Travelling to Syria more than a decade ago to join ISIS terrorists in their bid to establish a Caliphate in the Middle East has landed a city man a 16-year prison term.
Justice Corina Dario agreed Wednesday with Crown prosecutors that a sentence of that length was warranted for Jamal Borhot’s terrorist activities with the group.
Dario also ordered that Borhot, 35, must serve at least half his term before he is eligible to seek parole.
With just 114 days of pre-sentencing credit, the Calgary resident must serve close to eight years before he can seek release.
Dario disagreed with suggestions from defence lawyer Pawel Milczarek that Borhot’s conduct was akin to someone going to a foreign nation to engage in civil combat.
“I disagree with the defence’s characterization of the offender’s actions in Syria,” the Calgary Court of King’s Bench judge said.
“Jamal Borhot was not fighting a civil war in Syria.”
Dario noted Borhot and those he fought with were not only interested in overthrowing the Syrian regime of then-president Bashar al-Assad, but in eliminating anyone who didn’t agree with their intentions of establishing a Caliphate extending into Lebanon.
“Mr. Borhot knew and understood that agenda,” she said.
“His actions in Syria were in furtherance of that agenda.”
Dario said the fact Borhot’s conduct occurred on foreign soil didn’t lessen his level of criminal culpability.
“I do not agree that these offences should be considered less serious because Canada and people in Canada did not suffer,” she said.
Crown prosecutors Kent Brown and Dominic Puglia had
on three terrorism charges for which Dario found Borhot guilty, the most serious of which was taking part in the activities of a terrorist organization.
Borhot travelled to Turkiye from Calgary in April 2013, and quickly made his way across the border into Syria, where he trained with and took part in terrorist activities of the Islamic State.
He returned to Calgary 11 months later.
But Dario said unlike his cousin, Hussein Borhot — who was
after pleading guilty to similar charges — the offender didn’t show remorse or renounce his extremist beliefs.
Milczarek had sought a similar 12-year sentence for Jamal Borhot, but Dario said his conduct was more egregious than his relative’s.
“There’s no evidence that the offender’s views have changed,” Dario said.
But the judge said because Borhot was relatively young when he became radicalized and joined ISIS, there is still hope of rehabilitation.
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