No charges to be pressed in violent killing of Indo-Canadian activist
Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Apr, 2023 10:24 AM
Toronto, April 4 (IANS) Crown prosecutors in Canada's British Columbia province have decided not to press any charges in the violent killing of Indo-Canadian activist and filmmaker Manbir Mani Amar in 2022, media reports said.
Amar, a 40 year-old father of three, was fatally injured on August 31, 2022 during a physical altercation between two neighbours, leading to the arrest of one person.
British Columbia (BC) Prosecution spokesperson Dan McLaughlin told Global News that the case didn't meet the standard for charge assessment according to the Crown.
"The BC prosecution Service can confirm that, after carefully reviewing all the investigative materials submitted by IHIT (Integrated Homicide Investigation Team) investigators, no charges were approved in the case," McLaughlin said.
When conducting charge assessment, prosecutors must weigh both whether the case has a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether it is in the public interest, he said.
"In determining whether this test is satisfied, Crown Counsel must consider what material evidence is likely to be admissible and available at a trial; the objective reliability of the admissible evidence; and whether there are viable defences, or other legal or constitutional impediments to the prosecution, that remove any substantial likelihood of a conviction," McLaughlin told Global News.
He, however, did not say what exactly did not meet the prosecution service's standards to proceed in Amar's case.
"This was an isolated incident between two neighbours, tragically this situation escalated to a point where a life was taken," Sergeant Timothy Pierotti of IHIT had said after the incident.
Amar had produced documentaries and short films focusing on guns and gangs in Vancouver. His 2009 award-winning documentary, "A Warrior's Religion" provided an insight into the gang life in Vancouver's South Asian communities.
The IMDB describes his feature film "Footsteps Into Gangland", as "an adaptation of true events that shattered Metro Vancouver's South Asian community".
A province wide warrant has been issued for 24-year-old Austin Durocher, who is charged with one count each of assault, assault by choking, suffocating or strangling, causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal and uttering threats.
B.C. Premier David Eby says the province wants to remain "in sync" with West Coast American states and he's "very much looking forward to getting rid of daylight saving time." B.C.'s time change at 2 a.m. Sunday morning may be its last.
Vancouver Police are releasing video of recent purse thefts in highly populated businesses in the downtown core to illustrate how easily this crime can happen. The following incidents have been reported since January, and investigators believe that the same person is responsible for all.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the next round of boosters will target people at the "highest risk" of severe illness. That includes people aged at least 80, Indigenous people aged at least 70 and long-term care residents.
The government has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks over allegations in media reports that they did not act when they were warned China was trying to interfere in the last two federal elections. The reports by Global News and the Globe and Mail newspaper cite unnamed security sources and leaks of highly classified documents.
Joly said Canada has been pushing China to expand its talks with Russia to include Ukraine, while South Africa's envoy urged Canada to instead support a settlement to the war. She was speaking at a public discussion on multilateralism with Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Anniken Huitfeldt in Ottawa.
