A Canadian awaiting sentencing in the United States for planning terrorist attacks in New York City for the so-called Islamic State could soon test the government’s approach to dealing with violent extremists returning from abroad.
Abdulrahman El-Bahnasawy‘s lawyers have asked for a short sentence for the Mississauga, Ont. resident so he can return to Canada, where his family is proposing he undergo mental health treatment and religious counselling.
“We have full faith that with the love and values that his parents raised him with, he will be able to be rehabilitated to be a productive member of society,” Hesham Youssef, who manages a Toronto-area Islamic centre and was once El-Bahnasawy’s teacher, wrote to the judge.