Four men face criminal charges including witness intimidation after they allegedly posted screenshots and an audio recording of a witness testifying at Zoom’s preliminary hearing of a local rapper facing a murder charge on Instagram.
Court hearings, including preliminary hearings, which take place to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, have been moved to Zoom during the pandemic and it is strictly prohibited under Section 136 of the Law on Courts of Justice for anyone to take screenshots. or record and share audio recordings of court hearings.
The same rules also apply in physical courtrooms, but they are much more difficult to enforce when observers view the court from a screen in their own homes.
The four men are also charged with violating a routine publication ban at the preliminary hearing that prevents the publication of any evidence heard until the end of the criminal trial, an order intended to protect the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
According to a press release from the Toronto Police Service, on February 23, 2021, the Instagram accounts “thehood6ix” and “thewarinda6ix” posted images of a witness testifying at the hearing. The following day, the Instagram accounts “straightouttathe6ixtv”, “thewarinda6ix”, “thehood6ix” and “keep6ixsolid” published an audio recording of the witness’s testimony.
Police allege the posts were made by 20-year-old Kyle Stephens; Mohammed Abdalla, 24 years old; Ryan Taylor, 32 years old; and Afrah Mohamed, 30. They are all charged with intimidating a participant in the justice system, obstructing justice and failing to comply with a publication ban. Mohamed also faces charges related to an unloaded weapon, including unauthorized possession of an unloaded firearm with easy access to ammunition.
It is unclear who took the screenshots and recordings that were released. The Star previously reported that the preliminary hearing for Saaid “Postman” Mohiadin, who raps under the name Flippa, initially numbered around 250 people. Some stopped silencing the witness to call “rat” after the judge left the hearing.
Subsequently, the public was excluded from viewing the hearing and only the media, lawyers and relatives of the defendants and deceased were allowed to observe after presenting proof of identification.
The three Instagram accounts that remain active as of November 15 have a combined current following of 411,000.
Mohiadin is charged with the first degree murder of Antonio Fiorda in Etobicoke on November 4, 2019. He is scheduled to go to trial next year.
Reference-www.thestar.com