A judge has found a Global Affairs Canada employee not guilty of sexually assaulting a female Afghan
who formerly worked for Canada in Afghanistan.
Galal Eldien Ali
faced several charges
that stemmed from allegations dating back to a period between 2011 and 2013 after the woman immigrated to Canada through a government program. The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, lived at Ali’s home for most of the time during the alleged abuse.
Ontario Court of Justice David Berg issued his verdict on Wednesday, April 22, telling Ali he was free to go after
a months-long sexual assault trial
.
The allegations included a string of unwanted sexual acts. However, Berg found that the woman alleging the sexual abuse was not a credible witness.
“Mr. Ali, much as he testified in court, has always denied all of the allegations,” Eric Granger, the defence lawyer, told the Ottawa Citizen in an interview.
A central incident in Berg’s decision occurred during the complainant’s cross-examination. The woman had been told by the judge not to speak to anyone during a break when she was being cross-examined.
But Berg found that she had spoken to a police officer that was assigned to the case during a recess. When court returned from break, a defence lawyer pressed the woman about the breach.
The woman said that she thought she could not speak to friends but that the instructions didn’t apply to her “team like representing me or the state,” according to court transcripts.
When pressed about the incident, the woman said she “might have” spoken to the officer before later admitting she did.
She also refused to estimate how long the conversation lasted.
Berg said he found the woman’s response while providing testimony more troubling than the breach itself, and found her credibility was wanting during the exchange.
The judge also took issue with how the woman described the sexual acts, using terms that he called “performative.” Berg noted that the woman did not notice a deformity in Ali’s leg.
Another witness was also found not to be reliable due inconsistencies in their testimony.
Those findings led Berg to rule that the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Ali had committed the alleged assaults.
“The one person whose perception matters is the judge, and obviously he had sat through the entire trial, listened clearly, listened intently to the complainant in this matter, having summarized her evidence in detail and explained in detail why he did not find her to be an honest witness,” Granger said.
It’s now unclear what will happen to a civil case that was launched by the woman against Ali seeking $1.75 million in damages.
After Berg delivered the decision, Ali embraced several family members.
Outside the courtroom, acquaintances of the complainant embraced each other as one man wiped the tears from his face.
Malcolm Savage, the crown attorney on the case, declined to comment after the decision was issued.
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