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By: Jane Sims
LONDON, ONT. — A mischief charge has been withdrawn against a London doctor, known for his pro-Palestinian activism and humanitarian acts, who was accused of spraying ketchup on a city MP’s riding office.
During a brief video court appearance Tuesday, the Crown withdrew the charge against Tarek Loubani that was laid a year ago by London police over a ketchup attack on Peter Fragiskatos’ Hyman Street office.
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Loubani, 43, was one of four people identified by London police as suspects in the Oct. 22, 2023, incident. Police said one person was seen removing a bottle of ketchup from a backpack and squirting it on the building before handing bottles to the three others to do the same.
Three of the people identified chose to enter a court diversion program, in which charges are set aside for minor offences on the condition they complete a rehabilitative program.
Loubani was arrested and charged on Nov. 15, 2023, almost a month after the incident, and held in custody overnight before he was released. He was charged with mischief valued at less than $5,000.
At the time of Loubani’s arrest, his lawyers described the police actions as “heavy-handed” and “incompatible with the Charter right to freedom of expression.”
They claimed Loubani was held in custody because he wouldn’t agree to a condition “preventing him from protesting against MP Fragiskatos.”
Fragiskatos, the Liberal MP for London North Centre, became the target of local pro-Palestinian protests for not publicly calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following last fall’s simmering tensions in the region that erupted into war.
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On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that has since killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and injured more than 102,000, according to Gaza health authorities, in the densely-populated enclave of 2.2 million.
The war has led to demonstrations and rallies across Canada, including in London.
Fragiskatos’ office was inundated with emails and phone calls demanding action.
Born born in Kuwait, Loubani lived in Palestine before coming to Canada with his family when he was nine. He’s made headlines in the past for his humanitarian and protest efforts.
He and Toronto filmmaker John Grey were detained in Egypt in 2013 while travelling to Gaza for a medical mission and spent more than 50 days in jail under accusations of supporting deposed president Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
He was shot in the leg in 2018 in Gaza while treating patients as part of a medical team that was testing tourniquets made with 3D printers on wounded patients.
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