The Dominion - G20 defendants

Riding Out the G20 Judicial Roller-Coaster

Moira Peters — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:56:41 +0000

Hundert threatened with solitary, Rainville released, Ichim's charges dropped

MONTREAL—The fence has come down, the police have returned to their respective cities and the G20 leaders have gone home, but the saga of arrestees continues. While charges in some of the most spectacular arrests have now been dropped, others are just beginning to face the repercussions of the G20 convergence in Toronto.

In the latest arrest on October 14, Montrealer Youri Couture turned himself in to Toronto police. He faces several charges, including mischief over $5,000 and disguise with intent.

Ryan Rainville, a young Indigenous rights advocate from the Sakimay Nation, was released from prison yesterday after spending nearly three months in jail. In early August, while out on bail for other G20-related charges for which he had spent six days in jail in June, he was re-arrested for allegedly causing mischief over $5,000, assaulting a police officer, intimidating a justice system participant by violence and breaching his bail conditions.

Rainville was released on non-association bail conditions which block him from contacting some other G20 defendants and community organizers. He will go to trial in early 2011. A week prior to his release, Rainville was offered release and a reduced sentence if he co-operated with G20 Integrated Security Unit officers in identifying individuals in photographs. He refused.

G20 defendant Alex Hundert was arrested for a third time, this time for allegedly attempting to intimidate a member of the judicial system. Hundert was arrested four days after he filed an application for a review of his most recent bail conditions, which included “no expressing of views on a political issue.”

After initially refusing the “no expressing of views” bail condition, Hundert was coerced by the security manager of the Toronto East Detention Centre into agreeing to it.

“They said that they would keep him [in solitary confinement] until he was eventually released from prison if he didn’t sign his bail conditions right away. He was not allowed to make a phone call,” said Jonah Hundert, Alex’s brother, in an interview with CBC.

Alex Hundert had been found by a Scarborough Justice of the Peace to have breached his "no-demonstration" bail condition on October 8, 2010, by speaking as an invited panelist at two university events.

Gary McCullough was arrested June 24, 2010, after police pulled him over and found a crossbow, a chainsaw and other outdoor equipment in his vehicle.

McCullough’s home in Haliburton County, Ontario, had burnt down, and his remaining possessions were in his car when he drove to Toronto to get his car window fixed. McCullough has spent most of the last three and a half months in solitary confinement before being assessed as unfit to stand trial, and now awaits transfer from prison to a psychiatric hospital.

Byron Sonne, a computer security expert who had created a G20 counter-surveillance “how-to” guide, was arrested on June 22, 2010, on a slew of charges, including possession of an explosive. There is a publication ban on his case, and it is unknown why he was denied bail on July 20, 2010. Sonne remains behind bars.

Toronto-based organizer Syed Hussan, an alleged co-conspirator, has been unable to get his work permit to Canada renewed and is facing inadmissibility proceedings, which may lead to his deportation. Hussan was arrested after being swarmed by plainclothes officers and thrown into an unmarked van the morning of June 26, 2010.

“I think it’s rare for this much resources and energy to be put into so vehemently going after people who are allegedly guilty of nothing more than vandalism,” said Jonah Hundert.

Indeed, it seems that many of the charges are not holding up in court. Conspiracy charges against nearly 100 protesters of the G20 who were arrested in the widely publicized and violent 9am raid of a gymnasium at the University of Toronto (U of T) were dropped due to lack of evidence. Charges against three members of Montreal’s Anti-Capitalist Convergence (ACC) who were “preventatively” arrested on the morning of June 26, 2010, were also dropped.

“A lot of [the U of T arrestees] are more radical now, [they’ve] seen you can be arrested for your political beliefs,” said Blandine Juchs, a member of the ACC.

Leah Henderson, another accused of conspiracy successfully challenged her non-association bail conditions on October 20, 2010.

"[Superior Court Justice Todd] Ducharme said it was a nebulous condition, it was setting someone up to breach, essentially, because it just wasn’t defined,” Henderson told the Vancouver Media Co-op in a phone interview.

Anti-poverty activist Julian Ichim had his charge of counseling to commit mischief dropped by the crown on November 1, 2010. He appeared in court with eight of the 19 alleged co-conspirators, all of whom still face charges.

Following the same hearing, Peter Rosenthal, lawyer for Montreal-based organizer Jaggi Singh, argued for more disclosure regarding the case against his client. He told reporters after Singh's hearing that many of the accused still have not received full disclosure of the evidence being used against them.

Such judicial harassment is only strengthening the conviction of those resisting G20 policies. Before Alex Hundert was banned from speaking to the media, he urged people to continue organizing. "The way to assert our right to resist is to resist."

“If they’re trying to break [Alex] down with these sorts of things, it’s certainly not working,” affirms Jonah Hundert.

Nat Gray is a poet, an activist and an intern at The Dominion.

G20 UofT Press Scrum

G20 Over, but Legal Woes Drag On

Tim McSorley — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:14:16 +0000

Three hundred to appear in court, G20 organizers face police threats as arrests continue

TORONTO and MONTREAL—Nearly two months after the G20 protests in the streets of Toronto, hundreds of people are slowly moving through the legal system. They face a wide range of charges, from obstruction to conspiracy, and a variety of possible punishments, from fines to serious jail time.

