The British royal family has reserved 49 indictments against seven protesters who took part in the Freedom Convoy demonstration in Ottawa earlier this year, constitutional rights groups say.
“The Justice Center for Constitutional Freedom is pleased to announce that the King has suspended 49 indictments against seven Freedom Convoy protesters who took part in peaceful protests in Ottawa. I think,” said the group. news release August 18th.
“All seven pleaded not guilty and believe the right to peaceful protest is essential to a healthy democracy.”
The Justice Center has appointed Ottawa attorney Monique Grenier to represent Rob McGown, Nick More and Michael Flannery, among others, and attorney Diane Magus to represent Alexandre Naish and Matthew Monette. said.
The seven were charged with mischief, tampering with property, disobeying lawful orders, and obstructing security officials, but due to a lack of evidence, the Crown has suspended these charges for the past two weeks. did.
“A key piece of the missing evidence is the arresting officer’s notes, which were unavailable to the King on all charges related to the seven protesters,” the Justice Center said. “Without these memos, the King could neither prove the grounds for his arrest nor secure a reasonable chance of conviction.”
In Monnett’s case, the king was unable to identify the arrested RCMP official or provide details of the arrest, the group said.
Freedom Convoy was originally a nationwide movement aimed at protesting federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed on cross-border truck drivers. As convoys of trucks rolled across the country and converged in the heart of downtown Ottawa from late January, many joined to call for an end to other pandemic-related restrictions.
The Center for Justice said that until the government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, invoked an unprecedented state of emergency law on February 14, giving law enforcement agencies special powers to arrest and disperse demonstrators in an escalated operation, the “protests” could continue. No criminal charges have been filed against him for weeks.” Several days.
“Using the declaration as a pretext, law enforcement has dramatically cracked down on peaceful demonstrators, including trampling an elderly indigenous woman with a disability with a horse,” the Justice Center said.
Earlier this week, the Public Order Emergency Commission announced that a public inquiry into the Ottawa law enforcement would begin next month. Hearings are scheduled for September 19th through October 28th at the Library and Archives Canada in downtown Ottawa. The hearing will be open to the public via livestream, according to the Justice Center.
the group said Will join Investigations involve “making evidence, factual and legal submissions, policy documents, proposing and cross-examining witnesses, and/or participating in policy roundtables and deliberations.”
Another civil rights group, the Fund for Democracy (TDF), said this week that its team of attorneys had accused Freedom Convoy protesters who faced multiple crimes, including prison terms of up to 45 days, if convicted. He said he was successful in his defense.
TDF said in news release The client was “exercising his rights peacefully in Ottawa” when he was arrested and charged with mischief for less than $5,000, disobeying a court order and obstructing a peace officer.
After several court appearances, the royal family agreed to suspend the charges on August 9.
Isaac Teo contributed to this article.
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Andrew Chen is a reporter for the Epoch Times based in Toronto.