Two teenagers are facing new terrorism-related charges after being arrested last week before they could leave the country.
Mahdi El Jamali and Sabrine Djaermane, both 18, were arrested last week and held for several days before finally being charged Monday.
The couple are facing four charges, including trying to leave Canada to join a terrorist-related organization, possession of explosive materials, and having facilitated the actions of a terrorist group.
Monday's hearing was an emotional affair, with relatives of the young couple in court, crying as they saw the accused appear and being led out of the courtroom.
Neither the crown nor the defence attorney for the couple said where the accused were intending to go, but the implication is they were likely heading to the Middle East to join the Islamic State.
El Jamali and Djaermane are both students at Cegep De Maisonneuve, and five other students from the school are believed to have flown overseas to join Islamic State fighters in the Middle East.
Because El Jamali and Djaermane are facing terrorism-related charges they will have a difficult time convincing the court to grant them bail until a trial begins.
Lawyers will meet this Friday to set a date for a bail hearing, and have said the debate will likely take a full day in court because of the serious nature of the charges.
Anyone accused of terrorism-related charges has to prove that they will not be a threat to the public and can be granted bail, unlike other other criminal charges when the onus is on the Crown to demonstrate why the accused is not worthy of being granted freedom pending a trial.
