Jihadist chants, images found on Montreal couple's electronic devices, court hears
Arabic-speaking RCMP analyst testifies at terror trial of Sabrine Djermane and El Mahdi Jamali
An RCMP analyst testified Thursday at the trial of a Montreal couple charged with terror offences, identifying several jihadist chants and images found on electronic devices in the apartment shared by Sabrine Djermane and El Mahdi Jamali.
The two, who had been students at Collège Maisonneuve, were arrested in April 2015.
The prosecution alleges Djermane, 21, and Jamali, 20, tried to leave Canada to join ISIS in Syria. They are also accused of having a recipe and materials to make a bomb.
Moubanad Kanou, the RCMP analyst, described for the jury dozens of songs and pictures he was asked to analyze.
Kanou testified many of the songs, all in Arabic, featured gunshot and explosion sounds, and some made reference to "shedding blood" and "fighting oppressors."
Most of the images were of masked men holding machine guns in various poses with Islamic State symbols or flags. A few showed prisoners in orange jumpsuits who had been executed by ISIS.
There were also pictures of John Maguire, a Canadian who appeared in ISIS propaganda videos, and Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who attacked Parliament Hill in Ottawa in October 2014, killing a Canadian soldier.
Under cross-examination by Jamali's lawyer, Tiago Murias, Kanou acknowledged that several innocuous images were also found on the devices, including pictures of California and information about a Muslim charity.
Kanou said he only focused on images and songs pertinent to the terror investigation.
Another RCMP officer, Rudin Gjoka, testified Thursday about the arrest of Jamali and Djermane in April 2015.
He said they were picked up at Villeray Park on the evening of April 14. He said both were co-operative and didn't resist arrest.
Travel documents, other items seized
A third RCMP officer, Sébastien Fradet, also testified about items seized from the couple the day of the arrest.
Those included birth certificates, a citizenship certificate showing Djermane as a smiling child, passport photos and a receipt for passports, along with other travel documents.
The trial also heard from a Sûreté du Québec officer charged with searching the couple's apartment, Jean-François Talbot.
Among the photos Talbot took was the contents of a bag of items purchased from Dollarama. The items included nine-volt and AA batteries, nails, Krazy glue and duct tape.
Under cross-examination, Talbot was asked if he was aware during the search that these items could possibly be used to make a bomb. Talbot said no, but he heard later they could possibly used to make a bomb.
The trial of Djermane and Jamali is expected to last 10 weeks.
The accused are each facing four charges:
- Attempting to leave Canada to commit a terrorist act.
- Possession of an explosive substance.
- Facilitating a terrorist act.
- Committing an act under the direction of, or for the profit of a terrorist organization.