Murdered girl’s dad brought gun to court, say Ibrahim Ali’s lawyers

Lawyers for the man convicted of killing a 13-year-old girl in a British Columbia park say it was the victim’s father who allegedly brought a handgun into a Vancouver courtroom on the final day of the trial last week.

Ibrahim Ali’s lawyer Ben Lynskey described the incident in a B.C. Supreme Court hearing and co-counsel Kevin McCullough says in an affidavit that Victoria Police told him the man brought the loaded Glock handgun with an “intention to kill” on Friday.

An email from Vancouver Police to Ali’s lawyers says a “no contact undertaking” applies to the girl’s father with them as of Monday, and the man “must not enter” the vicinity of the Supreme Court in Vancouver.

The email shared with The Canadian Press by the lawyers and described in court says if the father breaches the undertaking they should call 911 immediately.

Lynskey told the hearing that the father had dialed into the proceedings, despite the no contact order, saying it was wrong that the man had any part in it.

He told Justice Lance Bernard that he understood the father had been arrested but didn’t know if a charge had been laid.

But the judge said there was nothing to prevent the father attending the hearing virtually.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2023.