2010-12-05
by Free Alex Hundert
Jailed G20 defendant Alex Hundert submits application to disqualify Crown counsel for bias; Motion in Court: Mon Dec 6 at 10 am, Superior Court of Justice, 361 University
December 5, 2010, Toronto, Mississauga New Credit – G20 defendant Alex Hundert is filing a motion in Superior Court to disqualify any Crown counsel employed by the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario from being involved in prosecuting his current charges and conducting his bail hearing. Hundert was arrested for a third time on Saturday October 23 at his surety’s home and charged with allegedly intimidating two Crown attorneys during a court appearance. He has been in jail since.
According to Yogi Acharya a member of the organization No One Is Illegal – Toronto and supporter of Hundert, “These charges are baseless and there is no clear evidence to substantiate them. The charges are being laid by the same Crown attorneys of the Guns and Gangs Initiative who have been trying to keep Alex behind bars, most recently for supposedly breaching conditions by speaking on a public panel. There is a motion to disqualify this Crown’s office since two Crown attorneys are themselves charging Alex now which reveals their and their office’s particular bias against him.”
Since his initial pre-emptive arrest on June 26 on charges of conspiracy, Hundert has spent over three months in jail, pending bail hearings and trials. “I am deeply concerned that Alex Hundert continues to be targeted. This is his third arrest under questionable circumstances,” says Ryan White, a lawyer with The Movement Defence Committee.
From jail, AW@L member Alex Hundert had this to say: “The targeting and ongoing harassment of me by the Crown and police is not unique, nor an act of incompetence. Their actions are intentional, and an inherent part of how the criminal injustice system works to silence dissent across communities.”
Acharya continues: “Inventing ludicrous pretexts and charges to keep Alex in jail clearly demonstrates the malicious nature of the Crown’s office. Perhaps they are afraid that Alex’s views on state repression are resonating with the general public as more people are becoming angry at the police violence during the G20 summit. The fact that, for example, the Special Investigations Unit recently cleared officers of blatantly violent acts highlights the disturbing reality of intensifying police impunity.”
Since Hundert’s arrest on the morning of June 26, he was re-arrested on September 17 after speaking at a university panel discussion. He was released a month later on restrictive conditions, including no expressing of views on a political issue, condemned by Canadian Association of Journalists, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Canadian Labour Congress, and Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. Hundert intended to challenge these conditions, but was re-arrested a week later.
According to Rachel Avery, member of the group AW@L, “Alex’s continued detention and targeting is symbolic of the state’s intention to quash those who challenge its systems of exploitation. This has become more visible in recent weeks, as in the case of Adam Nobody and actions of the Ottawa Police. But as these injustices continue, opposition only continues to mount as more people see the impropriety of the police and legal system, and our conviction to fight for justice is strengthened.”