Quebec man on trial for terror charge says he felt goaded into confessing

Ismael Habib told a Montreal court he was so desperate to get a passport to leave Canada to rescue his wife and childrenthat he would have said anything to an undercover RCMP agent posing as the boss of a criminal organization.

Habib, 29, testified on his own behalf for asecond day Friday.

He's accused of attempting to go overseas to join a terrorist groupandof providing false information to obtain a passport.

• Quebec man facing terror charge says he wanted out of Canada to help endangered family abroad

In the days leading up to Habib's confession toan undercover officer that he wanted to go overseas and fight with ISIS, he said his spiritual leader told him to say "what [the agent] wants to hear."

The court has heard that that spiritual leader was actually taking money from the RCMP for co-operating with Habib's investigation.

Habib said he was worried about the safety of his wife and two children, who he believed were being held overseas against their will. He's said his interest in getting a passport was to go and rescue his family.

His own passport was revoked in 2013, during an initialtrip to Turkey and Syria.

Desperate to be hired by apparent crime ring

In a series of elaborate RCMP undercover stings, Habib was made to believe he was working with a criminal organization that provided false passports and could help smuggle him out of the country.

He had earlier tried and failed to obtaina convincing fake passport.

• Ismael Habib subject of multiple undercover sting operations, Quebec Court hears

Habibwas developing a close relationship withan undercover agent posing as theboss of the organization and was desperate to be hired to work with him.

The so-called bossapproached him to act as a middle man for a job in which he was to have helpedsomeone enter Syria, but during that conversation, that agentconfronted Habibwith compromising information about a trip he took to Syria in 2013.

It was in the course of that conversation, secretly recorded, thatHabib said he wanted to go overseas and fight with ISIS.

Habib said he was desperate. He believed his family to be in imminent danger

"I wanted to make myself interesting. And I had an urgent desire to leave. I had no other alternative," he said.

"If I miss this opportunity, it's over."

• Ismael Habib confesses to whipping Syrian prisoner, supporting ISIS in Mr. Big sting

Credibility problems

Crown prosecutor Lyne Dcariefocused her cross-examination of Habib trying to show he has credibility issues.

She pointed out he'd been living off of student loans and government child-care benefits, never letting the government know his children were living overseas.

She notedHabibhad been meeting various women online and in person while he was allegedly worried abouthis wife, who was overseas without him.

In Habib'stestimony, he said he'd left Syria after being forced to whip a prisoner.

In cross-examination, it was made clear he had whipped the prisoner during the beginning of his trip to Syria not at the end of his stay there.

Dcarie also noted Habib had told Plouffe that ISIS was taking care of his wife, giving her a home and food and letting her live among other women and children.

The trial is adjourned until May 9, when Habib's defence lawyer and the Crown will make theirclosing arguments.