MONTREAL — The Crown says a young Montreal couple was intent on answering the call from Islamic State to wage jihad in the Middle East and had amassed bomb-making materials at their home.
El Mahdi Jamali, 20, and Sabrine Djermane, 21 are on trial on four charges: attempting to leave Canada to commit a terror act abroad; possession of an explosive substance; facilitating a terrorist act; and committing an act under the direction or for the profit of a terrorist organization.
They have pleaded not guilty.
Federal prosecutor Lyne Decarie has previously named 31 police and civilian witnesses her team intends to call as it presents its case.
Decarie said today a tip to the RCMP in April 2015 led to a swift arrest and several searches.
Authorities say they found the couple had bags packed with new clothes and had booked plane tickets for a flight to Syria the following month.
They also say they found a bomb-making recipe copied word for word from an al-Qaida publication.
A dozen jurors will hear the case, which is expected to last 10 weeks.