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A BC woman who was deported from a Syrian prison in 2022 has been arrested and charged with terrorism offences, police announced Saturday.
The charges against Squamish resident Kimberly Polman, 51, are “departing from Canada to engage in the activities of a terrorist organization” and “engaging in the activities of a terrorist organization,” the British Columbia RCMP and the federal Major and Organized Crime Unit said in a news release.
Police said the charges stem from an ongoing investigation into allegations that Polman left Canada in 2015 and traveled to Syria to join ISIS.
Polman has been under a terrorism peace bond since November 2023. Her next court appearance is Friday, Aug. 2, at Vancouver provincial court.
“The success of this investigation is directly attributable to the work of our dedicated investigators and the strength of our policing and BroadCast Unitedligence partnerships,” Superintendent Jag Dhot of the RCMP-Federal Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, Pacific Region, said in the release.
“The RCMP, along with our Canadian and international partners, remains committed to countering violent extremism in Canada and abroad. Policing partners, local communities and families are all key to successfully identifying, preventing and disrupting terrorist activities, and individuals’ disengagement from violent extremism.”
Polman insists she was lured to Syria in 2015 by her husband, an ISIS member, whom she met online.
exist 2020 ReportHuman Rights Watch said Polman, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, converted to Islam as an adult and lived mostly in Canada before traveling to Syria to work as an ISIS nurse.
In 2019, she was arrested by Syrian Kurdish militants on suspicion of links to ISIS and held in an internally displaced persons camp there until her repatriation in October 2022.
Polman spoke to CTV News at the camp in February 2022. At the time, she was one of nearly 50 Canadians in the camp, which is home to 2,600 people, many of whom are said to be wives, widows and family members of ISIS members.
Polman was deported at the same time as another woman, Oumaima Chouay, and both women were arrested by police upon their arrival in Montreal.
Joy was charged shortly after his arrest, but Polman was released on a peace bond with conditions that included wearing an ankle monitor and strict restrictions on travel and internet use.
Last November, after a terrorism peace bond hearing, Polman was again released on conditional release.
During a terrorism peace bond hearing in Chilliwack provincial court, Polman’s family released a statement to CTV News, saying she “cooperated with all authorities,” was “compliant” and “respectful.”
At the time, Polman’s family told CTV News that not only was Polman no longer affiliated with ISIS, but she believed she was a target of the terrorist group and feared for her life.
With files from Megan Delaire of CTVNews.ca and Kevin Charach of CTV News Vancouver
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