Merouane Ghalmi the target of terrorism-linked peace bond

The Crown's attempt to get a 22-year-old Montreal man to sign a terrorism-linked peace bond has been delayed.

Merouane Ghalmi, sporting a beard and closely cropped hair, made a brief appearance Thursday before a Quebec Court judge. 

But his case was postponed until next month to allow Ghalmi's lawyer more time to review the evidence.

Ghalmi is scheduled to be back in court on March 27 to sign the peace bond, which would force him to meet certain conditions or go to jail. 

He has not been charged with any offence and it is not known why the Mounties are concerned about him because the contents of a sworn affidavit have been sealed.

A summons was issued to Ghalmi on Feb. 23 ordering him to appear in court Thursday.

The summons reads: "Because of the motives mentioned in the affidavit, (the RCMP investigator) has reasons to believe that Ghalmi will commit a terrorist offence.''

Federal Crown attorney Lyne Décarie said the affidavit will not be made public.

"We want him to respect certain conditions ... and at the next date it's set for hearing and we'll see what kind of conditions," Décarie told reporters.

Neither Ghalmi or his lawyer, Mathieu Bédard, would speak with reporters as they left the courtroom.

Ghalmi was a competitive mixed martial arts fighter as recently as 2012.

The Conservative government introduced an anti-terrorism bill last month that would make it easier for the RCMP to obtain a peace bond.

Existing law requires a fear that someone "will commit'' a terrorism offence before police can obtain a peace bond – a tool that can mean jail unless a suspect abides by strict conditions, for instance that they surrender their passport and regularly report to police.

A new, lower threshold would be reasonable grounds to fear a person "may commit'' a terrorism offence.

Peace bonds have only been used eight times since 2001 for terrorism suspects — six of them related to members of the 2006 Toronto 18 plot, and two others.