Couple in terror trial inspired by video ‘call’
Crown alleges Montreal pair answered Daesh propaganda before arrest in April 2015
MONTREAL— A Montreal couple on trial for terrorism was inspired by the call of Daesh propaganda featuring a Canadian fighter who urged Canadian Muslims to come to Syria or carry out attacks at home, a jury heard Wednesday.
Laying out the case against El Mahdi Jamali, 20, and Sabrine Djermane, 21, Crown prosecutor Lyne Decarie referenced the infamous video that was posted online in December 2014. In it, Ottawa native John Maguire spoke about the deadly terror attacks in Quebec and on Parliament Hill a few months prior and urged others to come to the so-called Islamic State or take up arms in Canada.
“The prosecution will show that Sabrine Djermane and El Mahdi Jamali responded to that call,” Decarie said in her opening statement for a trial that is slated to run for 10 weeks.
Despite its length, she said the case is, in fact, quite simple.
“The Islamic State, a couple of young people who wanted to leave for Syria and a recipe with the ingredients for a bomb.
“That is the case summed up in one phrase,” she said.
The couple are facing four charges, including trying to leave the country to join a terrorist group and possession of an explosive substance.
Jamali and Djermane were arrested on the evening of April 14, 2015, several days after the RCMP’s national security agency in Montreal received a worried call about the couple from Djermane’s older sister, the court heard.
Among the items that police seized from the couple was a USB key with several nasheeds, or Islamic chants, that made reference to jihad and Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to Mouhanad Kanou, an RCMP officer who analyzed the contents of the USB key.
Decarie said that she will present evidence showing police seized receipts for two passports, a newly purchased suitcase and clothing and travel reservations made on April 9, 2015 for a May 2, 2015 trip.
But the more troubling evidence, she said, is a binder found on the bedside of the couple’s Montreal condo unit that contained a twopage recipe for a bomb. Experts will testify in the case that it was written by Jamali and copied directly from Al Qaeda’s propaganda magazine, Inspire.
Decarie said that police also seized a bag at the home of Jamali’s parents that contained some of the ingredients necessary to build the bomb and a receipt for the items from a Dollarama store.
Further investigation of computers and telephones that were seized during the investigation allowed police to determine the couple’s online activity, including the photos and videos they had access to and their respective Facebook accounts, including their communications, messages and posts, Decarie said.
One of the factors that prompted the initial complaint about the couple to the RCMP was Jamali’s Facebook account, which showed the black flag of Daesh, said the force’s principal investigator on the case, Keven Rouleau.
Rouleau was the first witness to testify in the trial, which will be decided by a12-member jury. In morning testimony, he said he got word about the couple at about 5 p.m. on April 10, 2015.
He met first with the complainant, who has not yet been identified, for about 30 minutes that evening. From there, he went directly to meet Djermane at the couple’s apartment.