A Toronto-area woman accused of leaving Canada in 2019 to join the so-called Islamic State was ordered released on bail Wednesday, seven months after she was arrested by the RCMP.
Haleema Mustafa, 23, has been in custody since her arrest last August, but following a hearing before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, a judge released her on several conditions.
Mustafa and her husband Ikar Mao have been charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group and leaving Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group.
Her lawyer, Faisal Mirza, declined to comment.
Mao was denied bail last June and remains in custody.
The couple allegedly left Toronto in June 2019 and were caught in southern Turkey, about an hour from the Syrian border.
They were detained and returned to Canada separately that October.
The RCMP arrested Mao in Guelph, Ont., on Dec. 6, 2019.
Mustafa was arrested on Aug. 27, 2020.
“These charges stem from RCMP allegations that Ikar Mao travelled to Turkey to join the terrorist group ISIS in June 2019,” the RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) said in a news release at the time of Mustafa’s arrest.
“At the time of Ikar Mao’s travel to Turkey, RCMP INSET believe he was accompanied by his wife, Haleema Mustafa.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca