Toronto man guilty of advocating genocide
Former paralegal used social media to promote hate, judge finds
AToronto man who sent emails to public figures and media outlets and used Twitter to espouse his “hateful beliefs” has been found guilty of the rare Criminal Code charge of advocating genocide against Jewish people and homosexuals. Rupen Balaram- Sivaram showed no emotion Monday as he listened to Superior Court Justice Michael Brown read his reasons for convicting the former paralegal on all10 counts in the indictment, including promoting hatred, criminal harassment, uttering death threats and impersonation.
“I’m satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the written statements conveyed by the de- fendant in the various forms of communication … were public statements. They were not private conversations,” Brown said.
“The emails were sent to many individuals, public figures and also sent to media organizations. The Twitter account was open and accessible to the public. The Facebook chat … that the defendant engaged in was public, a number of people responded to his comments.”
Even though Balaram-Sivaram had few followers on his Twitter feed, Brown said, his “offensive and distasteful” words were nevertheless public, searchable and intended to encourage like-minded people to commit genocidal actions.
Balaram-Sivaram denied all criminal wrongdoing, including sending any hateful email, or that he was behind the Twitter account bearing his name.
The judge did not believe his testimony. “The defendant was the author of the tweets found on the Twitter account,” Brown said, citing, among other things, the image of a tiger found on his main Twitter page. “The defendant has the same image as the wallpaper on his cellphone,” while that image was also hanging in his living room and bedroom at the time of his arrest in 2015. The judge referred to the content of many of BalaramSivaram’s emails and posts.
A tweet posted on Jan. 28, 2015, stated: “Time for Hezbollah to exterminate each and every men, women and children from that illegal state called Israel.” Brown noted the phrase “that illegal state called Israel,” appears on many of his various electronic devices seized by police.
Another email sent to a Toronto MP called for bombs and viruses to be used against “rotten, defective, genetic garbage called Jews and homosexuals.”
Brown found he emailed Scarborough-Guildwood MP John McKay, Ontario MPP Randy Hillier, former prime minister Stephen Harper and media organizations. Brown also referenced an email sent Oct. 22, 2014, the day Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed while standing guard at the National War Memorial on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The assailant also attacked the Parliament, where he died in a shootout. He indicated his actions were for “Iraq.”
Balaram-Sivaram’s titled his email “Great news from Ottawa.”
“By sending this email when he did, the defendant intended for his statements to be taken seriously, and intended any like-minded individuals who read them to engage in violence similar to that of the assailant on Parliament Hill, as against groups the defendant enumerated in his email,” the judge said.
The judge said Crown attorney Kim Motyl did not have to prove genocide occurred as the result of the defendant’s conduct, nor establish any causal links between his words and actions, and any acts of actual violence.
Court heard Balaram-Sivaram, a father of three who felt spurned by his ex-wife, went on a campaign of harassment. The judge convicted him on all those charges. He has been in custody for almost two years. His sentencing hearing is set for March 20.