Crown says Calgary man who joined ISIS should serve a 16-year terrorism sentence

Jamal Borhot is charged with three counts of participation in terrorist group activity. (Source: Court document)

A Crown prosecutor says a Calgary man who willingly joined and worked for an Islamic State terrorist group in the Middle East over a decade ago should spend 16 years in prison, while a defence lawyer has recommended 12 years.

Jamal Borhot, 35, was convicted in December of three counts of participation in a terrorist group for assisting in the terrorist activities of ISIS in Syria in 2013.

Court heard Borhot and his cousin Hussein Borhot illegally entered Syria through Turkey. Hussein Borhot pleaded guilty in a separate trial and was sentenced in 2022 to 12 years.

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In December, Justice Corina Dario found Jamal Borhot participated in violent acts, actively recruited others to join the cause and worked in administration. He returned to Calgary after one year.

The judge is scheduled to sentence Borhot on Feb. 4.

At a sentencing hearing Friday, prosecutor Kent Brown said 16 years is appropriate for Jamal Borhot, as the cousin received less time for his pleas.

“The focus remains deterrence and denunciation and that is largely due to the pernicious nature of terrorism offences. Anyone who engages in those activities should expect a significant sentence as a result,” Brown said.

Borhot planned the trip to Syria and tried to hide his movements, the prosecutor said.

“There was real risk of serious harm caused by the offender’s conduct. I submit that’s without question here, given his involvement in battles in Syria.”

Brown added outside court that the case was difficult to prosecute since it happened so long ago. “It’s a cold case that happened in a country half way around the world.”

Defence lawyer Pawel Milczarek said his client has lived a peaceful life since returning to Canada and should have a sentence that’s proportionate to his cousin’s prison time.

Milczarek said Borhot became radicalized and wanted to help fight the Syrian government, as he believed it was randomly slaughtering civilians.

“Mr. Borhot was motivated by this purpose to travel to Syria. He found the wrong group to fight with,” the lawyer said.

“With 20/20 hindsight, we can all identify that ISIS became a violent terrorist organization after Mr. Borhot left Syria. We should not harshly punish Mr. Borhot for making a mistake with imperfect information.”

Borhot did not address the court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published January 16, 2026.