Canada teen youngest ever sentenced for terrorism
April 6, 2016
A 16-year-old was sentenced to two years detention by a Canadian court on Wednesday for trying to join a militant organization. The teen was the youngest person ever brought up on terrorism charges in the country's history.
The boy, whose name has been withheld because of his age, admitted to robbing a convenience store in 2014, though he denied he planned to use the funds to finance a trip to Syria. He had been reported to the authorities by his own father, who grew concerned after he found a bag with a mask, knife, and money behind the family home.
The family had originally emigrated to Canada from Algeria in 2003.
According to prosecutors, the boy had stolen the 2,200 Canadian dollars (US$1,680) from a Quebec shop in order to pay for travel to Syria so he could join IS there. He was convicted by a special youth court in December.
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada said the teen was already incarcerated for another crime, and would serve the sentence consecutively. After his release, he will then be subject to twelve months probabtion.
es/bk (AFP, Reuters)