ISIS supporter Aaron Driver fights attempt to limit his freedom

A Winnipeg man's lawyeris in court fighting RCMP attempts tolimit his freedom due to his open support of the terrorist organization ISIS.

Although Aaron Driver is not accused of any crime, the Mounties are seeking to have his current bailconditions extended for a longer term,based on the suspicion that he might help or engage in terrorist activities.

Defence lawyer Leonard Tailleur told the court on Monday the restrictions amount to punishment, even though Driver has never been charged.

"This is criminal right down the line," Tailleur told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing.

"Every provision's intended to make a statement of the state from a criminal standpoint on an individual that a charge that's used as a veil they're not charged with anythingbut at the same time, he sits in custody. he waits, he's under these GPS devices. This is nonsensical to say it's not criminal or quasi-criminal at the least."

Federal prosecutor IanMahonsaidthe restrictions are "not punitive" but reasonable for public safety.

A judge will decide if the restrictions are unconstitutional.

Driver caught the attention ofCSIS, Canada's spy agency,in October 2014when he was tweeting support for themilitant groupISISunder the aliasHarunAbdurahman.

That activity landed him on a watch list and in June 2015 Driverwas arrested and aCharleswood-areahomewhere he was renting a room wasraided, with police removinghis custom-made computer, phone, flashdrives and Qur'an.

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Investigatorsinvoked a section of the Criminal Code to obtain a peace bond andmake the arrest. Driver was later released on bail but with 25 conditions, one of whichis that he undergo"religious counselling."

Other conditions require him to:

• Wear an electronic monitoring device.
• Surrenderany passports he has and not apply for any passport from Canada or any other country.
• Not possess any desktop, laptop or tablet computer.Any cellphone he has must be approved by RCMP, and the phone number must be submitted to police.
• Provide passwords and access to his cellphoneat the RCMP's request, with "such requests not to exceed two times per month."
• Stay away from social media websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Kik, Surespot andTelegram encrypted chat.
• Have"no contact or communication directly or indirectly with any member of ISIS,ISIL, Islamic Stateof Iraq and Syria and AlQaidain Iraq." He must also not possess anything bearing the logos or names of any of those groups.

When asked how Driver is doing these days, Tailleur replied, "Terrible!"

"He's in Ontario now, living with relatives," Tailleur said of his client.

"He's said he never wants to go on social assistance; that's his own statement. He wants to work as he was working before this thing got him and intruded upon him or he lost his job," he added.

"Now he's trying to find a job in Ontario so he can make a living and to come back here to try to afford to live here for four days while this trial is proceeding. That's difficult enough as it is. These things are weighing him."