Montreal teens charged with terror-related offences

Two Montreal teenagers arrested last week have now been charged with committing terror-relatedoffences.

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SabrineDjermaneandElMahdiJamali, both 18 and identified as boyfriend and girlfriend, are charged with possessingexplosive substances, attempting toleave the country to commit a terrorist act, and planning a terroristact under the direction of a terrorist organization.

Both are students at Collge de Maisonneuve, a CEGEP in Montreal's east end. They have been held in custody since being arrested on April 15.

RCMP said last week that the two were detained over fears they couldcommita terrorism-related offence.

Crown prosecutor Lyne Dcarie would not release more details about the charges laid today.

In a news release Monday, RCMP said the charges resulted from information that was received from the community.

The two were arrested last week on suspicion of committing terrorist acts.

Steven Blaney, Canada's Public Security Minister, thanked officers and citizens who helped out on the case.

"I congratulate the RCMP for their vigilance in order to ensure our collective safety. I also want to highlight the support from the public and thank citizens who helped national security agencies with this investigation," Blaney said Monday afternoonin a statement releasedafter the two 18-year-olds were charged in court.

'Apalled, surprised'

Jamali's lawyer Marc Giroux said his client has a large family, andthat many family members were present in court Monday.

Giroux said the family is "appalled, surprised and disappointed" by the charges.

He said as far as he knows, his client Jamali and the other suspect, Djermane, are boyfriend and girlfriend.

He said the two will plead not guilty.

Police phone judge

Judge SylvieKovacevich told the court thatshe had received a telephone call at her office last week from a police officer, asking her to make this case a priority.

Kovacevich called the phone call "unacceptable" and asked that it not happen again.

Girouxcalled the phone call "bizarre" and said he'd never seen anything like it in 25 years of practising law.

The case will be back in courtFridayto set a date for a bail hearing.