More to this story than it appears? I wonder why no details are allowed to be published. Think he will be charged with a hate crime for accusing three ‘black men’? H/T Gates Of Vienna:

From The Varsity:

U of T student accused of faking his own kidnapping

Can attend classes this fall after family pays $20,000 bail

After a three-day search, U of T student Furqan Muhammad-Haroon has surfaced in St. Catharines and been charged with public mischief for faking his own abduction. Yesterday, the 22-year-old stared at his shoes in the prisoner box and avoided his parents’ gaze as Crown attorney Paul Amenta described in the accusations against him. He was released on strict conditions and $20,000 bail. Evidence and proceedings other than bail fall under a publication ban and cannot be reported.

On Saturday afternoon Muhammad-Haroon was carrying $2,000 en route to a Scarborough travel agent to pick up an airline ticket when he went missing. The electrical engineering student made a call from his car in the Midwest Road–Midland Avenue area at 3:28 p.m., saying three black men with a gun were following him. Police found his car shortly after, keys still in the ignition.

The family of the accused held an emotional press conference on Monday seeking the return of their son.

But when neither local surveillances tapes nor witnesses could confirm Muhammad-Haroon’s story, police stopped treating his as an abduction case.

After receiving an anonymous tip, Niagara Regional Police arrested Muhammad-Haroon without incident near a mosque in St. Catharines. Police questioned him and held him in a Scarborough jail overnight Tuesday. The plane ticket he was en route to buying when he went missing on Saturday was for a flight to Dubai, which posed a potential problem because he was facing unrelated criminal charges and not allowed to leave the province until his trial on Sept. 15.

He was recently fired from a summer internship with IBM Canada in Markham after security tapes showed him carrying a recycling bin filled with computer equipment on Aug. 7. Six days later, Muhammad-Haroon was arrested and was charged with theft under $5,000. IBM did not reply to emails asking if the internship was connected to a U of T program.

Muhammad-Haroon held his parents’ hands tightly on Wednesday as they fled the courthouse silently through a swarm of cameramen. “The family is very relieved that he has been found safe,” said Shahzad Siddiqui, the lawyer speaking for the family. Siddiqui said the family will thank police privately and noted that a criminal lawyer will be Muhammad-Haroon’s legal counsel.

Yesterday, the family agreed to pay $20,000 upfront and assist in placing him under house arrest. He is allowed to leave home only if accompanied by his mother or a brother and only to finish his last year of classes, or visit his lawyer or doctor.

Prior to his being found, Facebook groups publicizing his abduction offered prayers for his family. Now the sites include both messages of joy and harsh insults.

Muhammad-Haroon served as one of three elected Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering representatives to UTSU in 2007-2008 after campaigning on the Your Team slate.

Muhammad-Haroon is to reappear at the same Eglinton East courthouse on Sept. 29. If convicted, his sentence could carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

al;”>Engineering student Furqan Muhammad-Haroon holds his parents’ hands as they flee the courthouse through a media scrum on Wednesday. The 22-year-old and his family have remained silent since police found him in St. Catharines on Tuesday evening. DYLAN ROBERTSON