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A British Columbia woman has been charged with terrorism-related offences after she travelled to Syria to join ISIS, police said.
The RCMP arrested Kimberly Polman on Friday, a press release said Saturday.
The 51-year-old woman is accused of leaving the country to participate in the activities of a terrorist group, and of participating in the activities of a terrorist group.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for August 2 in Vancouver Superior Court, the press release said.
According to police, the charges against Polman stem from an ongoing investigation into allegations that she traveled to Syria in 2015 to join ISIS.
Previous court filings have revealed that Polman traveled to the war-torn country in 2015 after marrying an ISIS fighter online. The British Columbia woman said she was in a “terrible situation” at the time.
In October 2022, the woman from British Columbia was repatriated to Canada and arrested upon arrival. She had spent three years in the al-Roj detention camp for relatives of ISIS fighters in northern Syria, who were fighting there to establish an Islamic state.
Since November 2023, she has been under a Terrorism Peace Agreement. This is a protection order issued by a provincial court when it determines that there are reasonable grounds that someone could commit a terrorist offence.
When Kimberly Polman’s children were growing up, she found herself on her own. She met an ISIS member online and he said, “Come where you’re really loved, where you’re really needed.”
In issuing the bail, Chilliwack County Court Judge Kristen Mundstock said Polman must meet a number of conditions while on bail.
Those sentences included being required to report to a probation officer, remain at an address in Squamish, British Columbia, wear electronic monitoring equipment and not leave the province.
The penalty order also contains conditions: Polman is not allowed to have contact with several people, including her ex-husband, is not allowed to drive any vehicle other than an electric bicycle and is not allowed to communicate with people suspected of being involved in terrorism.
Ottawa-based human rights lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, who previously represented Polman and other women repatriated from a Syrian internment camp, said he was shocked by the RCMP’s charges against Polman.
“Polman has been in Canada for almost two years now and she is under … very strict conditions,” he told CBC News. “As far as I know, she has not violated any of the conditions.
“Why would you suddenly hit her with criminal charges after she’s been in the country for two years?
Greenspon said the terms of the peace deal were “particularly difficult” for the British Columbian woman.
“She is receiving counseling, she is receiving therapy and she is doing everything she can to re-adapt to the Canadian lifestyle,” the human rights lawyer added.
Polman is now represented by another criminal defense lawyer. CBC News contacted him for this story.
Oumaima Chouay, who returned to Canada from the detention camp at the same time as Polman, was granted bail in Quebec in January after being charged with leaving the country to participate in the activities of a terrorist group, supplying goods or services for terrorist purposes and conspiracy to participate in the activities of a terrorist group.
The return of Polman and Chouay was organized by Global Affairs Canada, with assistance from the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the United States.
Another four Canadian women and 10 children landed in Montreal in April after spending years in a prison camp in Syria. Three of the women were arrested upon arrival, while the fourth was not detained.
