Awso Peshdary, who was accused of recruiting for ISIL, is escorted by police as he arrives for a hearing at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on Aug. 13, 2018.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - An accused recruiter for the Islamic State military group has renounced his previous extremism and pleaded guilty to terrorism offences in an Ottawa courtroom.
Awso Peshdary’s criminal trial in the Ontario Superior Court resumed today after his lawyers filed a motion saying he was prepared to change his plea to guilty, and the defence has submitted a joint application with the Crown to go directly to sentencing.
Peshdary was arrested on terrorism-related charges in February, 2015, based on allegations he recruited and financed homegrown terrorists before helping them travel to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremist group.
His case had been stalled pending a Federal Court decision that had dragged on while his lawyers, the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service debated what evidence could be used in the proceedings.
But Peshdary, who was 25 at the time of his arrest, is now dropping that case and his lawyers have agreed with prosecutors to request a sentence of 14 years behind bars.
If the sentencing agreement is accepted by the court, Peshdary would be in prison for 21 months after being credited with time already served.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2023.