The pending B.C. Supreme Court jury trial of a Squamish woman charged with alleged ISIS-related terrorism offences is being bogged down as the Crown wrangles evidence from agencies both in Canada and abroad.
Kimberly Polman has pleaded not guilty and elected to be tried in English.
In July, the RCMP’s Federal Policing Integrated National Security Enforcement Team announced it had arrested and charged the 51-year-old woman.
Court documents indicate she left B.C. on July 21, 2015, information that is in count one of charge documents.
The charges allege Polman left Canada to knowingly participate in the activity of a terrorist group for the purpose of enhancing the ability of such a group to perform its activities. That is alleged to have happened in Richmond.
A second count alleges she participated in the work of the Islamic State between July 25, 2015, and July 27, 2019. That is alleged to have happened in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Federal Crown prosecutor Ryan Carriere appeared before Justice Martha Devlin on Dec. 18 and said retrieving evidence continues and a witness list is being compiled.
He said retrieval of some evidence from government agencies and elsewhere was beyond the control of police.
“That’s going to take a bit of time,” he told the court.
He said the Crown has made it clear to government departments that the evidence work needs to be done.
Polman was repatriated to Canada in October 2022.
Repatriation
A federal government parliamentary question period briefing note dated Oct. 25, 2022, for then-minister of public safety Marco Mendicino said Polman and another woman were repatriated from a camp in northeast Syria on received information that their health was deteriorating.
The other woman is Oumaima Chouay, who was repatriated with her two children.
She was arrested in Montreal on her return to Canada on Oct. 25, 2022.
Chouay was charged with leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group, providing, making available property or services for terrorist purposes and conspiracy for leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group.
