Emotions were strong at the hearing of Alek Minassian’s sentencing

Many testified to the pain, their voices choked with emotion, while other witnesses had to let the Crown read their statements, unable to do so in public.

Pictures of the victims were successively displayed on the big screen in the courtroom with their testimonies.

Touching testimonies

Good Samaritans, attack survivors and loved ones of the victims were resurrected in horror on April 23, 2018 in North York, describing the impact of the tragedy on their lives over the past 4 years .

Pedestrians who attempted to help the victims said they lived with guilt because they did not know if they had even given better care to the dying victims lying on the road.

Others said they suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the riots on Yonge Street that day.

Survivors listed in detail the physical suffering and the psychological sequelae they endured over the four years, not to mention work or family -related problems.

Perhaps the scariest story came from Jun Seok Park, a Korean national who was studying in Toronto at the time, but his parents left him after taking a break to pay for his rehab treatments.

My parents broke down after staying in Toronto during my recovery to pay for my therapy and they blamed it on metearful she says.

Alek Minassian, you broke my past, present and futurehe added, addressing the murderer.

Jun Seok Park explained that he ran out of money, ran out of almost all state aid, and found it difficult to work for a living.

The families of the victims mentioned on their part the enormous loss left in their lives by the death of their loved ones. They shared touching anecdotes about broken dreams that they could never achieve together again.

The D’Amicos were the most moved: Anne-Marie D’Amico’s father, mother, sister and cousin all remembered, uneasily, the maiden’s generosity.

Our pain is indescribable, our grief is insurmountable, his loss has plunged us all into daily hellsaid patriarch Rocco D’Amico.

Many also said they had experienced a panic attack or repeated nightmares for four years. I am still haunted by siren soundsexplanation by Irene McGillian.

After each testimony, Justice Anne Molloy of the Ontario Superior Court praised the courage of the court witnesses.

Your family did well on this testfor example he told Anne-Marie D’Amico’s sister.

Tanya Kozous, who witnessed the tragedy, rescued one of the victims, but it did not succeed.

It is very difficult for everyone directly or indirectly affected by this tragedy.he said out of court after his testimony.

However, it is time to turn the page, but I hope no one will forget this pathetic day.he clarified.

The Yonge Street Tragedy Commemoration Committee, which brings together residents and businesses in the neighborhood, said its members have always been afraid to walk the streets and that no one would be prepared to survive such a tragedy.

He also promised that the victims of Alek Minassian will not be forgotten and will annually commemorate the anniversary of the tragedy.

Call for press

Meanwhile, Omar Najjar confronted the media begging them to stop pronouncing the name of the perpetrator of the attack so that his name would be forgotten.

He also thanked the magistrate who gave the suggestion when it delivered its verdict on March 3, 2021.

Don’t you see that you’re just satisfying this monster’s desire to have fame with the damage it causes?he wondered after reading his mother’s statement too tearfully to read it.

I myself cannot love unconditionally and I cannot forgive him of his sins.he pointed out.

Some witnesses also questioned the accused’s futile act, wondering how someone could have acted in this way without mercy while still showing no remorse.

My worst fear is that he will sin again when he gets out of prison.explained Janet Jiang.

Request of the parties

Resigned, Crown prosecutor John Rinaldi, however, could not seek more than 25 years firmly pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, which recently overturned the accumulation of periods of ineligibility for the lantern.

Some witnesses, such as Charlene McKay, demanded that justice be given and that it be proportional to the seriousness of the crimes committed.

Hopefully Alek Minassian will never get out of prison, because for the rest of my life I will be at the hands of his crimes.he relies on the bar.

The Crown has never said whether it will seek at least two consecutive 25-year strict sentences to prevent Alek Minassian from getting out of prison.

However, the defense has already denied this after the guilty verdict, arguing that such punishment is too harsh.

Me Rinaldi also did not orally say whether the Crown intended to revoke the assassin’s right to get a credit of 6 years in prison for the time he spent in pre-trial detention.

Defense attorney Boris Bytensky showed sympathy by recalling that he agreed to the Crown’s request and that this hearing was not the place to address objections to some of the witnesses ’statements.

I don’t mean to be rude, but His Honor will know what is inappropriate with all these testimonies.he said, his voice choking.

This day is reserved for the families of the victims and survivors and it is not appropriate to address my concerns about certain details in these latest proceedings.he concludes.

The judge’s verdict

In her decision, magistrate Ann Molloy explained that her hands were tied in the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Bissonnette case in Quebec.

He said he understands those demanding justice by demanding a harsher sentence against Alek Minassian. I respect your choicehe told them.

However, the judge invited them to read the Supreme Court ruling on May 27, stating that they would find comfort there.

However, he insisted that a firm 25-year sentence does not mean that Alek Minassian will be released from prison for 25 years, but that he is only allowed to apply for parole for 24 years ( you must remove the year that has elapsed since the conviction of the offender, editor’s note).

He therefore suggests that the sentence he utters is in fact a life sentence and that the Parole Board of Canada decide whether he can be released on parole one day.

He asked the firefighter if it had anything to add, but the multiple killer declined his offer.

He then asked him to stand, to remember, one by one, the 26 charges on which he had been convicted.

By mentioning the number of attempted murders related to Amaresh Tesfamariam, who died of his injuries 3 and a half years after the attack, the magistrate kept to remind the killer that it was indeed a murder.

The magistrate became more qualified as very touching the statements of all the witnesses he had heard and he assured them that their letters would be sent to the Commission when it was time to hear Alek Minassian’s request.

The Minassian can now be transferred from a provincial prison in Toronto to a prison in the country whose location is not specified.