By The Canadian Press

Investigators of Tamil migrant ship showed ‘total disregard’ of policy: lawyer

Jan 13, 2017 | 12:13 PM

VANCOUVER — Two Canadian men accused of smuggling hundreds of Tamil migrants from Thailand to British Columbia must be acquitted because authorities conducted a flawed investigation resulting in unreliable evidence, their lawyers say.

The men, Nadarajah Mahendran and Thampeernayagam Rajaratnam, and two Sri Lankan men have pleaded not guilty to organizing the 2010 voyage of the MV Sun Sea, contrary to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Mark Nohra, who represents Mahendran, told the jury in closing arguments that the Canada Border Services Agency and RCMP showed “total disregard” for policies established to “protect people’s liberty and freedom.”

He said investigators repeatedly showed isolated photographs of his client to migrants during interviews. Referring to one witness who testified earlier in the trial, Nohra said the migrant’s identification of Mahendran could not be trusted.

“The question you’re left with is, ‘Did he pick out my client because he had actual memory of him or did he pick out my client because he had the image burned into his brain?’ ” Nohra asked. “That is a question we really cannot answer.”

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The MV Sun Sea left Thailand on July 5, 2010, carrying 492 Sri Lankan Tamils who intended to claim refugee status when they arrived in Canada. The rickety cargo ship was intercepted off the coast of B.C. on Aug. 12, 2010.

Mahendran and Rajaratnam are Canadian citizens who were not aboard the vessel. Both are accused of being agents who met with migrants in Bangkok and arranged their journeys across the Pacific.

Nohra said the evidence against Mahendran was contaminated because hundreds of migrants were kept in the same detention centre. They were able to discuss the questions investigators had asked them and the photographs they had been shown, he said.

Rajaratnam’s lawyer Vicki Williams said there is no evidence of her client having any financial dealings with migrants. He travelled to Thailand to arrange voyage on the MV Sun Sea for several of his family members, including his mother-in-law and father-in-law, she said.

The trial for the four men began in October.

Lawyers for the other two men, Lesly Emmanuel and Kunarobinson Christhurajah, delivered their closing arguments Thursday.

Sandy Ross, representing Emmanuel, accused of being the ship’s captain, argued that the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act did not apply to his client because his actions were humanitarian in nature.

Williams said Friday that the Crown had argued during the trial that because the conditions of the ship were cramped and poor, then the actions of anyone involved in its voyage could not be humanitarian.

She asked the jury to dismiss this argument.

“No one is saying this was a luxury liner going across the Pacific,” she said. “It was the best option that these individuals had in their circumstances.” 

— Follow @ellekane on Twitter.

Laura Kane, The Canadian Press