Judge tells man charged in van attack to get counsel
An Edmonton judge on Thursday ordered the man accused in a Sept. 30, 2017, attack on a city police officer and pedestrians to get new legal counsel.
Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 32, was in court just over a week after parting ways with his two lawyers.
Sharif, accused of running down and stabbing a police officer and striking pedestrians in downtown Edmonton with a U-Haul truck, is facing a string of charges including five counts of attempted murder.
Police at first referred to the events of Sept. 30 as “acts of terrorism,” though no terrorism-related charges were ever laid.
He is scheduled to go to trial on the charges this fall.
But three weeks into a pre-trial proceeding this month, he parted ways with his lawyers, Tom Engel and Samantha Labahn
Engel confirmed last Thursday that he advised the court on March 20 that Sharif had terminated their retainer agreement.
Engel said he and Labahn were granted leave to withdraw from the case, but could not give any details about what happened.
During the brief appearance Thursday, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Paul Belzil asked Sharif whether he has contacted a legal aid lawyer.
Belzil said chief prosecutor Shelley Bykewich had sent a letter asking the service to appoint Sharif a new lawyer on a “rush basis.”
Through a Somali language interpreter, Sharif said he had yet to speak to Legal Aid Alberta.
Belzil asked him to promise to do so no later than Friday.
Sharif gave no explanation for why he decided to seek a new lawyer.
Belzil also cancelled dates in April and May set aside for pre-trial applications, and arranged to have evidence disclosure — contained on “several” hard drives — to be transferred to Sharif’s new lawyer.
He said he is not cancelling trial dates, set to begin with jury selection on Sept. 30
The trial is scheduled to run until the end of January 2020 if needed. Sharif ’s next appearance is set for April 9.
The case against Sharif was nearly three weeks into a voir dire when he abruptly decided to change counsel.
Voir dires are a type of trial within a trial which are meant to determine whether specific evidence can be presented to a jury, including testimony from witnesses. Evidence from the proceeding is covered by a publication ban.
Engel, a prominent defence lawyer and police critic, joined Labahn on the case earlier this year. Prior to that, Sharif was represented by Karanpal Aujla.