On eve of Ottawa terrorism trial, RCMP still working on disclosure

Just weeks before accused ISIL recruiter Awso Peshdary is scheduled to go on trial, the RCMP has disclosed key documents to his defence team, some three years after his arrest.

The handover of 1,900 documents comes after top anti-terrorism investigators launched an internal audit last month to see if all relevant evidence had been appropriately disclosed. It hadn’t, and the 11th hour disclosure has the potential to jeopardize the case against Peshdary, should his lawyer request an adjournment or a stay, or later argue that his client’s case took too long to get to court.

Police are required by law to disclose all relevant evidence so the accused can mount a full and fair defence, and that evidence is supposed to be handed over long before trial dates are set.

Ottawa’s Awso Peshdary, 28, is scheduled to go on trial in March to face RCMP allegations that he is a star recruiter and terrorism financier, but his top defence lawyer, Solomon Friedman, is still getting key disclosure after years of fighting in court.

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