Djermane, Jamali agree to peace bond
Young couple acquitted on charges they were planning to join ISIL in Syria
The young couple acquitted in December on charges alleging they were preparing to leave Canada to join ISIL in Syria agreed on Friday to sign a peace bond acknowledging Canadian authorities have reasonable grounds to suspect they might carry out a terrorist act.
Sabrine Djermane and El Mahdi Jamali, both 21, appeared before Quebec Court Judge Sylvie Durand at the Montreal courthouse and agreed to follow a series of conditions for a period of 12 months. Some of the conditions are similar to those imposed on anyone released on bail when charged with a crime, including that they “keep the peace” and “be of good behaviour.”
But both are also not allowed to leave Canada and they are not allowed to request a passport from any country. During their trial last year, it was revealed that Djermane tried to obtain an Algerian passport when she realized she was being investigated by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET). The special squad believed the pair were about to leave for Syria. After they were arrested, investigators found the instructions for a pressure cooker bomb inside a condo Djermane had just moved into.
In December, the couple were acquitted, by a jury, on three charges: knowingly participating in or contributing to, directly or indirectly, any activity of a terrorist group for the purpose of enhancing the ability of any terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity; possessing explosive substances with the intention to put lives in danger or cause serious damage to property; and committing a criminal act for the profit of, or under the direction of, a terrorist group by being in possession of an explosive substance. Jamali was convicted of possession of an explosive substance without lawful excuse and was sentenced to the time he had served awaiting the outcome of his case.
The couple are also not allowed to be at the Centre Communautaire islamique de l’est, which is also known as the Mosquée Assahaba and is run by Adil Charkaoui, a controversial imam and an antiIslamophobia activist.
Djermane and Jamali are also not allowed to “consult or attempt to access or consult material that promotes terrorism, whatever the platform, or any material that promotes violence or that promotes extremist or radical ideas for political, religious, or ideological goals, except for the purposes of college or university studies.”
They are also not allowed to communicate with two witnesses who testified during their trial and “all people in Syria and all people who have a link to a terrorist group as defined by the Criminal Code.” Another condition prohibits the couple from possessing any weapons, but an exception was made for Jamali because he works in a restaurant and handles knives.
After the hearing, defence lawyer Charles Benmouyal told reporters that by agreeing to sign the peace bond, his client, Djermane, was avoiding the equivalent of a small trial during which hearsay would have been admissible as evidence.
Benmouyal explained that in a peace bond hearing the onus on the prosecution is reduced as it only has to prove “the existence of a possibility” that a person might carry out a terrorist act. In a regular trial the prosecution has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a crime was committed.