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Police violated rights of man accused of plotting G20 attack, trial heard
Aaron Lynett
The case against a man accused of plotting to attack the G20 summit last year should be thrown out because police violated his Charter rights, a Superior Court judge heard Monday.
Forest Hill resident Byron Sonne was arrested in the run-up to the 2010 world leaders’ conference and stands charged with possessing explosive substances and counselling the commission of mischief not committed. While the Crown’s case is based on the premise that he was targeting the G20 summit, the defence is expected to argue Mr. Sonne — who collected photographs of the G20 security fence and wrote online about summit security measures — was merely exploring the limits of summit surveillance, and never intended to cause harm.
His trial opened Monday with the Charter arguments, which are slated to be dealt with over the course of the next week.
Defence lawyer Joseph Di Luca says Mr. Sonne’s rights were violated when police detained him downtown without cause. In a video recorded by a police cruiser’s internal camera, the accused can be seen conversing with several officers, eventually producing a document that appears to be some form of identification.
“Mr. Sonne is corralled in front of that police car,” Mr. Di Luca told the court, noting after Mr. Sonne initially refused to identify himself, police threatened to arrest him for jaywalking.
“[They’re] subverting an exercise of constitutional rights,” he said.
Issues with a search warrant executed at Mr. Sonne’s residence will be coming up for discussion Monday afternoon.
Mr. Sonne was freed on strict house-arrest bail in May after spending nearly a year in jail.
Supporters, who routinely turn out for his court appearances, have organized a “Free Byron” movement, dismissing the Crown’s case as unjustified.
Mr. Sonne’s wife, Kristen Peterson, was also charged in the case, but those charges were later dropped. The couple’s marriage has since fallen apart.
Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/07/trial-set-to-start-for-man-accused-of-plotting-attack-against-toronto-g20-summit/