A Montreal man is wanted by the RCMP for terrorism, but Canada won’t take him back - BERITAJA

Wassim Boughadou is wanted by the RCMP for terrorism. He insists he is “absolutely” consenting to alert location from Turkey to surrender to police.

But the Montreal-born 34-year-old claims he can’t because Global Affairs Canada won’t fto him.

“I americium successful a limbo,” he wrote successful a matter message, portion of a cache of documents obtained by BERITAJA that person gone unreported until now.

The RCMP and Global Affairs Canada would not remark connected Boughadou. His Ottawa lawyer besides declined to comment.

The case, however, is elaborate successful hundreds of pages of tribunal records that show really Ottawa is struggling to woody pinch Canadian citizens captured overseas during the Syrian conflict.

Canadians successful Syria, Iraq and Turkey person asked the courts to bid the authorities to repatriate them. Intelligence officials warn that immoderate of them are nationalist information threats.

The statement complete whether to bring them backmost aliases time off them overseas has near a increasing database of Canadians wanted for terrorism — but not truthful severely that the authorities has helped them travel home.

According to an entreaty Boughadou revenge successful the Federal Court, he was arrested successful Turkey successful 2017 and imprisoned for being a personnel of a violent organization.

He claims he was forced to motion a connection that said he was portion of the Islamic State, but denied he was successful the group, though he said his woman was.

Once he completed his condemnation successful March 2024, Turkey ordered his deportation and he bought a spot connected a formation from Istanbul to Montreal that was to get connected May 15 of that year.

On that aforesaid date, Quebec tribunal records show the RCMP nationalist information squad successful Montreal obtained a warrant for Boughadou’s apprehension connected the grounds that he mightiness perpetrate a violent offence.

Boughadou’s family notified the authorities about the formation booking, but Canadian embassy officials successful Ankara would not renew his expired passport.

Three much times successful 2025, he tried to alert home, but without a recreation document, he had to wantonness the trips, according to the files.

Canadian officials past denied his repatriation petition connected Nov. 6. 2025, saying Turkey was alleging he had escaped from detention and was a fugitive, which he denies.

“In the absence of a passport aliases recreation document, the applicant does not person support to committee an world flight,” his lawyer, Yavar Hameed, told the court.

If not for the government’s “obstruction and delay,” Boughadou would person been backmost successful Canada much than a twelvemonth ago, according to the lawyer.

The erstwhile Montreal machine programming student is not the only 1 fighting successful tribunal to get home, arsenic the authorities responds to those it calls Canadian Extremist Travellers (CETs).

The families of 4 Canadian men held successful Syria arsenic suspected ISIS members besides took the authorities to court, but a 2023 ruling said Ottawa had nary responsibility to repatriate them.

In January, the mother of a Canadian held successful Syria asked the Federal Court to bid the authorities to bring location her son, who was identified only arsenic S.S.

Iraqi officials said successful February that they were holding an undisclosed number of Canadians while they investigated their alleged engagement successful ISIS.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service addressed the business successful its May 1 yearly report, which referred to the “possible repatriation to Canada” of ISIS members held overseas.

“Absent of capable mitigation measures, CSIS assessed that immoderate of these CETs would apt airs nationalist information and nationalist information risks,” the study said.

The RCMP said successful a connection to BERITAJA that managing the dangers posed by returning extremists was 1 of its priorities.

“When the RCMP becomes alert of an individual’s return to Canada, we collaborate pinch a scope of authorities of Canada departments and agencies, arsenic good arsenic rule enforcement and organization partners, to measure and mitigate imaginable risks,” the constabulary unit said successful a statement.

Responses are guided by “robust” threat assessments and could see coercion charges aliases bid bonds that restrict the movements of suspects.

“The RCMP could besides prosecute pinch a returnee and their family to unfastened up dialogue, to thief support the individual’s disengagement from their extremist ideology.”

A Canadian of Algerian descent, Boughadou was allegedly portion of a group of Montreal youths who were seen engaging successful what appeared to beryllium military-style training astatine a Quebec shooting scope earlier leaving for the Middle East.

At the time, the civilian warfare successful Syria was becoming a magnet for extremists from about the world, and the Montreal group attracted constabulary attention.

“They were disenfranchised young group that sewage together, they radicalized,” erstwhile RCMP adjunct commissioner Ches Parsons said successful an interview.

Now retired from policing, Parsons was the RCMP’s head wide of nationalist information erstwhile Boughadou and his associates were connected the radar of counter-terrorism investigators.

He said the “Cote-des-Neiges crew,” named aft a Montreal neighbourhood, felt they weren’t accepted successful Canada, and “found their measurement overseas.”

Some went to Syria to subordinate equipped Islamist groups, but “when they get complete there, they find that warfare is not what they thought it would be,” said Parsons, a partner astatine Pearl Strategic Counsel.

Boughadou near Canada successful 2012. In an question and reply pinch La Presse, he said his departure was precipitated by the confiscation of his firearms by police, but denied supporting ISIS.

He claimed that arsenic a Muslim, he was not accepted successful Quebec, “especially if you person a governmental imagination of Islam that they don’t like.”

“If you want to spell and thief personification who is oppressed, you don’t person the right. When you are oppressed, you must take sides yourself,” he reportedly said.

“We must conflict to take sides Islam.”

“According to the Canadian government’s definition, yes, I’m a radical. I won’t lie,” he continued. “But successful my eyes, I’m not a radical. I’m not an extremist.”

Ismael Habib knew Boughadou because their wives were sisters. He said Boughadou warned him earlier leaving Canada that constabulary suspected them some of terrorism.

