A B.C. Supreme Court judge heard sharply different views Thursday about what drove a 2023 terrorist attack aboard a Surrey bus, as lawyers made sentencing submissions for convicted attacker Abdul Aziz Kawam. Kawam was convicted last year of attempted murder and terrorism-related offences stemming from the April 2023 stabbing, which left a stranger with a life-threatening throat wound. The court has previously heard that before boarding the bus, Kawam approached another man, asked whether he was Muslim and attempted to attack him after he said no. Prosecutors say Kawam then boarded a Coast Mountain bus and targeted a stranger. The court also heard from the victim through a victim impact statement read by federal Crown prosecutor Sharon Steele. The victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, said the attack continues to affect him more than three years later. “Since the attack, I’ve been anxious. It’s slowly getting a bit better, but it’s always there,” the statement said. The victim told the court he missed a month of work because he was too afraid to take transit and spent weeks working up the courage to ride a bus again. Federal prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison sentence. The Crown argued the attack was motivated by support for ISIS, pointing to a 9-1-1 call made after the stabbing in which Kawam pledged allegiance to the leader of the terrorist group at the time. Prosecutors argued religious extremism, not mental illness, was the primary motivating factor behind the attack. The defence is seeking a seven-year sentence, citing Kawam’s history of mental illness, lack of a criminal record and traumatic childhood growing up in war-torn Lebanon. Defence lawyers also pointed to Kawam’s history of psychosis and schizophrenia, arguing those issues played a significant role in the attack. The court heard Kawam is not a Canadian citizen and faces deportation after serving his sentence. The judge’s sentencing decision will not be announced until October at the earliest.
