An Alberta judge has ordered two Edmonton women captured in Syria during the defeat of the Islamic State to take part in a deradicalization program.
At a court appearance on Friday, Helena Carson and Dina Kalouti were told they must undergo counselling with the Organization for the Prevention of Violence.
Justice Suzanne Polkosnik approved an RCMP request to impose six-month terrorism peace bonds on the sisters-in-law, who acknowledged living in ISIS territory for four years.
“We’re happy with the court’s decision today and we believe that it shows that my clients are absolutely no concern to the Canadian public, as they’ve maintained all along,” their lawyer Zachary Al-Khatib said outside the Edmonton courthouse.
He declined to answer questions about why they went to Syria.
Asked what was next for the women, he said they would “follow the court’s conditions and assure reasonable members of the public that they are productive members of society.”
Carson, 35, and Kalouti, 43, were among thousands of foreign nationals who flocked to the so-called Islamic State a decade ago despite the terror group’s record of atrocities.
When ISIS collapsed in 2019, they were captured by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters near Al Baghouz, where the extremist group made its last stand.
The Canadian government initially declined to help the women but in July 2023, federal officials secured their release from a detention camp in northeast Syria and flew them back to Alberta.
Although arrested by the RCMP upon their return, they were not charged with terrorism offences stemming from their alleged involvement with ISIS.
Instead, Crown prosecutors asked the Alberta court for terrorism peace bonds that impose restrictions on suspects who “may” commit a terrorism offence.
ISIS resurgence
The case comes amid what the Canadian Security Intelligence Service calls a “concerning increase” in extremist rhetoric and activities.
Terrorism arrests have spiked in Canada over the past two years, mainly due to a resurgence in the popularity of ISIS among youths.
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Since last summer, the RCMP has stopped two ISIS-related attacks, as well as bomb plots in Calgary and Ottawa in 2023.
At the same time, women who were part of ISIS have been returning to Canada from Syria with the help of the federal government.
It is illegal to leave Canada to join a terrorist group, but most have not been charged but have rather been placed on peace bonds that restrict their activities.
Of the nine ISIS women who have returned, only three face charges so far: Montreal’s Oumaima Chouay, Ontario resident Ammara Amjad and Kimberly Polman of B.C.
Five other women were placed on peace bonds, while a sixth was not arrested upon her return. Canada also brought 22 children to the country from the ISIS camps.
Entered ISIS territory in 2015
A Muslim convert, Carson left Canada in March 2014, while Kalouti left that September, according to the Crown.
According to an RCMP report, Carson arrived in ISIS-held Syria in March 2015 with her husband Yazan Kalouti.
They were allegedly travelling with their Edmonton neighbours, Aimee Vasconez and Ali Zaid Abdel-Jabbar, another married couple.
Vasconez has also now returned to Alberta. A 12-month peace bond was imposed on her last May. Her husband was killed while fighting with ISIS in Syria.
Yazan Kalouti’s whereabouts remain unknown. Global News has been unable to confirm he is detained in Syria. He is the brother of Dina Kalouti.
Since their repatriation from Syria, the women have been living under bail conditions for public safety reasons.
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