Canadians release  t e r r o r  s u s p e c t  on bail because "He has a
deep sense of community."

Ontario man charged in U.S. Tamil Tiger case released on bail
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 | 3:38 PM ET
CBC News
A Toronto man alleged to be the technical expert behind an alleged
conspiracy to help the Tamil Tigers buy weapons has been released on bail.

Piratheepan Nadarajah, who appeared in Ontario Superior Court on Tuesday, is
among seven Canadian men who were charged in the United States in the
alleged conspiracy to buy surface-to-air missiles and hundreds of AK-47
assault weapons.

Court documents allege the weapons were going to be used by the Tamil Tigers
in their escalating fight with the Sri Lankan military.

Justice Anne Molloy ruled that Nadarajah will be released on bail until his
extradition hearing.

The reasons for her decision cannot be disclosed because of a publication
ban covering the bail hearing.

Nadarajah's lawyer, David Berg, told CBC outside the court that his client
may simply have ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He has a deep sense of community. I don't mean community in the sense of
merely he's focused on the Tamil community. He just likes helping people.

"This may have put him in the position that he finds himself in here today,"
said Berg. "I suspect that it may just be as innocuous as that."

Turned away from U.S. border

According to U.S. court documents, Nadarajah is described by the co-accused
as a "scientist." The documents allege Nadarajah was responsible for the
"technical side" of the operation.

On Aug. 18, 2006, it's alleged, he and three of the Canadian co-accused
tried to drive across the border from Ontario to New York to buy the
weapons, but were stopped by a U.S. customs officer.

The officer questioned them about the purpose of their trip, to which they
replied they were going to Buffalo, N.Y., for a bachelor party.

When the customs official ran their names through a government database, he
apparently discovered that Nadajarah had a criminal record and turned him
away, the documents say.

The others continued across the border, while Nadajarah took a taxi cab back
home.

Nadarajah's lawyer told CBC that his client does not have a criminal record.

The seven Canadians who were arrested were among 12 people charged in a
joint investigation by Canadian and U.S. law enforcement agencies.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers, is a political and
military organization seeking an independent state for the minority ethnic
Tamil population within Sri Lanka.

The group was added to Canada's official list of terrorist organizations
this spring.