Concerned, Habib joined Boughabou successful Turkey and they crossed the separator into Syria, he said successful statements pursuing his arrest.

They stayed successful territory controlled by the Free Syrian Army, the Islamist group Ahrar Ash-Sham and a set of Chechens, Habib said.

Both bought AK-47s and were photographed “in combat gear, pinch Boughadou wearing a bulletproof vest and the accused sporting a agelong weapon astatine his waist,” according to the court.

In his testimony, Habib downplayed the travel to Syria, but the tribunal said he was not reliable and had gone location for “jihad,” spending 3 months pinch the equipped groups.

Habib was arrested aft crossing backmost into Turkey from Syria, apparently because Canada had cancelled his passport. He was deported to Canada and convicted of trying to subordinate ISIS.

In consequence to Habib’s statements, Boughadou said the courts had recovered he was not credible. He besides claimed La Presse had misquoted him.

Other news outlets, meanwhile, had reported “baseless” allegations about him, he said, and a video seized by constabulary during a hunt of his parents’ location had been mischaracterized.

The video, which shows him firing a military-style firearm while advancing connected foot, was portion of his matrimony ceremony successful Algeria, wherever specified behaviour is “Arab custom,” he said.

His look was masked successful the video, he claimed, because he has “an allergy to gunpowder.”

The materials precocious revenge successful tribunal besides show a caller type of events: that he went searching for his family and was “falsely” accused of going to Syria.

The relationship of Boughadou’s history was submitted to the tribunal successful the affidavit of an activistic who is helping him return to Canada.

According to the self-described societal justness advocator Matthew Behrens, Boughadou appointed him to enactment arsenic his typical pinch Global Affairs Canada.

The activistic claimed Boughadou besides asked him to relay his type of events to the tribunal because it would beryllium excessively “difficult and re-traumatizing” to do truthful himself.

According to the affidavit, Boughadou’s troubles began pinch his wife’s sister, whom he said “agitated for his family to spell to Syria and subordinate ISIS.”

“Boughadou rejected the thought and told maine he asked his woman to driblet interaction pinch her sister. She refused and was indoctrinated to the constituent that she ran distant pinch her sister to Syria.”

Looking for thief uncovering his woman and son, he went to the RCMP, but the officers alternatively tried to enlistee him to spy connected a Montreal imam who was “sending individuals to spell to Syria,” the affidavit said.

“Boughadou was told he would person money, protection and assistance getting his boy back” if he took the assignment, according to the affidavit.

But he refused and flew to Turkey, wherever he hired section women to hunt ISIS guesthouses successful Syria for his wife, the affidavit said.

They did not find her, the affidavit said, adding that Boughadou believes his wife’s scheme each on was to “lure” him to Syria, and that erstwhile he resisted, she began “encouraging ISIS to harm him.”

In March 2017, Boughadou was arrested successful Adana, Turkey. He was convicted by a Turkish tribunal successful 2018 of being a personnel of an “armed violent group.”

His entreaty to the Canadian tribunal alleges the condemnation was based connected a coerced confession, and said he was tortured until he signed a connection written successful Turkish.

“He believes the connection that he was forced to motion incorrectly conceded that he had joined ISIS successful an effort to rescue his son,” according to the activist’s affidavit.

While Boughadou was imprisoned successful Turkey, his Canadian passport expired. He applied to renew it successful 2023, successful anticipation of his upcoming release.

But successful matter messages revenge successful court, Canadian officials told Boughadou that moreover if he had a recreation document, he could not time off the state owed to his “irregular” position successful Turkey and “factors beyond our control.”

“I americium surviving successful a pitiful situation,” he wrote successful an email to the Canadian Embassy successful Ankara, successful which he said he was “basically surviving arsenic a refugee.”

His authorities were being infringed, he said. Should he beryllium arrested aliases hospitalized successful Turkey, he would clasp the authorities responsible, he wrote.

His tribunal exertion claims the business has exacerbated his autism and attraction shortage hyperactivity disorder, arsenic good arsenic different wellness problems.

It asks the tribunal to bid the authorities to rumor him a recreation archive truthful he could return, adding that Turkish authorities person deemed him de-radicalized and he is consenting “to surrender to the RCMP upon arrival.”

Parsons said it’s amended to bring Canadian extremists location truthful constabulary could astatine slightest put them connected bid bonds, and intelligence officials could watch them.

Otherwise, they could flight and spell connected to perpetrate acts of terrorism, aliases return to Canada undetected, creating nationalist information problems.

“If you time off them overseas, location is the consequence that they will get retired and past you suffer power of them,” he said.

“All things considered, astatine slightest wrong the discourse of the existent threat environment, I deliberation it champion to bring them location wherever we could support our eyes connected them and springiness them the champion chance of being rehabilitated.”

Former CSIS expert Phil Gurski said Canada can’t extremity citizens from returning but shouldn’t facilitate it for those progressive successful terrorism.

The trouble is that constabulary mightiness deficiency capable grounds connected what Canadians did while serving successful a overseas violent group, he said.

“They’ve sewage to beryllium arrested and charged, but my interest is we won’t person the grounds for a successful prosecution.”

To date, Canada has repatriated women who near the state to subordinate ISIS, arsenic good arsenic their children, but nary men.

During fighting that erupted successful northeast Syria successful January, the U.S. transferred antheral ISIS suspects who were imprisoned location to Iraq.

“Canada is alert of the transportation of detainees from Syria to Iraq, including reports of Canadian citizens being transferred,” a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said.

“The authorities of Canada is not presently successful the process of repatriating immoderate Canadians from Iraq.”

Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca