Call for co-operation in wake of airport arrests

Arrest of 10 young people in Montreal raises concern

MONTREAL— A top Islamic leader in Montreal says closer co-operation between police and the Muslim community is needed after the arrests of 10 young people alleged to be planning to join the ranks of the Islamic State terrorist group.

The wave of arrests Friday brings to more than 20 the number of individuals who have either mysteriously left Canada, been arrested or been charged with terrorism offences in this city since the first of the year.

“We have concerns, yes, but no ideas about what is happening. When we see all these claims and no facts, it makes us very much concerned,” said imam Salam Elmenyawi, Muslim Council of Montreal president.

Little is known about the 10 young people arrested last week. The RCMP says the individuals were picked up at the Montreal airport and suspected of trying to travel abroad to join “jihadist groups.” No charges have been laid, but the investigations are ongoing and authorities have seized their passports.

Const. Érique Gasse, a spokesman for the RCMP in Quebec, would not comment on the ages of the young people.

Four of those arrested were enrolled at Collège de Maisonneuve, the Montreal junior college said in a statement. That brings to11the number of students from the school who have either been charged with terrorism offences or alleged to have travelled abroad with the intention of joining a terrorist organization.

Quebec’s public safety minister, Lise Theriault, said the arrests were triggered by a call from concerned parents who have responded to the instructions of federal, provincial and municipal governments struggling to respond to the flood of cases.

“We have given this message to parents because what’s important is to be able to alert the authorities to potential cases of radicalization and stop our young people from leaving the country for Syria and the Islamic State,” Theriault told the provincial legislature.

She has also promised legislation that will provide new resources and rules to help officials deal with the phenomenon of radicalization, which would be a first among Canadian provinces.

Recent headlines in Quebec give an impression of Montreal as the national capital of aspiring jihadists. Seven young people, including two girls, fled their homes in mid-January, apparently leaving behind messages that they were bound for Syria and the ranks of the Islamic State. Five of them were enrolled at Collège de Maisonneuve.

The Star reported just last week that one of them, Imad Rafai, had given the first sign of life on May 4 when he changed his Twitter profile to identify himself as a “soldier of the caliphate.”

In February, the RCMP sought peace bonds against two Montreal men, Merouane Ghalmi and Daniel Minta Darko. The bonds limit their movements with an electronic ankle bracelet and prohibit them from communicating on social media with individuals in Syria.

In mid-April, the RCMP arrested El Mahdi Jamali and his girlfriend, Sabrine Djermane, and charged them with possession of explosive material as well as planning to leave the country to join a foreign terrorist group. The couple, both 18 and enrolled at Collège de Maisonneuve, have pled not guilty.

The Mounties won’t say whether there is a more-active community of aspiring jihadists in Quebec or perhaps just a police force less willing to give the benefit of the doubt to individuals identified as national security risks.

“We are watching with all this fear in our hearts,” Elmenyawi said. “If it is real it is a concern for us but if it is the police being more aggressive and taking flimsy evidence and depriving people of their constitutional rights without justification, that would also be a very serious concern.”