A Canadian court has ruled that there will not be a new trial for a Sri Lankan refugee who was accused of killing his wife since he has already been deported.
Quebec’s Court of Appeal has dismissed the Crown’s request for a new trial in the case of Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingam, who was charged of his wife’s murder in 2012 but set free by the court in June last year after the length of his criminal proceedings exceeded the legal limit.
In a 4-1 decision, the appellate court decided today the appeal is moot because Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingham has already been deported from Canada to his native Sri Lanka, the Canadian Press reported.
Thanabalasingam was arrested in August 2012 after his 21-year-old wife, Anuja Baskaran’s body was found in their apartment in the Ahuntsic neighborhood of Montreal. The woman in her twenties had been stabbed at the throat many times.
He was charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Baskaran.
The charge was stayed in April 2017 after the length of the proceedings was deemed to have violated a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that set time limits for trials to be completed.
He became the first murder suspect in Quebec to be set free as a consequence of the court ruling, known as the Jordan decision.
He was detained by Canada Border Services Agency upon his release and deported in July 2017.
The appeal court ruled that the Crown’s desire for a new trial is not likely given the accused is no longer in Canada.
Thanabalasingam, who came to Canada as a refugee, originally appealed the deportation order but later changed his mind and asked to be sent back to Sri Lanka.
