David Ahenakew to receive new hate crimes trial
The province has decided it will go ahead with a second hate crimes trial against former Assembly of First Nations chief David Ahenakew.
Ahenakew, 74, who called Jews a "disease" and rationalized the Holocaust during a 2002 interview with a StarPhoenix reporter, was convicted three years later of wilfully promoting hatred.
Last month, the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan upheld a lower court ruling that ordered a new trial. Ahenakew's lawyer called on the Crown to drop the dragging case because his client had been through enough.
"Mr. Ahenakew was originally prosecuted because we believed that there was a reasonable likelihood of success and that it was in the public interest to do so," Daryl Rayner, executive director of public prosecutions branch, said Friday.
"After careful consideration, we still believe this case meets that standard so we have decided to proceed with a new trial."
Justice spokesperson Candace Cook said no date for the trial has been set, but it will likely be held in Saskatoon sometime this year.
The case stems from a conference sponsored by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in Saskatoon on Dec. 13, 2002.
While making opening remarks, Ahenakew delivered a 45-minute disjointed rant that concluded with blaming Jews for the Second World War.
Former StarPhoenix reporter James Parker later approached him for an interview, in which Ahenakew said, "Jews owned the goddamn world," and, "How do you get rid of a disease like that?"
During a firestorm of public outrage that followed, Ahenakew was stripped of his Order of Canada.
In 2005, he was convicted in provincial court on the charge of wilfully promoting hatred. He was fined $1,000.
The following year, a Court of Queen's Bench judge overturned the conviction, ruling the original trial judge did not properly assess whether Ahenakew had the required intent to commit the crime.
He ordered a new trial, and the Crown appealed.
In a unanimous decision, the province's top court dismissed that appeal and upheld the lower court ruling that ordered a new trial.
chpurdy@sp.canwest.co
© The StarPhoenix 2008
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