Edmonton woman with alleged terrorist ties refused Canadian passport
The federal government has refused to grant a Canadian passport to a 31-year-old Edmonton woman alleged to have once held a senior position in the militant group al-Shabaab.
Ayan Abdirahman Jama, a Canadian citizen, applied for a judicial review on July 31, 2019, after losing her bid to obtain a Canadian passport, according to documents filed in the Federal Court of Canada obtained by CBC News Friday.
"A passport will not be issued in your name, as there are reasonable grounds to believe that this decision is necessary to prevent the commission of a terrorism offence," states a letter from the minister of Public Safety Canada (PSC) dated Feb. 8, 2018.
The PSC letter came after Jama applied to renew her passport in 2015.
In affidavits filed in court, Jama denies the terrorism allegations.
"I pose no threat to the national security of Canada, or to any other foreign country or state," she wrote. "I pose no threat to the safety and security of other Canadians. I have not and do not plan on engaging in acts of terror or violence."
Al-Shabaab ties
The case against Jama is laid out in a top-secret document from Public Safety Canada contained in court records.
It includes a heavily redacted briefing by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which details Jama's alleged threat-related activities and says her support of al-Shabaab is well-established.
Jama, who lived in Somalia between May 2010 and July 2011, was married to Mohamed Sakr. CSIS says Sakr was a senior al-Shabaab member killed in an airstrike in 2012.
Jama expressed extreme views about her desire to be a martyr and associated with people of national security concern, CSIS said.
The agency points to a document found on Jama's laptop when she was arrested by police in Somaliland on July 7, 2011 and eventually sent back to Canada.
"Jama's laptop contained a folder titled 'explosives' which included a document on how to build a plastic hydrogen bomb," the brief states.
The briefing states that contrary to her claim, there is evidence that Jama has or intends to facilitate extremist activities and engage in battle.
'Far from my intention'
In her submissions, Jama denied she and her husband were members or supporters of al-Shabaab. Jama said she has not remained in contact with anyone in Somalia who was known to her as a national security risk.
Jama said she believes authorities misunderstood her expressed desire to be a martyr, which was written in her will on the seized laptop.
"There are many forms of being a Shaheed in Islam," she wrote. "It doesn't equate solely to battle, and this is far from my intention."
She also denied she had a file on her laptop related to explosives, but suggested it may have belonged to her husband or been fabricated by Somaliland authorities.
"I have not had my laptop in over nine years," she wrote.
On May 24, 2019, the National Security Policy Directorate recommended Jama be refused a passport.
"The CSIS case brief provides a detailed account, including examples of Ms. Jama's extremist activities, ideology and associations," wrote John Davies, director general.
In her most recent application, Jama argued the rules around the disclosure of evidence in the Prevention of Terrorist Travel Act don't allow her to properly defend herself.
An amicus curiae, or friend of the court, represents Jama and her lawyer Avnish Nanda because they are not allowed to participate in in-camera hearings or review redacted evidence.
"Both the information relied upon to refuse my passport application, and the grounds for the refusal, were very unclear to me, making it difficult for me to defend and challenge Canada's decision," Jama said.
In court submissions, Jama argued the denial of a passport has had repercussions including preventing her from fulfilling her religious obligation to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Although she is now remarried, she said numerous marriage proposals were rescinded and it's pushed away loved ones.
"I cannot begin to describe the pain, isolation, and desperation this makes me feel."
Public Safety Canada has not yet commented on Jama's case.
