A Toronto-area woman facing terrorism charges in an alleged attack at a Canadian Tire store has been deemed fit to stand trial after undergoing a mental health assessment.
Justice Kimberley Crosbie initially ordered the assessment for 32-year-old Rehab Dughmosh after her behaviour at a court appearance in early July. Dughmosh referred to multiple people in the courtroom as “infidels” and declined to answer questions from the judge.
Dughmosh refused to leave her cell to attend a multitude of past court appearances after she claimed she had said all she needed to in court already. She also pledged her allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group during a previous court appearance.
READ MORE: Mental health assessment ordered for Toronto woman accused of attack at Canadian Tire
“Over the last week, she’s been examined by a forensic psychiatrist at the Ontario Shores Centre in Whitby and the psychiatrist found that she is currently fit to stand trial,” Bradley Reitz, a lawyer with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, told reporters Wednesday morning.
“She understands the process and the consequences of a conviction … and the roles of the various players in the criminal justice system.”
Police allege Dughmosh swung a golf club at Canadian Tire employees and a customer on June 3 and threatened them.
READ MORE: ‘I meant to harm those people’: Toronto woman who pledged allegiance to ISIS appears in court
They said she then pulled a large knife from under her clothes but store staff pried it out of her hands and restrained her.
A source confirmed to Global News in June the woman was reportedly wearing a niqab and a bandana adorned with what appeared to be a symbol for IS at the time of the alleged incident.
Dughmosh faces a total of 21 charges, including attempted murder of at least three people for the benefit of or in association with a terrorist group.
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She is also charged with leaving Canada for the purpose of committing a crime, an incident that is alleged to have taken place in April of last year.
Reitz said the next step in the case would be a judicial pretrial hearing set to occur on Sept. 20. Correctional staff have been ordered to ensure Dughmosh will be in attendance.
With files from The Canadian Press and Adam Miller
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