London doctor sprays MP’s office with ketchup again, hours after mischief charge was dropped
Inside a London courtroom Tuesday, a mischief charge against London physician Dr. Tarek Loubani was dropped.
“We knew that we were going to win this case, we were ready to fight this case straight to the end,” said Loubani, speaking with CTV News outside the courthouse on Dundas Street in London, Ont.
Nearly a year ago, Loubani, who also teaches at Western University, was arrested and charged with mischief, for spraying ketchup on the exterior of Member of Parliament Peter Fragiskatos’ office — he spent a night at the holding cells inside London Police Service Headquarters.
“What I was doing when I sprayed ketchup during this protest against genocide is a constitutionally protected right,” said Loubani.
His counsel Arash Ghiassi and Riaz Sayani, sent a statement to CTV News, in part it reads, “Members of the public have the constitutional right to protest against their elected officials. Had the charge not been withdrawn, we would have defended the case at trial on this basis, as well as on the merits.”
Loubani said they’ve been asking Fragiskatos to take a strong position against an “act of genocide.”
“He has said nothing in approximately a year. And when he did say something in December of 2023, it was to Palestinians for their own genocide,” added Loubani.
In a statement to CTV News, Peter Fragiskatos said, “Over the past several years our office and staff have experienced various acts of vandalism, threats and hostility. This will always be unacceptable.”
Fragiskatos added this is a legal matter in which charges were laid and he will not be commenting on the process.
Just hours after the mischief charge was dropped, Loubani returned to Fragiskatos’ office, spraying it with ketchup once again. He expressed no concern of getting charged.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won’t have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Video shows octopus 'hanging on for dear life' during bomb cyclone off B.C. coast
Humans weren’t the only ones who struggled through the bomb cyclone that formed off the B.C. coast this week, bringing intense winds and choppy seas.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.