Canada and U.S. list Samidoun as terrorist group, U.S. adds Canadian to terror list

OTTAWA — Canada listed the pro-Palestinian group Samidoun as a terrorist entity Tuesday, a week after Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc asked national security advisers for an expedited review of the organization.

The move was announced alongside decisions by the United States to add both Samidoun and a Canadian citizen affiliated with the group to its counterterrorism list.

Samidoun is also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, and Ottawa says it “has close links with and advances the interests of” another group that Canada already lists as a terrorist entity, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

LeBlanc said Tuesday that Samidoun had been listed under the Criminal Code, banning people from donating or providing property to the group.

In a regulatory notice, Ottawa said Samidoun’s property “can be the subject of seizure/restraint and/or forfeiture” while banks must bar access to funds.

The U.S. designations come under an executive order that allows the government to block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that have committed acts of terrorism or pose a significant risk of doing so.

The U.S. Treasury Department also listed Canadian citizen Khaled Barakat as an affiliate of a terrorist group, saying he is part of the Popular Front’s leadership and fundraising.

In statements, the U.S. departments of Treasury and State both refer to Samidoun as a “sham charity” that serves only as a fundraiser for the Popular Front.

American officials list Samidoun as being headquartered in Vancouver, and they say the group is masquerading as a humanitarian support charity that actually supports terrorism against Israel.

Samidoun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jewish groups praised the move Tuesday, with B’nai Brith calling it “a decisive blow against the forces of hate and extremism.”

Last week, Vancouver police launched a criminal investigation into a rally Samidoun organized that the force said included speakers who expressed “solidarity with terrorist groups.”

The Oct. 7 demonstration marked the anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, and included a masked speaker who told the crowd “we are Hezbollah and we are Hamas.” She also led cries of “death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel.”

Canada for decades has listed both Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist entities.

Samidoun director Charlotte Kates was also arrested by Vancouver police last year in a hate crime investigation, then released on an undertaking to appear in court. Kates was previously arrested after praising the Oct. 7 attack as “heroic and brave” in a speech at a rally.

Samidoun’s website says Kates and Barakat are married.

The Conservatives called last week for Samidoun to be listed as a terrorist entity, noting its ties to the Popular Front as well as calls at its rallies for the destruction of Israel.

The Liberals responded that officials need to review any terrorist listing, but say they had flagged Samidoun as requiring “an urgent review” by officials while accusing the organization of spreading hate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press