Accused neo-Nazis' trial tainted by police 'stunt': lawyer
The trials of three alleged neo-Nazis charged in a number of assaults against minorities have been tainted by heavy-handed police tactics, according to the lawyer for one of the accused.
David Sutherland is representing 25-year-old Robertson de Chazal, one of two men charged with setting fire to a Filipino man who was asleep on a couch in East Vancouver in 2009.
The charges against de Chazal were announced at a police press conference on Dec. 12, in which members of the RCMP Hate Crime Team displayed Nazi flags and claimed the accused were linked to the international white supremacist organization Blood and Honour.
Sutherland says the widely-publicized announcement featured "inappropriate imputation and innuendo" that will make it difficult for de Chazal and his friends to defend themselves in court.
"Such stunts as displaying a Nazi flag… should be seen for what it is: completely unfounded, highly prejudicial and fundamentally contrary to the spirit of our legal system," he said.
De Chazal is also accused of beating a black man unconscious the same year. He faces two counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault causing bodily harm.
His co-accused in the attack on the Filipino man, who was a teenager at the time, faces one count of aggravated assault.
A third man, Shawn MacDonald, 39, has been charged with three counts of assault in connection with separate incidents in 2008 and 2010 in which a black man, a Hispanic man and an aboriginal woman were attacked.
The three were scheduled to appear in court Friday, but none appeared. The dates of their arraignment hearings have been pushed back to 2012, with de Chazal and Miller due to appear on Jan. 23 and MacDonald scheduled for Jan. 27.
The Blood and Honour group was established in the 1980s, borrowing its name from the Hitler Youth motto, "Blut und ehre," and is believed to have about 15 members in the Lower Mainland.
It's one of two white supremacist organizations on the Hate Crime Team's radar. It has a handful of local chapters in Canada, including in Ontario and Alberta.
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