Canadian Tiger to plead guilty

A Sri Lankan LTTE financier in Canada is expected to plead guilty next week in a Canadian court and will then be sentenced, the Canadian media reported. The Sri Lankan man, who is the first man charged under Canada’s anti-terrorism financing law, is expected to plead guilty next Tuesday, the Vancouver sun reported. Prapaharan Thambithurai’s trial was supposed to begin in B.C. Supreme Court yesterday, but Crown prosecutor Martha Devlin said a plea bargain has been struck. And she asked Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie to put the matter over until Tuesday, May 11 for a formal plea entry and sentencing. Thambithurai, accused of fundraising for the banned terrorist Tamil Tigers, was not in court today but his lawyer, Kathleen Bradley, confirmed that he will be present next Tuesday for the anticipated plea. The 46-year-old Ontario man once headed a Vancouver non-profit, which the Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleged was a front for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Canada considers the LTTE a foreign terrorist organization.     www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/3564-canadian-tiger-to-plead-guilty.html