Crown lawyer Michelle Kai stated Tsege fled the nation after a videotaped assertion he gave to police was posted on YouTube on March 5, 2021 below the title “Calgary’s Most Needed Rat.”
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The Crown’s star witness in a deadly capturing exterior a southeast Calgary hookah lounge fears for his security, a prosecutor stated Monday as he sought permission to have him testify remotely from Ethiopia.
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Crown lawyer Michelle Kai advised Choose Paul Jeffrey within the Courtroom of King’s Bench that Abel Bezabeth-Tsege is a cooperating witness however doesn’t need to return to Canada as a result of he fears for his life.
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Kai stated Tsege fled the nation after a videotaped assertion he gave to police was posted on YouTube on March 5, 2021 below the title “Calgary’s Most Needed Rat.”
“Mr. Tsege is the one eyewitness who can establish the alleged shooter right here,” Kai advised Jeffrey.
“Mr. Tsege is in Ethiopia. He fled after he gave his assertion and that assertion was posted on YouTube,” she stated.
However protection lawyer Paul Moreau, who represents accused gunman Samuel Lugela, stated permitting such a process would compromise his shopper’s capability to reply the prosecution’s case.
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“I’m very involved concerning the motivation of this witness,” Moreau stated, noting that Tsege initially requested for a $10,000 cost to return to testify.
Protection says long-distance testimony creates a number of points
The lawyer stated permitting Tsege to testify from midway world wide would trigger a number of issues along with his credibility and hamstring, he and lawyer Derek Jugnauth, who represents co-accused Feysal Osman Adbul-Aziz, of their cross-examination.
As a consequence of logistical points, the witness would solely be obtainable till 20:00 Addis Ababa time every day, or 10:00 Calgary time. Even beginning court docket at 8 a.m., cross-examination can be restricted to 2 hours, probably resulting in a number of days of testimony, Moreau stated.
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“You realize very properly that movement and tempo are extraordinarily vital for cross-examination,” he stated.
“Giving a witness a 22-hour break again and again … who is aware of what they’ll do.”
Moreau stated that not like with witnesses testifying right here in Canada, Jeffrey can have no management over Tsege discussing his testimony with others or searching for data that might change his testimony.
“He’s immune from the court docket’s perjury and contempt powers,” he stated.
“It is a extremely unsatisfactory method of receiving vital proof.”
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Kai disputed Moreau’s suggestion that the witness was making an attempt to “extort” a money cost for his testimony, noting that he cooperated and gave two separate statements earlier than the YouTube submit put him at risk and compelled him to flee the nation.
Lugela and Abdul-Aziz are charged with second diploma homicide within the deadly capturing of Abdurahaman Indiris on September 12, 2020 on the street exterior the Portico Hookah Lounge at 35 St. SAY
It’s the prosecution’s principle Lugela was the gunman and Abdul-Aziz was a celebration to the homicide.
Jeffrey is anticipated to rule on the Crown’s utility on Tuesday.
KMartin@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts
