Accused leaders of Tamil boat just wanted better life: lawyers
VANCOUVER — Four men accused of smuggling dozens of Tamil migrants into Canada were simply part of an effort to get themselves and the rest of the asylum seekers across the Pacific Ocean, their lawyers told a court on Wednesday.
Mark Jette said in closing arguments at the B.C. Supreme Court trial that the men, like the rest of the migrants, were seeking a better life and their work aboard MV Ocean Lady wasn’t facilitating organized crime.
Francis Anthonimuthu Appulonappa, Hamalraj Handasamy, Jeyachandran Kanagarajah, Vignarajah Thevarajah are accused under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of smuggling 76 migrants on board a cargo vessel from Thailand to the coast of British Columbia in October 2009.
The Ocean Lady was escorted by Canadian navy vessels to Ogden Point in Victoria, where the migrants were removed.
Crown attorney Maggie Loda told the court on Tuesday that the men were in control of the vessel and sought to make a profit on those who wanted asylum in Canada.
But defence lawyers Jette and Fiona Begg, who represent two of the men, told the court that the evidence fails to show that the accused were in charge or profited in any way out of the voyage.
“This is a group attempting to get away from terrible conditions in their home country,” Jette said. “We’re not comparing it to a cruise-ship ticket.”
He said his client, Thevarajah, was among a few who received basic instruction on how to operate the engine room just before they embarked on the voyage.
But he said it was a necessary skill for the group to proceed and that there was no rationale as to why Thevarajah was chosen for training.
The evidence does not suggest that Thevarajah was in charge, Jette said.
He listed several examples where witness testimonies and notes from border agents and other investigators were inconsistent, vague or lacked details, making it impossible to prove any one person on board was in charge.
Begg said her client, Anthonimuthu Appulonappa, did not receive preferential treatment while aboard the dilapidated vessel, and his living conditions were the same as those of the other migrants.
She said rooms in the upper deck, where the accused allegedly slept, were no better than the main cargo hold, where the majority of migrants lived.
“These were rooms the size of a cupboard,” she said. “They couldn’t have possibly been comfortable, nor were they private.”
In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial for the men after ruling portions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act were unconstitutional and shouldn’t automatically brand those who help migrants as people smugglers.
The high court determined that those providing humanitarian aid, including family members, would be exempt from the smuggling law.
The prosecution argued that the high court’s exemptions don’t apply to the accused because they had a role in organizing and executing the voyage, which aided in a money-making scheme where agents charged the migrants thousands of dollars for passage.
Jette said his client claims to have paid a $10,000 deposit to an agent for his passage on the voyage and promised to make a second $10,000 payment once in Canada.
Lawyers representing Handasamy and Kanagarajah are expected to deliver their closing arguments on Friday.