which are only inspired by an organization, without any direct contact between the organization and the actual perpetrator of the attack, the perpetrator ideally only consumes the propaganda of the organization." This includes watching videos and other material made by the organization. 

Direct attacks combine organized and inspired attacks. As Steinberg confirmed, the key difference with this type of attack is that there is a "virtual connection" with the organization, normally through social media messaging apps such as Telegram. 

Counsel asked Steinberg what type of IS attack he believed the April 2023 attack was. 

"There is ample evidence that this attack might have been inspired by the Islamic State simply because of the number of materials being found in the possession of the perpetrator (on his phone)," Steinberg said. He believed there were no signs that it was an organized attack, meaning there was likely no direct or physical connection like "presence in a training camp in the Middle East." 

Although weak, some indications are that IS may have directed the attack, Steinberg said, citing a "self-filmed video with a pledge of allegiance, simply because the Pledge of Allegiance plus the claim of responsibility are typical for these videos," he said. Similar videos were published after the IS attacks in Berlin, Ansbach and W眉rzburg, Germany. 

There is a lack of evidence, though, that the video was ever uploaded to the Islamic State's media. He said there could be several reasons why the video was never published, but he could not say for certain. 

"Usually, these videos (when published) are intended to reach the mainstream media in the country in question," Steinberg said. "But they are not published, of course, on mainstream media first, but they appear typically in Telegram chatrooms, and there, either you have propagandists who are spreading these videos on easily accessible Telegram sites, or there are the security authorities represented in these chats, or there are journalists."  

"I don't have an explanation yet, and I don't know exactly what it means, what it means that this video that we have seen here didn't appear anywhere. It could mean that it simply hasn't been sent," Steinberg said.

There were also text conversations on Telegram that indicate that someone within the Islamic State might have known about the Surrey attack before it took place. Steinberg added that Telegram is the messaging app of choice for the Islamic State. 

"They talk about an operation, and they talk about deleting the conversation on Telegram, or having deleted the conversation on Telegram. This shows that there is something going on that is not considered to be legal or legitimate," Steinberg said. "They want to hide something, and these are, as I said, indications, not the strongest ones, but indications that this might be an attack directed by IS." 

Steinberg was asked if he saw anything unusual with the Surrey attacks compared to other IS attacks. "I was puzzled by watching the video the first day (of trial) and seeing the defendant walking past people. He could have easily attacked more than two people."

Both the Crown and the defence had no further questions for the expert. 

The defence added: "At the close of the evidence, and from the expert, I'm prepared to formally concede, on the record, that is the defence position that all the elements of Section 83.2, the terrorism provisions, we concede that those have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

"We are leaving open the possibility of trying the case from the perspective of an NCRMD (not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder) verdict, so we're not conceding a full conviction at this point."

The defence added, "The case is satisfied to the extent there would be a conviction but for the one remaining question of whether or not NCRMD is is the appropriate remedy." 

The trial continues Thursday morning (May 8).

The trial was initially scheduled for Feb. 3 to 14 but was adjourned for May 5 to 9.

-With files from Tom Zytaruk