Kingston Shafia verdict reaction

KINGSTON, Ont. (29/1/12) Mohammad Shafia looks back at reporters and members of the public as he is escorted from Frontenac Courthouse in Kingston, Ontario after being found guilty of killing first wife Rona Mohammad Amir and daughters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti Shafia, 13. Shafia, along with wife Tooba Yahya and son Hamed are each charged with four counts of first degree murder and for the deaths of the four women on June 30, 2009. Photo by Justin Tang

By: Justin Tang

They came to witness the end of a landmark trial in what prosecutors called a victory for the Canadian justice system.

One Kingston resident following the trial has a unique view on the proceedings. Sikander Hashmi, an imam with the Islamic Society of Kingston, said the Muslim community has felt many emotions regarding the trial­–anger, shock and frustration–but the overall feeling is now one of sadness.

A crowd of around 100 members of the public gathered at the Frontenac County Courthouse to hear a jury of seven women and five men deliver its verdict of four counts of first-degree murder to Mohammad Shafia, Tooba Yahya and their adult son Hamed.

Onlookers muttered to each other and reporters shouted questions at the convicted killers as they were escorted from the courthouse to begin life sentences, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The trial is one that has gained increasing attention across the country, and even more so in Kingston where law students, seniors and curious community members have lined up outside the courtroom each day as the weeks went on.

Hashmi spoke of the urgency for a greater change in attitudes towards domestic violence.

“We need to make it very clear to people that this is something that is totally unacceptable, according to Canadian law and Islamic teachings and we need to reach out to anyone who feels they may be in this type of situation,” he said.

Hashmi pointed out a number of initiatives his community has been involved in, such as the White Ribbon Campaign launched by the Islamic Institute of Toronto where Muslim men took a pledge against domestic violence.

Kingston resident Joanne Gunning attended court around 20 times. She says she felt utter relief upon hearing the ruling.

“I was just happy with the outcome,” Gunning said. “I sat through enough of this trial to get a sense of what I felt the conclusion should be.

“I have to say that public opinion out there seemed to say that they wanted a murder conviction for all three people. “

Second-year Queen’s University political science student Irfan Tahiri said following the trial was a matter of personal interest.

A Canadian-born student of Afghan descent, Tahiri said he was satisfied with the verdict but stressed that cases like the Shafias were rare occurrences.

“My fear is a sort of branding of all Afghans or a branding of all Muslims as barbaric… people who don’t really have the shared values that we do,” he said

Tahiri said he felt disappointed by comments made by prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis, who said that the verdict sent a clear message about Canadian values and rights and freedoms afforded to Canadians and visitors. Tahiri pointed out that the values upheld by the Kingston jury were universal values that should be afforded to all.

“These are not Canadian values,” Tahiri said. “These are values that every society and culture has.”

Kingston Police Staff Sergeant Chris Scott said the verdict is a testament to the dedication of the police and crown. Scott, major case manager for the investigation, had a strong word of warning for future perpetrators.

“If some evil individual decides they’re going to undertake such an enterprise, we are going to put all our resources and we are going to do all we can and justice is going to be served,” Scott told reporters.

Despite the victory for the prosecution, Scott was adamant that the focus should be on the victims, not the offenders.

“To me, it’s Rona, Zainab, Sahar, Geeti. That’s who we should be thinking about, that’s who we should be talking about. Not these other people.”