Ibrahim Ali, the 28-year old Syrian refugee who was charged with the first degree murder of 13-year old Burnaby girl Marrisa Shen, appeared at the Provincial Court of British Columbia on March 5th.
During the court appearance, defense lawyer Veen Aldosky asked for further disclosure despite the fact that crown prosecutor Daniel Port has argued that the disclosure is “substantially complete.”
Over 10,000 pages of evidence have been reported in the case against Ibrahim Ali, who arrived to Canada in March 2017, only four months before he allegedly murdered Shen.
Aldosky also represented Iraqi refugee and UN gang affiliate Aram Ali for firearms and and aggravated assault charges.
Ali was released from prison despite being considered a danger to the public, and is currently awaiting deportation while Aldosky files an appeal with the Immigration and Refugee Board.
In front of the courthouse, protesters waited outside as the proceedings adjourned, holding signs saying “Hold Trudeau accountable” and “Punish murderers.”
Present at the court were some of the former candidates from the recent Burnaby South byelection, including Liberal Richard Lee and Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson from the People’s Party of Canada.
Both spoke about Shen during the last Burnaby South all-candidates debate.
“Right here in Burnaby South, a young girl named Marrisa Shen was murdered in central park by a Syrian refugee. This demands that we be careful in vetting the refugees that come to our land,” said Thompson during the third Burnaby South debate.
Lee expressed that Shen’s family didn’t want the event to be politicized. “I talked to the family, twice. All I want to say is, let the court decide. Okay?”
Ali was privately sponsored as a refugee by several community groups in British Columbia and was brought to Canada to join several family members residing in the area.
He was arrested Sept. 28 after a year-long investigation by police.
Shen was discovered dead on July 18th, 2017 after she went missing for only several hours from her home in Burnaby South.
Eventually Ali was identified as a suspect following an investigation involving over 2,000 people.
Ali will be returning to court April 15th for his next hearing.
