Man banned 3 years over threats
QUEBEC — The man who pleaded guilty to uttering death threats against the Quebecer charged in mosque shootings earlier this year has been ordered to leave Canada for three years.
Mohamed-Amine Ben-Faras, 33, is the nephew of one of the men allegedly killed by Alexandre Bissonnette in January.
Ben-Faras will not be allowed to come to Canada for three years unless he is accompanied by a peace officer or a border agent. He is also prohibited from trying to contact Bissonnette or his relatives.
Ben-Faras, who is of Moroccan descent and has Italian nationality, pleaded guilty Thursday to uttering death threats against Bissonnette.
Trial wraps over migrant smuggling
VANCOUVER — The trial for four men charged with smuggling dozens of Tamil migrants to Canada aboard a decrepit ship is over and the judge has reserved his decision until July.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Arne Silverman told the court Friday he will allow the defence to submit an additional written response to the Crown’s allegations before determining his verdict.
The four men are accused under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of smuggling 76 migrants on board the vessel from Thailand to the coast of British Columbia in October 2009.
The Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial for the men in 2015 after ruling portions of the act were unconstitutional and shouldn’t automatically brand those who help migrants as people-smugglers.
Judge ends delayed sex-assault case
ANTIGONISH, N.S. — A women’s activist expressed outrage Friday after an “extremely serious” sexual assault case against a former Nova Scotia professor was tossed out due to unreasonable delays.
Behrang Foroughi-Mobarakeh was a St. Francis Xavier University professor when he was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in 2014.
In a decision released Thursday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Patrick Murray stayed the proceedings against him after the case took three years to go to trial.
“It reinforces the message that there is no justice within the criminal justice system for survivors of sexualized violence,” Lucille Harper, executive director of the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, said Friday. “It tells women not to bother coming forward or reporting crimes.”
The decision comes in the wake of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last July setting strict limits for trial lengths.
Man charged with human smuggling
REGINA — The husband of a Canadian woman charged with human smuggling is one of three people authorities in the United States have arrested as part of the investigation.
Court documents signed by border agents say Victor Omoruyi, a Canadian citizen, was arrested April 14 after an SUV was stopped south of the North Dakota-Saskatchewan border.
According to the affidavit, border patrol has documented multiple instances over the last several months in which Nigerian nationals were smuggled into Canada illegally from North Dakota.
“Law enforcement learned through the investigation that the individuals pay up to US$2,000 to be smuggled into Canada,” it says.
The documents say authorities started watching Omoruyi because they allege he was identified “as a human smuggler that has previously provided transportation . . . for individuals who have then entered into Canada illegally.”
Omoruyi’s wife, Michelle, is charged with human smuggling and conspiracy to commit human smuggling.