Achi news desk-
The lawyer for a Calgary man accused of committing terror offenses more than a decade ago is arguing that charges should be stayed because of court delays.
Jamal Borhot, 34, faces three charges of terrorism arising from alleged activity in Syria in 2013 and 2014.
The charges were laid in September 2020, but the case has languished in the courts since then.
Borhot’s trial was expected to begin on Monday.
The case has been delayed due to the disclosure of evidence, two changes of lawyers and the cancellation of trial dates set for 2022 and 2023, along with lengthy Federal Court proceedings.
Defense lawyer Pawel Milczarek has filed a request to drop all Borhot charges because the case did not meet the deadlines set by the Supreme Court of Canada in the landmark decision R. v. Jordan in 2016.
He said his client’s Charter rights had been breached because the case had taken too long to go from the laying of charges to the expected end of the trial.
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Jordan’s ruling said people accused of a crime have a right to have their cases tried within 18 months in provincial courts and 30 months in superior courts unless the delay is caused by exceptional circumstances.
“It was what was really going on behind the scenes, or not really going on behind the scenes, that led to the impact of that process on the trial dates,” Milczarek argued Monday.
“All of these so-called complexity issues are red herrings. They don’t cause delays here.”
But Crown prosecutor Domenic Puglia told Alberta Justice of the King’s Bench Corina Dario that much of the delay was due to defense actions and, under Jordanian rules, the complexity of the case allows some leeway in calculating delays.
“If it is a complex case, then the maximum limit of 30 months will not apply. There is still an obligation on the Crown to show that it reasonably took what steps it could to progress it through the court system, but it is not linked to specific findings you have to make about delay ,” he said.
Borhot is accused of traveling to Syria with his cousin Hussein Borhot to fight for the Islamic State.
Hussein Borhot pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses in 2022 and was sentenced to 12 years.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
