Four things to know about Vancouver-based terror group Samidoun

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On Tuesday, the Canadian and United States governments ruled that Vancouver-based organization Samidoun was a terrorist group.

“The listing of Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate this type of activity, and will do everything in its power to counter the continuing threat to Canada’s national security and all people in Canada,” said Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc in a news release.

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Here are some things to know about the locally-grown pro-Palestine organization:

What is the group?

Its full name is Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Samidoun is a registered not-for-profit organization in Canada but as of Tuesday morning its registration page on the government of Canada website noted that it is now designated a terrorist organization.

The organization has a registered address on the 1800-block of East 1st Avenue in Vancouver and three directors: Charlotte Lynn Kates of Vancouver, Dave Diewert of Surrey and Thomas Gerhard Hofland of Amstelveen, Netherlands.

It was founded in 2011 following a hunger strike in Israeli prisons organized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Samidoun has been a prominent organizer of protests in Canada and Europe since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel.

Why has Canada declared it a terrorist group?

The government claims Samidoun is a “sham charity” that is actually an international fundraiser for the PFLP.

The PFLP has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of State since Oct. 1997. Canada has listed PFLP as a terrorist organization since November 2003.

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Israel declared Samidoun a terror group in 2021. Germany has also banned Samidoun. On Oct. 10, the Dutch parliament voted 100 to 50 to designate Samidoun as a terrorist organization.

What does it mean for the organization?

In Canada, the Criminal Code prohibits providing financial services, money or property to a designated terrorist group.

Carleton University counterterrorism expert Jessica Davis says any bank accounts that Samidoun has, or that organizers have, will be frozen and probably closed.

Davis said it’s likely that the designation will make it challenging for Samidoun’s leadership to travel internationally.

What is the Vancouver angle?

While Samidoun has been in the crosshairs of various governments over the past five years, its actions in Vancouver have triggered Canada’s stern response to the group.

Last week, at a Vancouver rally organized by Samidoun on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks, attendees chanted “death to Canada.” Samidoun later said that “we at Samidoun stand by this phrase as the call to action that it is” in a statement posted to Instagram through an affiliate. Samidoun’s own Instagram account has been shut down by Meta.

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At the Oct. 7 event, five masked protesters set a Canadian flag on fire. An unidentified woman chanted “We are Hezbollah and we are Hamas.”

This came six months after Kates was arrested by Vancouver police at a Vancouver Art Gallery protest when she praised the action of Hamas fighters, calling them brave and heroic.

Kates — a Canadian citizen — was released on the condition she no longer attended rallies, but was free to travel to Iran in August.

She is married to Khaled Barakat, who is considered to be a terrorist in the U.S. and a part of the leadership of the PFLP.

On Tuesday, Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said that, in June, police recommended Kates be charged in relation to her arrest in April.

“We are awaiting a decision on charge approval from the B.C. Prosecution Service,” Addison said.

With files from National Post

dcarrigg@postmedia.com

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