LONDON, Ont. — Legal professionals for a health care provider who was arrested after squirting ketchup on the London, Ont., workplace of a member of Parliament final yr say the cost in opposition to him has been dropped.
LONDON, Ont. — Legal professionals for a health care provider who was arrested after squirting ketchup on the London, Ont., workplace of a member of Parliament final yr say the cost in opposition to him has been dropped.
The attorneys representing Tarek Loubani, an area doctor and activist, say the Crown withdrew the mischief cost after figuring out it was “not within the public curiosity” to proceed with the prosecution.
Arash Ghiassi and Riaz Sayani say in an announcement that Loubani’s actions weren’t against the law however reasonably a part of his constitutional proper to protest in opposition to an elected official — on this case, Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos.
Loubani was arrested in November 2023, however the incident happened weeks earlier after a protest in downtown London.
Police mentioned on the time that Loubani and three others went to an workplace on Hyman Road, the place he squirted ketchup on the door and entrance of a constructing.
Of their assertion Tuesday, Loubani’s attorneys mentioned police’s “heavy-handed method to political protest on this case” is just one instance of a broader response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
“This type of expression has been criminalized in practically 100 circumstances in Toronto alone, and lots of extra throughout Canada. Whereas many of those charges are finally withdrawn, this systemic overcharging however chills reputable political expression on urgent points,” they mentioned.
Fragiskatos didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Nov. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press
