A Montreal woman captured in Syria has been refused government assistance returning to Canada because of the security threat she poses, a lawyer said Monday.
Lawrence Greenspon said Global Affairs Canada had advised him that, based on security assessments, the woman did not quality for government assistance.
The mother of six, whom he identified only as Ms. J, is one of three Canadian women still detained at camps for foreigners taken prisoner during the fight against ISIS.
While the federal government is preparing to bring two Edmonton women out of the camps, Ms. J did not qualify for “extraordinary assistance” under the government’s policy on ISIS detainees, he said.
Toronto woman who married ISIS fighter and returned to Canada April 6 without being arrested.
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She “is assessed to adhere to extremist ideological beliefs which may lead her to act in a violent manner that would pose a security threat in Canada, and the government has no ability to ensure that no such conduct occurs,” Greenspon said, reading from the government’s decision.
Greenspon disagreed, saying the government could bring charges against her or seek a terrorism peace bond from the courts to reduce any risks.
“It is completely untrue,” he said of the government claim the risk she posed was unmanageable.
She must now decide whether to allow her children to travel to Canada without her, or to keep the family united in a prison camp, Greenspon said.
Global Affairs Canada has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Canadian diplomats and local authorities in northeast Syria at handover of four Canadian women on April 5, 2023.
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Seven Canadian women have so far returned home from the detention camps. Only one has been charged, while five were arrested on terrorism peace bonds.
Peace bonds impose restrictions on suspects, such as ankle monitors and internet bans. They are intended to lessen the risks they pose and protect public safety.
Four Canadian men are also still in custody in Syria, including self-admitted ISIS sniper Muhammad Ali, a former resident of Mississauga, Ont.
The Federal Court ordered the government to repatriate the men, but officials appealed and the decision was overturned.
The Kurdish-led administration that controls northeast Syria intends to put the roughly 4,000 foreign ISIS members in its custody on trial.
“They will be public trials — monitors, observers, experts, lawyers, will be welcome to these trials,” the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said.
“These will be fair trials.”
Kimberly Polman, who was married to an ISIS fighter, returned to Canada last October after being held at a prison camp in Syria. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck.
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The Canadian Security Intelligence Service warned in its most recent annual report about the long-term threat posed by what it called CETs, or Canadian Extremist Travellers.
“Although CET returnees may not immediately or directly engage in extremist violence, they still pose a national security risk,” the report said.
“In time, CETs may engage in extremist activities such as fundraising, maintenance of domestic and international networks, radicalization and/or recruitment.”
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