MONTREAL (JTA) — A Montreal resident will serve a total of five years in prison for firebombing two local Jewish institutions.
The judge sentenced Omar Bulphred, 23, to seven years in prison, but gave him 44 months’ credit for the 22 months he has already served, so the sentence amounts to another 40 months — just over five years altogether.
Bulphred pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to lobbing a Molotov cocktail at the Skver-Toldos Orthodox Jewish Boys school in September 2006 and the Ben Weider Jewish Community Centre the following April. Damage was minimal in both cases.
The maximum sentence was 14 years.
"We’re very disappointed with the judgment of today," said Adam Atlas of the Canadian Jewish Congress. "We don’t feel it sends enough of a strong message to prevent acts like this from happening again."
Before he was sentenced, Bulphred apologized to the Jewish community.
"I don’t think this is someone who regrets what he did," Atlas told Canadian Press.
Evidence showed that Bulphred and a co-conspirator styled themselves as radical Muslim terrorists. Police say Bulphred researched bomb-making techniques.
The court heard that Bulphred, who was born in Algeria, wrote a letter claiming the crimes were committed in the name of Islamic Jihad. "Convert to Islam. It would be better for you Westerners," the letter added.
Azim Ibragimov, the co-conspirator, pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to four years in prison.
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