Calgary man who fought for ISIS should spend 16 years in prison for terrorism convictions: Crown

A Calgary adult male convicted of deuce-ace terrorism-related offences should pass 16 years in prison house, prosecutors argued on fri. 

Jamal Taan Borhot, 35, who travelled to Syria with his cousin Hussein Borhot, spent nearly a year fighting for ISIS starting in 2013.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Corina Dario heard sentencing arguments Friday but reserved her decision to Feb. 4. 

Defence lawyers Pawel Milczarek and Mackenzie McCaffrey asked the judge to consider a 12-year sentence.

But prosecutors Kent Brown and Domenic Puglia argued that “anyone who engages in those activities should expect a significant sentence.”

“Is it a significant sentence? Yes it is,” said Brown during his submissions. “Do the actions of Mr. Borhot attract a significant sentence? Yes they do.”

Dario convicted Borhot last month based on evidence that included travel documents, Facebook messages and intercepted phone calls Jamal had with family members and a friend. 

Prosecutors presented evidence that showed Borhot trained with and fought for ISIS, took on a role as a commander for the group, created videos for the benefit of ISIS, and attempted to recruit others to join.

When questioned by police back in Canada, Borhot gave statements to investigators denying having ever travelled to Syria.

In her conviction decision, Dario noted Borhot made comments “filled with hatred toward non-Muslims” and “about killing those who did not convert to Islam.”

Not only did Borhot hold terrorist beliefs, said Dario, “he was prepared to both kill and die for those beliefs.”

Brown also referenced letters of support filed by Borhot’s friends and family that described him as “quiet, polite, and kind” including one from his mother in which she said her son “has never wanted to harm a single person.”

“That is not the entire story,” said Brown. 

“The difficulty I have with that passage, is that it doesn’t seem to jive with the facts found in this case.”

Brown pointed out that Borhot joined a terrorist organization, carried an automatic weapon and said in a Facebook message “we killed many.”

Milczarek argued that “the only people endangered by his conduct … would have been enemy combatants."

The defence lawyer acknowledged that his client “became radicalized” as a young man but said “he has changed over the last 10-plus years.”

Although the crimes took place more than a decade ago, RCMP did not charge Jamal or Hussein until 2020. 

In 2022, Hussein pleaded guilty to his terrorism offences and was handed a 12-year sentence.

Jamal’s case was delayed several times for reasons that included changes in defence counsel and federal court proceedings. 

Those proceedings, which dealt with issues of whether potentially sensitive disclosure could be provided to Borhot and his lawyer, had to conclude before his trial could begin.

In 2024, Justice Dario rejected a defence application to have the charges stayed due to delays in the case.

Justice affairs reporter

Meghan Grant is a justice affairs reporter. She has been covering courts, crime and stories of police accountability in southern Alberta for more 15 years. Send Meghan a story tip at meghan.grant@cbc.ca.

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