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“The information provided by Mahdere’s parents was of particular concern to INSET as the RCMP are concerned about the possibility of people going overseas to attend the fighting in the Syrian civil conflict and either not returning to Canada because they have been killed or in the alternative returning to Canada with violent belief systems,” the Crown told the court on Aug. 22.

Mahdere, Abubaker and Omer were arrested on Nov. 13, the day after they were supposed to leave Calgary airport for London. They were charged with passport fraud, because they had used an improper guarantor. Mahdere and Abubaker were later charged with breaching the terms imposed by the court, which had forbidden them from communicating.

For a country that is proudly marching its troops into war under banners of life, liberty and security, it’s astounding that these virtues aren’t being granted to some of their own citizens

The trio claimed their only intention was to travel to the United Kingdom to meet other Muslims. Abubaker said he was considering studying medicine in the U.K. and wanted to see what it was like. Mahdere said she had no intention of taking part in armed conflict. They pleaded guilty and were fined about $1,000. Omer appeared in court Oct. 7 and was also fined.

But Mahdere’s mother, Ruth Russom, said in an email to the Post on Wednesday she “never had any suspicions regarding their travel plans nor their religious beliefs, as we were very close and discussed matters openly, and often.

“I feel that I have been used by certain individuals as they had contacted me with this very same allegation [travelling to Syria], and I was later told to repeat them to the RCMP. I obliged only due to naivety, as I had trusted them due to their ‘status’ in government and had a misunderstanding of what they had intended on achieving.”

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National Post

• Email: sbell@nationalpost.com | Twitter: StewartBellNP