During closing arguments at the manslaughter trial for Ahmed Rafin, charged with the fatal stabbing of his friend, 15-year-old Maahir Dosani, Crown prosecutors and defence lawyers repeatedly referred to cellphone videos that were shown throughout the trial.
The videos taken by bystanders captured the accused 19-year-old being swarmed by an angry group of students falling to the ground, after being punched.
The mob can be seen kicking Rafin as one person strikes him with a collapsible baton on the afternoon of Nov. 16, 2021.
At the end of one video, Rafin is lying motionless on the ground, seemingly unconscious, with his arms stretched out above his head.
Crown prosecutor Martin Sabat argued that prior to the swarming, Rafin brought the knife to the school for a violent confrontation.
Sabat said Rafin later took the knife out to intimidate others around him. “He never let go of it (the knife), even if he didn’t do it intentionally,” Sabat told Justice Katherine B. Corrick.
On Tuesday, Rafin testified he came to school that day because Dosani, who was a Grade 11 student, told him he wanted to fight one-on-one with a bully who had beaten him up with a group of friends, and he wanted Rafin’s support.
Rafin said he was there to make sure his friend did not get “jumped,” but Rafin said had no intention to using his knife that day, which he frequently carried.
As the two were walking away from the school, the vice-principal asked Dosani to leave, and that’s when he said he was met with the angry mob.
Rafin told the court he saw three students with knives, one with an open blade and another with a collapsible baton.
He testified he doesn’t believe he caused any injury to Dosani, and the two other teenagers may have gotten injured by his knife when they were kicking him.
Sabat told the judge the crowd was telling Rafin to put the knife away, and suggested that Rafin started the altercation, saying there was direct evidence of the accused’s stabbing motions.
“We know the cause of death was a single stab wound,” Sabat said. “In short, the accused’s actions significantly contributed to the death of the deceased.”
He pointed to the fact that two knives were found at the scene. A silver knife that was in Rafin’s hand, and a folded knife that was never opened.
“It is a proven fact that the only weapon capable of inflicting this injury to Mr. Dosani was the silver knife in Rafin’s hand,” Sabat said.
He also said it was clear that two sources of DNA were found on that knife, and the profiles of Rafin and Dosani cannot be excluded in relation to those sources.
Rafin’s lawyer David Hakim argued that there are three routes to an acquittal.
The first is self-defence.
The second is the fact that there is no unlawful intent, given Rafin did not intend to harm or stab anyone that day.
The third route, Hakim explained, is that it’s not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Rafin caused Dosani’s stab wound, saying the defence believes there’s an alternative suspect.
The defence suggested that one of the boys who was wounded during the attack may have stabbed Dosani.
Shortly after Rafin’s arrest, Hakim pointed out that Rafin asked an officer what he did, and stated as he was getting cuffed, “I just came to meet my friend and they beat me up for no reason.”
Hakim told the judge that a number of witnesses testified they observed Rafin swinging his knife during the swarming, but walked back their observations during cross-examination, saying the motion was consistent with flailing involuntarily.
Adam Weisberg, Rafin’s co-counsel queried why police did not charge those that attacked Rafin.
“One would expect those involved in the gang assault would be charged, not my client,” Weisberg said.
The judge will deliver her verdict in May.
“Mr Rafin did not cause the fatal injury to Mr Dosani,” Hakim concluded.