The complexities of the justice system can be difficult at the best of times, but with mass arrests and what many see as politically motivated charges, things have become more daunting.

“The court system is incredibly alienating,” says Ryan White, a lawyer working with the Movement Defense Committee (MDC). “That's why [the courts] are used, to use up time and energy to destroy social movements.”

While it’s difficult to predict the outcome for people facing charges, an estimated 300 people – mainly those who were arrested and held at the detention centre set up in a former film studio in Toronto’s east end – are slated for “set date” court appearances on August 23.

A set date is the first step in the trial, where the accused will be able to clarify their exact charges, will be given their next court dates, and will possibly receive disclosure – meaning they will be permitted to see the evidence being held against them.

Since the set date hearings are not arraignments, defendants will not plead innocent or guilty, but resolution discussions – otherwise known as plea deals – may take place. A spokesperson for the Crown's office refused to comment on the possibility of such negotiations, though Riali Johannesson, another lawyer who volunteers with the MDC, says such discussions are common-place.

Those who remember the temporary bail court hearings immediately after the G20 summits may doubt the wisdom of processing 300 defendants in one day, but both Crown prosecutors and MDC volunteers believe there should be enough resources and staffing for the process to move smoothly. According to Johannesson, legal defence volunteers are in contact with the Crown to find ways to ease the process and ensure hearings do not drag on.

That is reassuring for the dozens of people who will come in from out of town for the hearings, including 110 people from Quebec alone. Montreal’s Anti-capitalist Convergence (CLAC), which organised buses to Toronto for the G20 summit, is organising transport and lodging for those who need to travel to Ontario for their hearings. Other out-of-town defendants, including most from BC, have secured legal counsel to represent them so they do not need to make the 4,000km trek.

There is a possibility that some charges will be dropped on August 23, and that others may be downgraded following resolution discussions. No one will be obliged to take plea deals and groups like CLAC have expressed hope that enough funds will be raised to enable individuals who wish to challenge their charges to do so.

Fundraising takes time though, and in both Montreal and Toronto, where the two main pushes for fundraising are taking place, it is estimated that at least $250,000 needs to be raised in each city in order to cover the legal fees associated with those facing the most serious charges. Farrah Miranda, a spokesperson with the Toronto Community Mobilisation Network (TCMN) was unable to confirm how much money has been raised so far. The TCMN and CLAC are both planning a series of large events over the coming weeks, though, including a performance by trip-hop band LAL in Toronto, and a fundraising dinner and art auction in Montreal as part of what will be year-long funding drives.

Some of the seventeen people co-accused on charges of conspiracy will be among those appearing August 23. All but one of them have been released on bail and face severe restrictions, including house arrests and limits on who they can associate with, on public statements, organizing or participating in protests, using laptops, cell phones and other wireless devices. Kitchener-based community organizer Eric Lankin however, has been in custody for over six weeks.

The courts have issued a publication ban against reports on the proceedings, and some have been warned that speaking to the media may constitute a violation of the bail conditions, which would leave the sureties financially liable. The sureties for Leah Henderson and Alex Hundert were contacted recently by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), who told them comments to the media made by Henderson and Hundert could be interpreted as a breach of their 'no advising or planning political protest' condition, according to Hundert’s brother Jonah. Such a breach would allow the police to put them back in jail.

“It's absolutely absurd and the principle behind it is disgusting,” he says, adding that if there are concerns about breach of bail conditions the proper route is to contact legal representation. “[The OPP] are basically
harassing my family, just as they try to intimidate all people who speak and stand for social justice.”

Many have been critical of the bail conditions, seeing them as particularly repressive. “The coercive bail conditions force those released into a false choice: to stop organising or to face further repression,” says SK Hussan, who, like Henderson and Hundert, has been accused of conspiracy, among other charges. “We are not simply choosing to fight for a better world; it is our responsibility to do so,” he added.

Ongoing arrests continue to evoke the spectre of the G20 mass detentions. No one knows when they will end, and Toronto police have not said they are through with arrests. In mid-July the Toronto Police Service (TPS) released a “most wanted” list of G20 protesters. Since then, the TPS have arrested several of those listed, most recently Ryan Rainville, an Indigenous solidarity activist, who was arrested in Waterloo, Ontario.

“It's clear that the police will extend [the wave of arrests] as long as they can,” says White. But he is optimistic that fighting in the courts could lead to a kind of victory for the defendants. “There are so many stories out there of people who had their rights trampled by the state who have had success in the courts. It's exciting to think about it proactively. It's one way of holding the state accountable.”

Hussan, for his part, is insistent that the focus not be on the ongoing legal battle he and others face, but on building towards a just world: “What’s become increasingly important is not just how are we going to deal with state violence, but how are we going to create the autonomous, just, free communities we all want to live in?”

For more information about what defendants can expect on August 23 and information on legal defense, visit http://movementdefence.org. For more information on legal defense fundraising efforts and news, visit http://g20.torontomobilize.org/ and http://www.clac2010.net/.

Tim McSorley is an editor with The Dominion. Megan Kinch is an activist and journalist in Toronto.

G20 police line