(OTTAWA) A double agent providing intelligence to CSIS allegedly helped three British teenage girls cross into Syria to join Daesh (Islamic State) fighters there.
Posted at 1:11 p.m.
The role played by the informant in question, Mohammed al-Rasheed, is detailed in a book entitled The Secret History of the Five Eyesby journalist specializing in international security, Richard Kerbaj, excerpts from which were published on Thursday in several British media.
The man was wearing the clothes of a soldier of the armed group Islamic State, and he facilitated the passage of people to the battlefield, in Syria, but at the same time, he was a spy for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
The double agent would have notably helped a trio of teenage girls from Great Britain to go to Syria from Turkey. These revelations give hope to the lawyers of one of them, Shamima Begum, who was 15 years old at the time of the events, in 2015.
The now 23-year-old, who is stuck in a refugee camp in northern Syria, has been stripped of her British citizenship. His lawyers, who contest the decision by arguing that their client was the victim of human trafficking, find themselves with new ammunition, writes the daily The Guardian.
Also according to the British media, Ottawa did not inform London of the use of this man who facilitated the passage of teenage girls from the bus station in Istanbul, while the Metropolitan Police was trying to find their trace. Once the information was transmitted, the young women were already in Syria.
“Canadians have covered up this affair for seven years now. […] I think this cover-up is worse than the fault in several respects”, denounced Richard Kerbaj in an interview with The Guardian. As part of writing his book, he interviewed sources in the intelligence community in Canada.
The author and filmmaker specified in the same article that the British government authorities had not been particularly transparent either.
Justin Trudeau cautious
Asked to comment on this story on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remained evasive.
However, he offered no denial.
“We know that we live in a particularly dangerous world. The fight against terrorism requires our intelligence services to continue to be flexible and creative in their approach,” he said at a press conference at Rideau Hall, on the sidelines of a minor cabinet reshuffle.
Security agencies are however required to respect “strict rules”, “principles and values that are dear to Canadians, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, added Justin Trudeau.
“I know that there are questions about certain incidents or certain operations that have taken place in the past […] and we will ensure that appropriate monitoring [des activités de sécurité nationale et de renseignement] to continue,” said the Prime Minister.
The mandate to study these sensitive issues rests with the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. The committee is made up of MPs and Senators who hold Top Secret security clearances, all of whom are bound to secrecy in perpetuity.
CSIS had not commented on the case at the time of publishing these lines, early Wednesday afternoon.