The mother of a convicted ISIS terrorist from Ontario — whose sentence was recently extended by 50 years for another crime — is running to be a Halton District School Board trustee in Milton, just west of Toronto.
Dr. Khdiga Metwally is a candidate for Milton Wards 1 and 2 in the Oct. 26 election. She says she has experience as a life skills teacher, a university department chair, author, speaker and human development instructor, according to her campaign website.
Her son, 28-year-old Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, was convicted in the United States for plotting to carry out 9/11-style attacks in New York City in 2016 on behalf of ISIS. The group is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, and in the U.S. is designated as a foreign terrorist organization. El Bahnasawy was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), El Bahnasawy conspired with others online, using encrypted electronic messaging applications. He then travelled to the U.S. to “to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City.”
This week, he was sentenced to an additional 50 years for attacking two correctional officers in 2020. The DOJ said he used a weapon made out of a steel desk in his cell and stabbed one officer in the head and face. He then stabbed another officer in the hand.
“My son has a documented history of severe mental illness. Before the prison incident, we repeatedly pleaded with prison authorities to provide his treatment. We sent his medical records, explained which medications helped him and which harmed him, and offered to put them in contact with his psychiatrist,” Metwally told National Post in an emailed statement.
“We warned that his condition would worsen without proper treatment and also asked the Canadian Embassy to intervene. Our pleas went unanswered, and he did not receive the care he needed.”
She said he was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the prison incident.
In a 2020 U.S. government report about terrorism in Canada, it said that El Bahnasawy’s parents “have alleged the RCMP knew of their son’s medical conditions and should have sought treatment for him.”
Metwally said the “painful experience” has strengthened her “determination, as a school board trustee candidate, to work so that no child or family goes through a similar tragedy.”
“I am committed to early mental health support, strong family–school communication, high academic achievement, and safe schools that protect students from drugs and other dangers. These are the priorities guiding my campaign to serve Milton families,” she said.
Metwally told local publication MiltonToday that bringing up her son’s mental health is “not about excusing wrongdoing.”
“It is about learning from what happened, protecting my son from his current situation and ensuring that he receives the appropriate and humane mental health care he needs.”
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