A 38-year-old man from Ontario, facing a rare charge under Canada’s state secrets law for leaking sensitive information to a foreign entity or terrorist group, has been deemed not criminally responsible. The individual, identified as James Alexander Mousaly, who was employed by the provincial electricity producer Ontario Power Generation, uploaded a YouTube video disclosing vulnerabilities in nuclear power plants along with instructions on causing damage.
The court in Oshawa, Ont., ruled that James Alexander Mousaly, who was suffering from bipolar disorder and psychosis at the time of the incident, was not in a state to be held criminally responsible. According to Ontario Superior Court Justice Jill Cameron, Mousaly’s delusions included beliefs of being a prophet and a whistleblower concerning workplace safety.
The video was live for less than a day before being removed by family members, and there is no evidence that it reached a large audience. Transcripts of the audio from the livestream revealed anti-nuclear industry sentiments and an offer to assist in attacking nuclear power stations.
An expert from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission confirmed that the video disclosed at least one vulnerability of a Canadian nuclear power plant classified as secret, which could aid in optimizing an attack on a nuclear facility. The employer, Ontario Power Generation, expressed concerns that the information shared in the video could be utilized by adversaries to target nuclear power plants.
While the specific vulnerability remains undisclosed due to sensitive information being under seal by the court, Mousaly, who had been working as a nuclear operator since 2015, had his site credentials revoked a month before the incident. Following the trial, the federal government has removed certain details about Mousaly from one of its websites.
Mousaly’s lawyer stated that his client’s intention was not to cause harm to the nuclear plant but to prompt authorities to shut down nuclear power sources for public safety. The court ordered Mousaly to be held in custody until a space becomes available at a specialized provincial mental-health facility, where a mental-health review board will decide on his continued detention.
The charge against Mousaly falls under Section 16(1) of Canada’s Security of Information Act, now known as the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act. This section criminalizes the communication of information to foreign entities or terrorist groups that could potentially harm Canadian interests.
This case is only the third instance where charges under this act have been concluded in court, with previous cases involving convictions of individuals for similar offenses.
