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One of the ringleaders of the thwarted Toronto 18 terror plot has been granted full parole after the Parole Board of Canada found he no longer showed “any signs of holding onto extremist beliefs or radical ideologies.” Zakaria Amara, who helped recruit members for a group that aimed to storm Parliament Hill and bomb several locations around Toronto, has been on day parole with multiple conditions for four years, and the board upgraded his release after reviewing his case last week. In a written decision issued Friday, the two-member panel says Amara, 41, undertook a process to deradicalize while incarcerated and has used his day parole “for its intended rehabilitative purpose,” demonstrating “positive change, both in attitude and in behaviour.”It says he was closely supervised while on day parole and his internet use, friendships and relationships were monitored, with no reported safety concerns or breaches. Story continues below advertisement

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Published: October 16, 2026 at 3:45p.m. EDTOne of the ringleaders of the thwarted Toronto 18 terror plot has been granted full parole after the Parole Board of Canada found he no longer showed “any signs of holding onto extremist beliefs or radical ideologies.”Zakaria Amara, who helped recruit members for a group that aimed to storm Parliament Hill and bomb several locations around Toronto, has been on day parole with multiple conditions for four years, and the board upgraded his release after reviewing his case last week. In a written decision issued Friday, the two-member panel says Amara, 41, undertook a process to deradicalize while incarcerated and has used his day parole “for its intended rehabilitative purpose,” demonstrating “positive change, both in attitude and in behaviour.”It says he was closely supervised while on day parole and his internet use, friendships and relationships were monitored, with no reported safety concerns or breaches.