A year ago, January 18, 2010 to be precise, marked a day when two Toronto 18 accused got sentenced. One to life, and another to 12 years. Prior to this, other accused were sentenced. A year later, the crown’s appeal led to the courts boosting the sentences of two of the accused, Saad Gaya and Saad Khalid. Appeals put through from the side of the defence for  Zakariya Amara was refused as his sentence remained untouched: life sentence. Gaya and Khalid both got their sentences boosted by six years; from 12 to 18 for Gaya and from 14 to 20 for Khalid. Without the presentation of any new evidence or any changes to the case, the crown appealed on the basis that the courts needed to be ‘tougher on terror’. Taking into consideration all of the ‘added perks’ in this case, with the informants and the sting operation, it is quite surreal that this step has been taken. Many unheard of laws were put into place in this case, and right when we thought it was all over, there is yet again another turn. When the accused were sentenced a year ago, they took the sentences and saw the solid numbers as an indication of where their life was headed. This helped them mentally prepare themselves for the years to come, and plan the rest of their future accordingly. A year later, the crown’s appeal is approved without any solid basis or presentation of new evidence, and lives are once again put on hold ‘just because’ the authorities feel like it.

Having thoroughly studied this case, it is not as simple as it seems on the outset. The internal working of those in power has the ability to ruin the lives of many. Guilt or innocence is no longer even the question; a matter of rights and responsibilities of government bodies and citizens is what seems to now be in question.