A Quebec woman pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of participating in activities of terrorist group, ISIS.
Oumaima Chouay, 29, left Canada for Syria to join ISIS, knowing that she would have to marry an ISIS fighter and raise children according to ISIS doctrine, according to an agreed statement of facts. Quebec’s Superior Court has ruled out any suspicion of having directly participated in terrorist activities.
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Chouay was sentenced to one day of incarceration, in addition to the 110 days she spent in pre-trial detention, along with a three-year probation order and various conditions. Chouay also must avoid any direct or indirect contact with individuals or groups linked to extremism and must continue to participate in therapy that promotes depolarization.
She was arrested by the Mounties after landing at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport in 2022.
“The recommended sentence takes into account the early and ongoing actions of Chouay to show remorse, take responsibility, commit to deep change, and reject extremist ideology,” said George Dolhai, Director of Quebec’s Criminal and Penal Prosecutions. “These actions have been independently demonstrated and evaluated. This meets the primary goal of protecting the community.”
Chouay is the first person to be convicted of providing family-related support to a terrorist group as a wife, according to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).
Chouay had been placed in pre-trial detention and underwent strict bail conditions since Jan. 2023. She also already began depolarization sessions. Experts in psychiatry and psychology specializing in terrorism have assessed Chouay after undergoing some depolarization sessions and have concluded that she shows low risk in recidivism and any significant risk to Canadian society. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team have also stated that they agree on the assessment.
The RCMP said in a statement that Chouay had been under investigation by the police force’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team since Nov. 2014.
In Nov. 2017, the RCMP says, Chouay was taken prisoner by the Syrian Democratic Forces and held at the Roj Camp until her return to Canada, along with her two children who were born while she was overseas.
