A Toronto woman who has pledged allegiance to Daesh and is facing several terror-related charges has been deemed mentally fit to stand trial.

Rehab Dughmosh, arrested in June after allegedly brandishing a golf club and knife at a Canadian Tire, was ordered to undergo a mental fitness assessment last week by Judge Kimberley Crosbie.

Dughmosh has, over the past week, been assessed by a forensic psychiatrist at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Whitby, Crown Attorney Bradley Reitz said.

The psychiatrists report was “unequivocal” in finding her fit for trial, Reitz added.

Being “fit” requires only that the accused person has a basic understanding of the court process, what they are charged with, what it means to be under oath, who the judge, prosecutors and defence lawyers are and what they do.

Dughmosh met those criteria at her early court appearances. But statements by a member of her family, contained in the Crown’s evidence, suggest there is reason to believe Dughmosh has some form of mental illness, said Ingrid Grant, a lawyer appointed to the case as amicus — someone who assists the court by making sure all relevant evidence and arguments are properly presented, particularly when the accused represents themselves.

Dughmosh refused to appear in person or by video for three consecutive scheduled court appearances in July and August. She has been reluctant to leave her cell for exercise and refuses to shower, guards at Vanier detention centre in Milton have told the court.

When brought by force before a camera for a live video court appearance on Aug. 21, Dughmosh answered every question put to her by the judge with the words, “You are all infidels. I do not worship what you worship.”

Dughmosh has said in court that she does not believe in the Canadian legal system and said that “if you release me, I will commit these actions again and again and again.”

She has told the court she does not want legal counsel, and plans to plead guilty to her charges, which include one count of leaving Canada for the purpose of participating in a terrorist group and multiple counts each of attempted murder, assault with a weapon, carrying a dangerous weapon and carrying a concealed weapon, all “at the direction of, or in association with, a terrorist group.”

Dughmosh is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 20 for a pre-trial hearing.

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