Guelph man arrested on terrorism fears

Web posted on November 20, 2019

A Guelph man has been arrested on a terrorism peace bond after returning from Turkey, and has been released on conditions including that he not espouse extremism.

Ikar Mao, 22, was arrested at his home Nov. 10 over fears that he would participate in the activities of a terrorist group.

It's the latest case of what the court documents describe as a "fear of terrorism offence." Canadian counter-terrorism law allows the police to seek restrictions on the conduct of terrorism suspects without charge.

Mao and his wife were arrested in Turkey in July on suspicion they were trying to join the Islamic State while on vacation and driving near the Syrian border. The couple was released after three months in custody without any criminal charges.

The couple claimed they were in Turkey to consider a move to a refional community where people speak Turkish and Arabic.

While awaiting his peace bond hearing, Mao has been released on $20,000 bond and has agreed to abide by 19 conditions, including that he surrender his passport, remain in Ontario, wear a GPS ankle bracelet at all times, does not communicate "with anyone who is involved in or supports terrorist activity as defined in the Criminal Code," and does not "possess any object with the logo of a listed terrorist entity."

Mao is permitted to access the internet for the purposes of conducting his business, which is described as involving "buying and selling products online."

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