Last Tuesday, attendees in a Montreal courtroom heard what seemed like a fantastical story from an admitted arsonist and his lawyer. Twenty-one-year-old Mohamed Ilyes Akodad was in court to be sentenced; he had already pleaded guilty to firebombing a synagogue and Jewish community centre. Yet he insisted to the judge that he had no idea the buildings were Jewish. Instead, Akodad and his lawyer Nazar Saaty claimed he was simply carrying out a paid “three barbecues” contract on unknown locations, arranged through Signal and FaceTime. Akodad told the court that the job came after he attended a party with a friend he refused to name at a place he claimed he could not remember due to stress and drug use.
Details of the Attack
In the early morning of Dec. 18, 2024, only two weeks before turning 19, Akodad used a hammer to smash the windows of the Federation CJA’s West Island offices in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of Montreal. He then ventured across the street to set fire to Beth Tikvah synagogue, which is directly next to a Jewish day school that children were to attend later that morning. He was arrested on April 9, 2025, roughly four months after the attack. He sought release at his first bail hearing on May 1, 2025, but was denied and has remained in custody since.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
In January, Akodad pleaded guilty to three of the six arson-related offences for which he was charged, as well as to intentionally or recklessly causing damage by fire or explosion to property, mischief with respect to property with a value exceeding $5,000, and arson by negligence. The maximum sentences for these offences, respectively, are 14, 10 and 15 years.
However, reporters were told after last week’s hearing by Crown prosecutor Christopher Hadjis-Chartrand that the Crown is seeking a two-year prison sentence while Akodad’s lawyer recommended a sentence of nine to 12 months under the conditions that Akodad enter therapy, perform community work and apologize to the community. We will not know what Akodad will receive until court reconvenes on Sept. 10, but given the amount of time he’s already served, Akodad could potentially be released that day.
Community Concerns
This is shocking, given the drug-induced, memory-loss-afflicted, “hired for three barbecues” story that Akodad and his lawyer told the court for the first time, as it was devoid of important details and particulars about where Akodad was supposedly hired and by whom. The Crown prosecutor told the court that Akodad could be released soon, a possibility which raises serious questions about the justice system’s ability to protect Jewish communities.
From the benches, around a dozen members of the Jewish community listened to the story of Akodad’s difficult childhood, low self-esteem and drug problems. Akodad also complained about the “difficult conditions” he’d experienced in his pre-trial detention since being arrested, including limited family visits and being placed with gang members. Akodad has also been convicted of car thefts. During this, his mother wept. His father, Fouad Akodad, later testified in support of his son, giving him a loving but stern berating with dramatics fit for a court sitcom.
