Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
OTTAWA – The trial of a man accused of taking journalist Amanda Lindhout hostage in Somalia is slated to begin Thursday, a few days behind schedule.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Smith says the criminal trial can begin this week, even though a legal dispute over secret information is unresolved.
The trial was supposed to start last Monday, but defence counsel argued that Ali Omar Ader could not get a fair hearing at this point due to side proceedings over how much sensitive information can be admitted.
A Federal Court judge recently ruled certain classified records must remain under wraps, a decision Ader’s lawyers are challenging in the Federal Court of Appeal.
Lindhout and photographer Nigel Brennan were seized by masked gunmen near Mogadishu in August 2008, and both were released in November 2009.
Ader, a 40-year-old Somalian national, faces a criminal charge of hostage-taking for his alleged role as a negotiator.
