One of the West Montreal brothers accused of kidnapping his 16-year-old sister last summer amid an Amber Alert was finally released on conditions Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse. This is quite a turnaround since the 23-year-old had been detained for seven months.
Posted at 4:20 p.m.
Seated in the front row, the young complainant and her chaperone did not hide their joy following the decision of Judge André Perreault of the Court of Quebec. The special constable and the judge also had to bring the complainant’s guide to order during the hearing.
The 17-year-old girl had testified for the defense this winter during the request for a review of the detention of her brother, detained since his arrest last July. Judge Joëlle Roy refused to release the two brothers in a long decision last summer.
But under Judge Perreault’s decision, the accused will be able to enjoy his freedom until the conclusion of the trial. His release conditions are also very unrestrictive for such serious charges, namely kidnapping, forcible confinement and death threats.
However, we cannot divulge either the reasons of the judge or the evidence presented during this investigation. Under another order, we are prohibited from identifying the defendants in this case in order to protect the identity of the victim who was 16 at the time of her alleged abduction.
“It’s a very well-founded decision. [Mon client] is a young man with a whole future ahead of him. For an individual with no criminal record, who offered fairly serious guarantees to the court, I am of the opinion that the release was completely justified,” commented defense lawyer M.and Zayid Al-Baghdadi in a scrum.
“Given the orders, my comments will be brief. It was a long decision rendered this afternoon, we take note of this decision, we will study it to find out whether or not it will be appealed, “limited himself to saying the Crown prosecutor Mand Charles Doucet.
The preliminary inquiry is scheduled for next fall.