2 Canadian Women Arrested After Being Repatriated From Syrian Detention Camp for ISIS

Kimberly Gwen Polman, a Canadian national, poses for a portrait at camp Roj in Syria on April 3, 2019. Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo

Two Canadian women have been arrested after arriving in Montreal following their repatriation from a camp in Syria that detains ISIS terrorists and their families, according to media outlets.

Oumaima Chouay was arrested at the Montréal-Trudeau airport upon her arrival in Canada on the night of Oct. 25.

The RCMP said in a news release on Oct. 26 that the 27-year-old woman has been under investigation by the National Security Enforcement Team since 2014.

Chouay is facing four charges under the Criminal Code, including leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group, participation in the activity of a terrorist group and making property or services available for terrorist purposes.

She is scheduled to appear in a Montreal court today.

The second woman arrested is Kimberly Polman, who had been detained in al-Roj Syrian detention camp for the past three years. She was arrested by Kurdish fighters during a conflict with the ISIS terrorist group in 2019 over her alleged association with the group.

Polman had travelled to Syria in 2015 after she met and married an ISIS fighter online, according to a 2020 report by Human Rights Watch.

Her lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, told CBC News that Polman has been arrested under Section 810 of the Criminal Code and authorities are seeking a peace bond.

A peace bond is a court order used “where an individual (the defendant) appears likely to commit a criminal offence, but there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has actually been committed,” said the Department of Justice Canada on its website.

The order however requires the individual to agree to specific conditions to “keep the peace and be of good behaviour.”

Greenspon said Polman is currently on her way to Abbotsford, B.C., while in police custody.

Four Canadians Repatriated

Global Affairs Canada told The Epoch Times on Oct. 26 that four Canadians—two women and two children—have been repatriated from northeast Syria.

The department said the United States was involved, but no specifics were provided as to how Canada played a role in the repatriation.

“Canada cannot provide information about the individuals due to privacy considerations and cannot share details of the repatriation for operational security reasons,” said Global Affairs in an email.

The repatriation comes eight months after the United Nations issued a press release in February calling on Canada to “urgently” bring Polman home due to her “life threatening illnesses.”

Canada has been hesitant to repatriate adult citizens from the Syrian detention camps.

Public Safety’s website states that the threats posed by Canadian “extremist travellers”—those individuals suspected of travelling abroad to engage in extremist activity—present difficult challenges to both Canada and its allies.