tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post7964829703567147377..comments2023-07-25T02:39:44.615-07:00Comments on Bill Tieleman: Basi-Virk case enters the Twilight Zone with disquieting questions in disclosure applicationBill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-77409174513853618892008-09-17T09:22:00.000-07:002008-09-17T09:22:00.000-07:00Bill, I have this very sick feeling that if the ma...Bill, I have this very sick feeling that if the major electronic media including, CORUS, GLOBAL/CANWEST, etc. carried the "Railgate" story ad nasuem every night, like VanDerZalm and Clark before, this case would have gone to court and finished long ago!<BR/><BR/>I have this 'funny feeling in my tummy' that Campbell & Co. are calling in every political marker they have for the major media not to report on this most important case.<BR/><BR/>Is their political corruption or not and I'm afraid the slimy spectre of political graft and corruption has now spread to the media, who have collectively sold their souls for 30 pieces of silver.<BR/><BR/>The whole thing will be thrown out by 2009.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-27392300082735137192008-08-10T03:04:00.000-07:002008-08-10T03:04:00.000-07:00VANCOUVER — In one of the largest wrongful convict...VANCOUVER — In one of the largest wrongful conviction settlements awarded in Canada, the federal government has quietly paid $7 million to a British Columbia man who spent more than seven years defending his innocence for a crime he didn't commit.<BR/>In a case that has received virtually no publicity, due to a publication ban, Mahmood Somani was exonerated by the Supreme Court of Canada and acquitted of all charges against him.<BR/><BR/>Mr. Somani, wiped away tears during the hearing, and later told reporters that without his lawyers intervention and faith in his innocence, “I probably would have gone to my grave with that charge stuck to my record.”<BR/><BR/>The prominent Vancouver lawyer that engineered the exoneration of Mahmood Somani –convicted in 2005 for selling corporate business cards and documentation – has now demanded an independent investigation into the manner in which the police handled the initial investigation. <BR/><BR/>“There needs to be a full investigation of how the investigation was handled by the investigating officers in late 2001,” said Ravi Hira, a Queens Counsel Vancouver lawyer with the firm of Watson Goepal Maledy LLP in the Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.<BR/><BR/>The sooner we understand that and conduct a real investigation, the sooner we can clear up whether there have been more miscarriages of justice in British Columbia,” he said.<BR/><BR/>Mr. Hira said that the “lessons to be learned” from the miscarriage of justice. “When mistakes such as this are brought to the court's attention, it is imperative …that we do what we can to correct them,” Mr. Hira said.<BR/><BR/>In a submission to the court, Mr. Hira urged the judges to use their ruling to illustrate the shortcomings of evidence and eyewitness testimony. The Somani case was a “textbook example” of the problem, he said, since the only evidence was false testimony by the investigating police officer. The violation of his sworn false testimony under oath involved punishment and disgrace to Mr. Somani. <BR/><BR/>Mr. Somani has suffered a great deal of emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of reputation, pain and suffering, mental distress; worry, emotional anguish, embarrassment, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of the normal activities, benefits, and pleasures of life; loss of well-being and affection suffered by the family members as a result. <BR/>The settlement is in the same league as those awarded to other men and women who were wrongly convicted of various charges. <BR/><BR/>Mr. Somani’s settlement will be revealed in the 2008-2009 federal public accounts as a single entry under payments for the wrongly accused. The award also includes an undisclosed amount to cover legal fees.<BR/>His lawyer Mr. Hira said Mr. Somani’s settlement is one of the few largest for a wrongful conviction. "There haven't been that many altogether and this is certainly significant," Mr. Hira said.<BR/>An aggravating factor for the judge who convicted Mr. Somani was his failure to confess, a refusal that he said made his defense more difficult, because he fought with his siblings and other family members who insisted he give up the fight and come clean. <BR/>"It was a daily grind of fighting with your family members, and trying to convince people you were innocent," Mr. Somani said. <BR/><BR/>He spent much of his time reading case law, and talking to law professors trying to get them to assist with his case. Finally, a Supreme Court of Canada decision seven years later proved what he knew all along -- he was innocent.<BR/>Mr. Somani said his life has been scarred by the trials and tribulations of his case, inability to trust anyone, and it will be a while before it brings back the happiness I had before I was charged, and has left me psychologically scarred for life" he said.<BR/>Department of Justice spokesman Raymond Patrick confirmed that few applications for compensation succeed.<BR/>Others who have received compensation include:<BR/>- Richard Norris, the Brampton, Ont., man who was awarded $507,000 in 1993 after being charged for a sexual assault he didn't commit. A decade after the attack, a friend confessed to Mr. Norris that he had committed the crime;<BR/>- Norman Fox, who was charged in Vancouver for rape and related offences. He was granted a pardon in 1984 after new evidence indicated he had been mistakenly identified and he was given $275,000 in compensation;<BR/>- Wilfred Truscott, who was convicted in 1984 in Alberta for assault and mischief by causing damage to personal property. It was later discovered that the complaint had been fabricated and the Alberta government awarded him $36,000 in 1986.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-64654475991556414022008-03-04T15:23:00.000-08:002008-03-04T15:23:00.000-08:00"What is going on with the Special Prosecutors off...<I>"What is going on with the Special Prosecutors office??