OTTAWA – Canada will not repatriate a Quebec woman and her six children detained in Syria because authorities believe she poses a security risk, according to the attorney handling her case.

Lawrence Greenspon, who tried to bring the woman home, said he was recently briefed on the decision by Global Affairs Canada.

In a June 21 statement, the ministry wrote that the woman had “extremist ideological beliefs” that could prompt her to act violently.

The government has therefore argued that it cannot guarantee that it will not engage in such conduct.

Greenspon does not accept this argument, calling it unacceptable. According to him, the government could bring this lady before Canadian justice at any time if necessary.

“This excuse that they are unable to monitor his behavior is a complete lie. It’s a lie, plain and simple,” he pounded in an interview with The Canadian Press.

In view of this judgment from Ottawa, the lady faces a dilemma, the lawyer recalled: either she sends her children back to Canada alone, or she keeps them in Syrian custody.

“I didn’t want to hear that,” admitted Mr. Greenspon.

Last November, Global Affairs Canada wrote that the woman and her children had met criteria for a federal government review of assistance to Canadians detained in the region.

The family are among the many expatriates in Syrian camps run by Kurdish forces that have retaken the war-torn region from the hard-line Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Greenspon then struck a deal with the federal government earlier this year to bring home six Canadian women and 13 children from Syria, who were initially subject to legal action. Some of those 19 Canadians are already back on Canadian soil.

However, the Quebecer, whose name is not publicly known, was not there.

Greenspon added Monday that another airlift is planned for early July.

He hoped the woman and her children would be on the flight to Canada, but “we didn’t expect that kind of assessment,” he admitted.

Global Affairs Canada had no immediate comment on the matter Monday.

The development comes just days after a Canadian delegation, including Senator Kim Pate, announced plans to travel to northeast Syria in late August to gather information on Canadians remaining in squalid camps and prisons.

The group also includes Alex Neve, a former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, and Scott Heatherington, a retired Canadian diplomat.