Angry in the Great White North

As a way of review, recall that Yasmin Ashareh, a 20-year-old single woman living by herself, was found murdered in the Rexdale area of Toronto last summer.

Her body was in a duffel bag.  Her throat had been cut.  Because of a missed pickup, her remains were found outside the John Garland Boulevard rooming house where she lived.

Her case attracted quite a bit of attention.  The means by which she was killed was unusual.  Throat cutting has a ritualistic element to it.  She was a Muslim, and some in the media and online speculated on whether this was an honour killing.  Her family was from Somalia.

Her father was not in Canada, though.  He had left his family years earlier to return to Somalia.  Readers of this blog learned that Yasmin was, in fact, the daughter of Awad Ahmed Ashareh, the Minister for Justice and Religious Affairs in the Somali state of Puntland, and subsequently a member of the national government.  Her relationship to Ahmed Ashareh was later confirmed by the mainstream media.

At last check, Awad Ahmed Ashareh was working with fundamentalist Islamist rebels in Somalia to integrate them into to government, even cabinet posts. 

That connection gave cause to some Somali's to think that Yasmin Ashareh got what she deserved.

The plot thickens.

Still, Toronto police made it clear that this case had no religious or political overtones.  Instead, they arrested a Nigerian who lived in the same rooming house, a man by the name of William Imona-Russel.

Police would not elaborate on the relationship between Imona-Russel and Yasmin Ashareh, or on the motive, or on the evidence that supported the murder charge.

If you read the Yasmin Ashareh posts on this blog, you'll realize that I have a lot of doubts about this case. 

Imona-Russel was out on $1000 bail for having allegedly raped a woman.  But even that case is not straightforward.  Indeed, a careful reading suggests even more questions in my mind.

Not convinced?  Well, how about this?  Before arresting Imona-Russel, police admit to having Imona-Russel under surveillance for several days.  Why?  We don't know.  The police won't explain why they had him under costly surveillance, what they hoped to learn, what they did learn, if anything, and what prompted them to terminate the surveillance and arrest him.

I wonder if the police hoped Imona-Russel would lead them to someone connected to the crime somehow.  People in the area have contacted me to say they heard two men arguing the night Ashareh was murdered, as well as the sound of furniture being moved.  An acquaintance of Imona-Russel contacted me to tell me Imona-Russel was no angel, but he was shocked at allegations of murder.

As late as October, weeks after Imona-Russel's arrest, police were still canvassing the neighbourhood.

All this adds up to nothing if the police had found the bloody knife in Imona-Russel's kitchen with his fingerprints all over it, but then there was a publication ban on the evidence.

A publication ban on the evidence?  Why?  So we would not know how much evidence the police had?  Or how little?  Even straightforward information, like where her identification was found (with the body, in her arpartment, in Imona-Russel's possession, or somewhere else altogether) is being treated like a state secret.

If it was a slam dunk, you would expect that the case would have been pleaded out by now.

Then last night, I got this email, and it makes me wonder just what is going on in this case:

I am one of the lawyers assisting Mr. William Imona-Russel with his charges. I am writing to advise that we will be bringing an application for a publication ban in this matter. If you wish to apply to the Court for standing to argue a position with regards to this proposed ban, please provide your legal name and your address so that we are able to serve the application and our materials on you.

One of the lawyers?  How many lawyers does he have?  Clearly he is fighting the charges, and part of the strategy is to shut down media coverage, commentary, and speculation.

Needless to say, I was floored by this one.

I'm trying to get in touch with the reporters in the mainstream media who were also covering this case to see if they had been contacted regarding a publication ban on this case.

Publication bans can be retroactive, so depending on how this plays out, I might have to pull down the stories for the duration of a trial.  Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be following the case, just not publishing further stories on it, until the case is resolved.

Stay tuned.