</I><BR/><BR/>Could they be sitting around the office listening to Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders doing "I'm Special" and thinking it's about them?kootcoothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11344208424209840730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-35048630677612245682008-02-26T10:49:00.000-08:002008-02-26T10:49:00.000-08:00Our local columnist Les Leyne is of the opion that...Our local columnist Les Leyne is of the opion that few folks follow this case. After four years, the case really hasn't started yetAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-8923623235914946762008-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:002008-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:00dmc-the3rdtestament.blogspot.comdmc-the3rdtestament.blogspot.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-33637785223048904402008-02-25T21:00:00.000-08:002008-02-25T21:00:00.000-08:00Hey Bill,Keep up the good work.Could it be that th...Hey Bill,<BR/>Keep up the good work.<BR/>Could it be that that the Crown Prosecutor is being coerced by Gordo et al to withold relevant disclosure documents thus adding to the innumerable delays that may just result in the whole case being thrown out because of timeliness??!!<BR/>2 alleged co-conspirators walk,some politicos make obscene illegal $'s and we the taxpayers pick up a few $millions in court costs once again!<BR/>Give me a break. Remember the old saying "The law is an ass"!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-79459438890354643712008-02-25T20:00:00.000-08:002008-02-25T20:00:00.000-08:00Bill - in an earlier article written regarding the...Bill - in an earlier article written regarding the defence disclosure application you stated that Berardino is agreeing with the defence and will be complying with their application save for 8 areas.<BR/><BR/>That clearly means he agrees with the defence that disclosure has not been met except for 8 areas.<BR/><BR/>Why does it take him 5 months to comply with this application (January 5) and it will be close to a year from the June 4, 2007 order. <BR/><BR/>What is going on with the Special Prosecutors office?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-68357302825624029222008-02-25T19:16:00.000-08:002008-02-25T19:16:00.000-08:00Thank you for another great article, Bill. I've g...Thank you for another great article, Bill. I've got to admit, I'm really beginning to lose hope that democracy in Canada can be saved. The BC Liberals are so absolutely corrupt, and so smug and confident that their almost total control of a compliant press will allow them to blatantly break any law without so much as a wimper from the public, that I just feel sick. My entire life I have tried to stand up for freedom, democracy and fair treatment for all, and now, as I approach retirement age, I see it was all for nought. Facism is winning. Money and greed is all there is. Democracy is something that is bought and paid for, by those with superior resources, while normal working people have their rights and freedoms clawed back.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps we should take a page from the book of corporations. We want a CEO for a government leader. Now, don't think i've gone down the dumb*** road of the greedy right wing. A CEO is expected to provide the best he can for whatever company hires him, and he is held to task by his shareholders if he doesn't. Who would accept a CEO that removed money making ventures from his company's portfolio and sold them to his competitors at fire sale prices, keeping only the losing parts of his buisness? That's what Gordon Campbell and the "so called" Liberals have been doing. Our liquor stores, that provide good paying jobs and billions of profits that, in the past, provided necessary cash for our medical system and schools have been put into competition with private companies. Our prized BC Hydro that should be providing the people of BC with cheap, clean energy is being sold off, but, oh "we now have a choice" in what company we purchase our power from. What a great "spin", eh? <BR/><BR/>Our parks "privatized" so that it costs more to go on a family camping trip to a provincial park, than what it does to stay in a private campground. Our BC Ferry fleet "privatized" and now, rate increases follow each other so quickly, its difficult to keep track. P3P's, the current "big lie" scam for a never ending stream of revenue for private corporations, while we (the government) keep all the risk. <BR/><BR/>Those are only a few examples of what I see when I look toward Victoria......but now....this!!<BR/><BR/>We can no longer trust our courts to provide unbiased decisions on virtually anything. Justice Bennett is clearly a lapdog of the right wing and I don't particularly care what her reasons are. Her actions (or inaction) display a complete disregard for the hard working taxpayers of BC. We deserve better than this. If sitting like a "sock puppet" on the bench, ignoring the contempt of those who would not fulfill her orders is the best that she can do, then she should resign her appointment. The Province of BC deserves better than this, the People of BC deserve better than this, and the legacy of our forefathers deserve better than this. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again for providing the people of BC with real journalism, Bill. Its greatly appreciated by those of us as frustrated by this as I am.Jeff Barkleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07359036061529078423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-58338510971738287782008-02-25T18:53:00.000-08:002008-02-25T18:53:00.000-08:00.Seems to me that if the presiding judge rules tha....<BR/>Seems to me that if the presiding judge rules that the Special Prosecutor must produce a document, Bill Berardino had better produce a document. <BR/><BR/>I'd say that's the litmus test in this case: either Ol' Bill's team shapes up, or they take up residence at the Queen's Crowbar Hotel.<BR/><BR/>Why not, for gosh sakes??<BR/><BR/>.BC Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16597928683019021273noreply@blogger.com