Spectators in Room 3.11 of the Palais de Justice leaped to their feet and cheered yesterday when a Quebec Superior Court jury acquitted three activists of participating in a riot in October 2000.
Defendants Jaggi Singh, Christina Xydous and Jonathan Aspireault-Massé hugged each other and cried, while a female juror dabbed at her eyes.
Justice Jean-Guy Boilard smiled broadly and did not call for the room to come to order.
And, as the jury got up to leave, many people, including a weeping Pascal Lescarbeau, the lawyer defending Xydous and Aspireault-Massé, stood to give them an ovation.
"I had to believe we had a jury that could make a statement that it's totally illegal and unacceptable to criminalize these people for democratically expressing their points of view," Lescarbeau said later in an interview.
"Now, I believe we still live in a democratic society."
Singh, who represented himself throughout the case, said the decision was good for morale.
"This was an attempt to repress activists and it didn't work," he continued. "But the battle is not in the courtroom. The battle is in the streets. It's a battle of ideas."
It's a battle that took a long time to get to trial, too.
The three were arrested after a demonstration on Oct. 23, 2000, to protest against a meeting of G20 finance ministers at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Montreal, turned violent.
Pepper spray and riot police mounted on horses, which the defendants kept calling the "cavalry," were used to quell the fast-panicking crowd.
A silent police video shows a handful of mostly black-clad protesters throwing rocks, paint and other projectiles and setting garbage bins alight.
But there was no direct evidence presented during the trial that the three defendants participated in such illegal acts.
Instead, Singh, a prominent activist whose mug shot was among a packet of photos circulated among police before the demonstration, spoke to the crowd and mingled, while Xydous drove a rented pickup truck fitted with speakers to broadcast music and speeches.
Prosecutor Kathleen Caron maintained Aspireault-Massé spray-painted a car, but Lescarbeau said police failed to prove his client's identity beyond a reasonable doubt.
After the verdict, Caron said that 11 people (a 12th juror was excused due to illness) had made their decision, and she would carefully review the case before deciding whether to appeal.
Aspireault-Massé, the only one of the three who did not take the stand in his own defence, said it was hard to keep silent before the jury.
He said he was crying because he was exhausted. He'd been working nights to pay for school, and, at the same time, worrying and working day and night on the case.
"I'm happy," he said, wiping his eyes. "I'm tired. I don't know what I am."
Xydous said she was relieved and hopes the verdict represents a "step back in the right direction," where people will be able to voice their opposition without fear of reprisal.
Singh said he's going to celebrate this victory by preparing for his other court cases, including one in Quebec City, where he is charged with participating in a riot during the Summit of the Americas in the spring of 2001.
"This decision was a good start," he said. "We won. We won."
lfitterman@thegazette.canwest.com
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