A young man implicated in the brutally violent murder of a father of six children in the Villeray district has been sentenced to three years in prison. Had it not been for his “exemplary rehabilitation”, Tanvirul Haque would however have received a more severe sentence given the many aggravating factors.
Posted at 9:23 a.m.
Attacked in the middle of the street by a pack of young men, Giovanni Bucchianico was killed in front of his family on July 20, 2019. An attack of “extreme violence”, according to judge Karine Giguère. Armed with a baseball bat, the father presented himself to a party BBQ with his adult son, in order to avenge the latter, who had just been beaten by young people. But the two men soon found themselves overwhelmed by their assailants.
Giovanni Bucchianico was trampled, brutally beaten with a stick and stabbed 14 times by Noah Pépin, sentenced last year to life in prison. Tanvirul Haque played a crucial role in this group attack by tripping the victim and then punching them hard in the face to “stun” them. He thus placed the victim in a “highly vulnerable” position, according to the judge.
If the Crown asked for five years of detention, the defense asked the Court not to impose any prison sentence, an extremely lenient sentence. In the eyes of the defense, Tanvirul Haque was scared and simply wanted to disarm the victim that evening. Claims rejected by the judge.
“These punches were not defensive moves. [Haque] not only overpowered Mr. Bucchianico, he punched him. If he only wanted to end the threat, why did he hit him? Why didn’t he tell his friends to stop? He could have intervened to avoid the fight. He did nothing, ”says Judge Giguère in her decision rendered last Friday.
Video evidence and descent into hell
On the video of the scene – filmed by a citizen -, we can also observe Tanvirul Haque looking for his cap during the fight before leaving “nonchalantly” towards the party. “This attack in no way shows a frightened person,” concludes the judge.
Among the aggravating factors, the judge noted the “disastrous” consequences of the death of Giovanni Bucchianico on his family. Remember that several of his children witnessed the tragedy. And one of his sons was seriously injured in the attack. His widow also confided to the court her “descent into hell” of recent years.
But since then, Tanvirul Haque has demonstrated a “convincing” rehabilitation, said the judge. The 22-year-old is involved in his mosque and in his community to “give back to society”, in addition to studying full time. He also shows “sincere” remorse, according to the judge. He said he was “disgusted” by his behavior during his testimony last December. These elements thus convinced the judge to deviate from the Crown’s suggestion of five years in detention.
Mand Mathieu Locas represented the public prosecutor, while Mand Maya Amar and M.and Laurence Lavoie defended the accused.