An RCMP officer said on Wednesday convicted Toronto terrorist Rehab Dughmosh continues to express solidarity with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and might commit another terrorist attack if she is let out now. The Toronto Star reported Friday the Crown was in court requesting Dughmosh enter into a terrorism peace bond because of the RCMP’s concerns. RCMP officer Kevin Marques said Dughmosh told her parole officer if she was not sent back to Syria, she will commit another terrorist attack. She was convicted by a jury in 2019 of terrorism charges for leaving Canada to attempt to join ISIS in Syria in 2016 and attacking a Canadian Tire in 2017. Dughmosh was sentenced to seven years in prison, with the judge noting mental illness played a significant role in her criminal activity. She had about four-and-a-half years left to serve after credit for pre-trial custody. Her sentence was completed in July, but she is back in jail after refusing to sign the paperwork for her release on bail pending the court’s decision on the peace bond. “The record demonstrates that there is a reasonable basis to fear that Ms. Dughmosh may commit an offence,” said Crown attorney Xenia Proestos. “Ms. Dughmosh has demonstrated a persistent use of violence or threats of violence based on her ideology over a prolonged period of time.”She watched the hearing from the prisoner’s box with the assistance of an Arabic interpreter. The hearing will continue at a later date after the Crown proposes conditions for the peace bond. Should Ontario Court of Justice Justice Edward Kelly order one, it remains to be seen if she will sign. If she does not, Kelly could send her to jail for one year. While serving her prison sentence, Marques said she “continued to state her belief and solidarity to ISIS, threatened to kill and maim inmates and stated her need to fulfill her contract with ISIS.” Marques said she threatened to kill lesbians, people who had committed offences against children, herself and her children. An ISIS flag and drawings of it were found in her cell. Since she refused to be treated for schizophrenia, Marques acknowledged she had to be transferred to a psychiatric facility in Quebec and be medicated against her will. “Even during the treatment, she continued to believe in ISIS and continued to threaten staff, including stating that she wanted to take hostages and hurt someone and needed a handgun,” he said. On two occasions, she was denied early release from prison by the Parole Board of Canada. Once her sentence was completed in July, she stayed at an Airbnb with her brother, who had travelled from overseas to assist her in reintegration. After that, she stayed at a residence for women with mental health issues. The RCMP announced in July it arrested her to apply for the peace bond. She was soon released on bail, but she was rearrested one month later for failing to appear in court. When the Crown consented to her release on bail, Dughmosh refused to sign the paperwork and has been in jail ever since. “Ms. Dughmosh doesn’t believe in the Canadian judicial system and only believes in Sharia law,” said Marques. These peace bonds often last for one year, but a judge can order it for up to five years if the person has been convicted of a terrorism offence before like she was. If she violates the conditions, she could be charged and face jail time. They are rare to issue, as the Canadian government reported one person entered into them between 2020 and 2021. Her plan to join ISIS in 2016 failed after her brother notified the RCMP, which led to her being returned to Canada by Turkish authorities. She arrived at the Canadian Tire near her home in 2017, carrying a golf club and butcher’s knife. Canadian Tire employees were able to disarm her of the weapons, and no one suffered serious injuries. At the time of Dughmosh’s sentencing in 2019, Ontario Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell found her illness “does not absolve her of responsibility, but it was clearly a causal factor.”
