By Canadian Press

Legal aid won’t take on Quebec man seeking to withdraw guilty plea for killing unborn child

Oct 26, 2019 | 9:31 AM

MONTREAL — A Quebec man seeking to withdraw his guilty pleas in the killing of his unborn child and the stabbing of his ex-wife won’t be represented by legal aid in the case.

Sofiane Ghazi suddenly pleaded guilty on Sept. 5 — the second day of his jury trial — to reduced charges of second-degree murder of the infant boy and aggravated assault against his wife stemming from a July 24, 2017 attack.

But when he returned for the sentencing less than two weeks later, Ghazi abruptly fired his attorneys and said he wanted to withdraw his guilty pleas.

Sandra Tremblay, a legal aid lawyer mandated by the court to look into the case, said Thursday that after studying the matter and evaluating the jurisprudence, her office has determined presenting a motion to withdraw the pleas wasn’t justified.

“The burden to ask for a withdrawal involves a preponderance of evidence,” Tremblay said. “I evaluated (that) the preponderance of evidence wasn’t there, but I won’t discuss the arguments of my client. I want him to preserve his rights, because he still wants to present this motion.”

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Ghazi wants to withdraw his pleas and has been given a few more weeks to find a lawyer — but legal aid has determined it won’t cover his legal fees.

In an agreed statement of facts, Ghazi admitted to stabbing his wife 19 times with a carving fork — 12 times on the left side of her stomach and seven times in the upper left thigh.

The woman survived the attack, but the child, delivered by emergency C-section at the hospital, had a heartbeat for several minutes before succumbing to his injuries.

Of those wounds, nine wounds were inflicted on the child in the womb — known as Baby Ghazi in court documents — and observed after his birth.

He had initially faced charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Second-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence, with a minimum of 10 years to be served before becoming eligible for parole.

Justice Jean-Francois Buffoni gave Ghazi a final opportunity to find a lawyer or represent himself. Tremblay added that Ghazi could contest her decision announced to the court on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the judge asked the Crown to be ready for sentencing arguments, if needed, when the case returns to court on Nov. 14.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct 24, 2019.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press