MONTREAL, APRIL 7, 2003 -- The G-20 "riot" trial began today at Montreal's Palais de Justice, with the selection of a 9-woman, 3-man jury to judge activists and organizers Jonathan Aspireault-Masse, Christina Xydous and Jaggi Singh on the charge of "participating in a riot". The charges relate a demonstration of about 1000 in front of Montreal's Sheraton Hotel against the G-20, IMF and World Bank that occurred on October 23, 2000, more than two years ago.
The G20 trial marks one of the first times in recent memory, in Montreal, that political protesters will have their charges decided in front of a jury. [At present, three members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) are also facing similar charges, as well as more serious charges, in front of a jury in Toronto.]
The jury pool of more than 200 people filled the largest courtroom at the Palais de Justice. The defendants were able to pose specific questions to the jury to determine bias; the questions were: "Do you have any prejudice against anti-globalization protesters or demonstrations?" and "Do you work, or have you ever worked, in a managerial capacity, for the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the G-20 or any other related institution or organizations".
Several potential jurors volunteered openly that they were in favor of protesters. One middle-aged woman stated that she was involved in protests in the 1970s, while another man said, "I haven't worked for the IMF, and I don't ever want to work for the IMF!. Unfortunately, both persons will not be serving on the jury, although they did wish the defendants good luck in front of other potential jurors. Other potential jurors openly indicated bias against protesters and were also excluded.
In the end, a jury of 9 women and 3 men was chosen, but not before the Crown was able to exclude, as permitted in law, several potential jurors (the defence also has the same right). However, the crown systematically excluded several young students, 2 CEGEP teachers and one writer, all of whom stated confidently they could judge the case without bias. Also, the crown excluded two young black men -- one who is a college student, the other who works in a fast-food restaurant. On the exclusion of the second young black man, and noting that all jurors selected to that point had been white, defendant Jaggi Singh, who is representing himself, stood up to object, stating, "I want a jury that represents the diversity of Montreal, not an all-white jury." In the end, only one juror is a visible minority.
The jurors' occupations are as follows: manager, flight attendant, computer technician, day-care worker, contract administrator, mature student, secretary, housewife, accounts officer, aircraft mechanic, paint company manager and production manager's assistant.
The trial will begin with the Crown's arguments on Tuesday morning (April 8) in courtroom 3,11 of the Palais de Justice in Montreal (corner of Notre Dame and St-Laurent, near metros Champ de Mars and Place d'Armes). The trial is expected to last for at least 3 weeks. For more information, e-mail montreal@tao.ca.
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[Background info ...]
MONTREAL G-20 RIOT TRIAL
Three Montreal Organizers Face Jury Trial and Potential Prison Sentences
An Appeal for Your Support and Solidarity
MONTREAL, March 31, 2003 -- Next Monday April 7, three Montreal-area organizers will begin a jury trial on charges of "participating in a riot". The charges date back to October 23, 2000, when 1000 people demonstrated against a closed meeting of the Group of 20 (G-20) outside Montreal's Sheraton Hotel. The G-20 is comprised of finance ministers and bank governors from 19 countries, as well as the chiefs of the World Bank and IMF. The Montreal G-20 protest was one of several protests that were part of the anti-FTAA mobilization before Quebec City in April 2001.
Jonathan Aspireault-Masse, Jaggi Singh and Christina Xydous are active local organizers, involved in various social justice groups and organizations. They are facing charges that carry the potential penalty of up to 2 years in prison, and if found guilty, a minimum sentence of at least six months is quite likely in at least one case.
While Jonathan, Jaggi and Christina are charged with participating in a riot, there is no evidence that any of the accused engaged in any violent behavior at the protest. Rather, the crown alleges that they were simply present during what the police have deemed to be a "riot", which is apparently enough to determine guilt. Any of the up to 1000 people present at the protest could have been similarly charged, but Jonathan, Jaggi and Christina have been singled out by the police.
There have been hundreds of Montreal-area residents who have been charged at various political protests in the past five years -- mass arrests of hundreds at a time is a typical Montreal police strategy -- and there are several ongoing trials related to political protest. However, the G-20 riot trial will mark one of the first times that protest charges will be argued in front of a jury in Montreal. Moreover, the "participating in a riot" charges, at the Quebec Superior Court, represents a clear escalation of the legal intimidation of political protesters.
[Currently, in Toronto, three members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) are facing similar charges, with one accused facing a further charge of counseling to commit illegal acts (which carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison).]
The Montreal G-20 riot trial was delayed in coming to trial for more than two years, while the accused pursued further police evidence at Federal Court. They won a partial victory when the police were forced to admit that the Surete de Quebec (SQ) used at least 23 plainclothes crowd infiltrators during the G-20 demonstration (in addition to eight Montreal police undercovers, the riot police, mounted police and RCMP). The identities of the SQ crowd infiltrators remain confidential for reasons of national security, as well as other police intelligence and surveillance files on certain protesters.
Jonathan and Christina will be represented by lawyer Pascal Lescarbeau, while Jaggi is acting as his own lawyer. The trial will be presided by Quebec Superior Court Judge Boilard, and is expected to last for at least 3 weeks. It will begin, with opening motions and the selection of a bilingual jury, on April 7 at 9:30am in courtroom 5,15 of the Palais de Justice (corner of Notre-Dame and St-Laurent, near metro Champ-de-Mars).
For more information, or to stay in touch, please e-mail montreal@tao.ca.