Demonstrators chant pro-al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as they wave al-Qaida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometres) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2014. Sunni militants captured a key northern Iraqi town along the highway to Syria early on Monday, compounding the woes of Iraq's Shiite-led government a week after it lost a vast swath of territory to the insurgents in the country's north. (AP Photo)

Quebec woman who joined ISIL pleads guilty to supporting terror group

By The Canadian Press Jul 22, 2025 | 10:43 AM

MONTREAL — A Quebec woman who travelled to Syria to join Islamic State and marry one of its fighters has pleaded guilty to one count of participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

The Crown and lawyers for Oumaima Chouay made joint submissions for the sentence that was delivered on Monday in Quebec court — one day in custody in addition to 110 days spent in pretrial detention, and three years of probation.

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The Public Prosecution Service of Canada says experts who examined Chouay over the past 30 months concluded that her risk of recidivism and her dangerousness to society are very low.

Chouay was charged after being repatriated to Canada from a detention in camp in Syria in October 2022.

She has admitted to joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, marrying a fighter and having two children with him.

Chouay is not suspected of having participated in combat, and the Crown says she is the first person convicted in Canada for providing support to a terror group by marrying a fighter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.

The Canadian Press