Friend of terror suspect testifies
Woman in terror case showed growing interest in what was happening in Syria
Sabrine Djermane was deeply curious about what ISIL was doing in Syria before she and her boyfriend, El Mahdi Jamali, were arrested on terror-related charges, a jury was told on Wednesday.
One of Djermane’s friends was called as a witness with the trial in its seventh week at the Montreal courthouse. Superior Court Justice Marc David placed a publication ban on the young woman’s name before she began to testify. The couple were arrested in April 2015.
The friend described three events that occurred in the weeks before the couple were arrested that signalled to her that Djermane’s interest in what was going on in Syria had grown significantly. At the time, both women were students at Collège de Maisonneuve, where some were preoccupied with how fellow students had recently left Canada and were believed to have made efforts to join ISIL.
The first event, the witness said, was when she and Djermane decided to attend a conference, held at Université du Québec à Montréal, on Muslims and their place in communities where they live. She described it as a lecture on “being a good Muslim.”
The witness said that, following the conference, she and Djermane had a long conversation about what was happening in Syria. She said both agreed they were opposed to the atrocities ISIL was carrying out in Syria, but that Djermane told her she wanted to explore the issue in great detail to learn why the terrorist group was there in the first place.
“To me, it was not part of my religion,” the witness said, adding she also felt distant from the issue because it was happening in a country far from Canada.
“I felt we shouldn’t go too far into it,” the witness said. “(Djermane) said it was OK to not agree with what was happening, but that a person should seek answers.”
Djermane’s intense interest in the issue bothered the young woman and she said she asked Djermane if her boyfriend, Jamali, was adding fuel to that interest.
“Did that cause a chill between you two,” asked Charles Benmouyal, Djermane’s lawyer.
“Yes,” the woman said, going on to describe the second event — a long conversation they had during a lunch break at school — as very awkward because Djermane was still deeply interested in ISIL.
The third event involved how Djermane’s family briefly lost contact with her. The witness said two of Djermane’s older sisters paid her a visit while looking for Djermane after she had failed to come home one night, something that was very much out of character. The witness also said it appeared to her that Djermane’s family was very concerned that the couple were eager to marry.
“I think her parents wanted her to wait, at least until she finished college,” she said.
The next witness called was Mélanie Boudreau, who owned a condominium the couple decided to rent on Aird Ave., beginning on April 1, 2015. Boudreau said she was eager to rent it because the dwelling had been empty for roughly four months before the couple showed interest. However, Boudreau said, she denied Djermane and Jamali’s first request to rent the place for only three months. The jury has been told the couple had plans to leave Canada on May 1, 2015.
The accused have pleaded not guilty to the four charges they face: attempting to leave Canada with the goal of committing a crime in another country, being in possession of an explosive substance, facilitating a terrorist activity and committing a criminal act for the benefit or under the direction of a terrorist group by having an explosive substance under their control.