Kurdish authorities are detaining a handful of Canadian men and women who were caught in Syria and are accused of belonging to ISIS.īut despite mounting pressures to bring them back to Canada to stand trial, Canadian authorities have not yet filed charges against any of them.ĭocuments released to Global News under the Access to Information Act underscore the challenges of prosecuting so-called Canadian Extremist Travellers. “The threat of extremist travellers is significant and presents difficult challenges to both Canada and our allies,” according to the Public Safety Canada website.įollowing the rise of ISIS, Canadian extremists began to make their way to the region to join the terrorist group. “Mao did this with the intention of making himself available to ISIS and/or for the benefit of ISIS.” “Mao undertook the trip to Turkey in July 2019 with the express purpose of crossing the border into Syria, and eventually moving to ISIS controlled territory,” according to an agreed statement of facts. Both had faced the same two terrorism charges after returning to Canada. The couple left Canada together in 2019 and were caught near the Syrian border. Send this page to someone via email emailĪn Ontario man admitted Monday he left Toronto with his wife almost two years ago to join the so-called Islamic State.Īt a court appearance in Brampton, Ont., Ikar Mao, 23, pleaded guilty to leaving Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group.īut federal prosecutors dropped a second count against Mao, and also said they would be staying charges against his wife Haleema Mustafa.

Join isis