A Calgary man who was found guilty of traveling to Syria to join ISIS to engage in terrorist activity more than 10 years ago has appealed his conviction. Jamal Borhot, 35, was found guilty in December 2025 of three counts of participating with a terrorist group. During his trial, the court heard Borhot, along with his cousin Hussein Borhot, illegally entered Syria through Türkiye in 2013 with the intent to join ISIS. While in Syria, Borhot was trained by ISIS fighters and given administrative and leadership roles in which he attempted to recruit others and further the terrorist group’s agenda. He pleaded not guilty at his trial, but Justice Corina Dario found him guilty, telling the court he “was involved in terrorist activities for a significant period.” Borhot was later sentenced to 16 years in prison with eligibility for parole after eight years. According to a document filed by Borhot’s lawyers prior to his February sentencing hearing, the defence claims Dario made several errors during the original trial. They included her acceptance of “voluminous evidence” without calling on prosecution to outline its relevance, her failure to call on the Crown to provide particulars of Borhot’s offences before he testified as well as “unreasonable delays” of the proceedings. Borhot is seeking a new jury trial for the charges against him. With files from Mark Villani
