[LINK] "Via train plot trial: The strange non-defence of Chiheb Esseghaier"
CBC's Laura Lynch reports on the strange defenses, legal and otherwise, of former Tunisian graduate student Chiheb Esseghaier on charges of terrorism.
Since the trial began on Feb. 1, virtually all of Esseghaier's words and actions in court - save for a brief, rambling statement at the end, read out by a court-appointed lawyer - have been kept secret from the jury and public under a court-ordered publication ban that has been lifted today as the jury goes into its deliberations.
They include:
■Asking the judge to help him persuade members of Parliament to change the Criminal Code to reflect the Qur'an
■Praying in the prisoner's dock and ignoring the judge's order to stop
■Displaying an unusual aversion to the number three
What those words and deeds suggest is a man whose level of religious zeal is unmatched by many, and whose unorthodox actions have clearly tested the patience of Judge Michael Code and the conduct of the trial.
Perhaps the most unusual of Esseghaier's interjections are those surrounding the number three. On at least two occasions, with the jury absent, he spoke about his apparent aversion to matters involving three.
Last month, noting that Esseghaier was falling asleep in court, Judge Code asked him whether he was sleeping well in the prison where he is being held.
Esseghaier told him he realized not long after his arrest that the jail had given him one blanket and two sheets and he saw it as a symbol, a symbol he could not accept.
"I told them I cannot accept symbolism because one blanket and two sheets suggests God has a son and a wife and God does not need to have a son and a wife because God is the creator of all things. So I can't accept the metaphor."
Much more at the link.
Since the trial began on Feb. 1, virtually all of Esseghaier's words and actions in court - save for a brief, rambling statement at the end, read out by a court-appointed lawyer - have been kept secret from the jury and public under a court-ordered publication ban that has been lifted today as the jury goes into its deliberations.
They include:
■Asking the judge to help him persuade members of Parliament to change the Criminal Code to reflect the Qur'an
■Praying in the prisoner's dock and ignoring the judge's order to stop
■Displaying an unusual aversion to the number three
What those words and deeds suggest is a man whose level of religious zeal is unmatched by many, and whose unorthodox actions have clearly tested the patience of Judge Michael Code and the conduct of the trial.
Perhaps the most unusual of Esseghaier's interjections are those surrounding the number three. On at least two occasions, with the jury absent, he spoke about his apparent aversion to matters involving three.
Last month, noting that Esseghaier was falling asleep in court, Judge Code asked him whether he was sleeping well in the prison where he is being held.
Esseghaier told him he realized not long after his arrest that the jail had given him one blanket and two sheets and he saw it as a symbol, a symbol he could not accept.
"I told them I cannot accept symbolism because one blanket and two sheets suggests God has a son and a wife and God does not need to have a son and a wife because God is the creator of all things. So I can't accept the metaphor."
Much more at the link.