Video footage from the night of the deadly 2017 mosque shooting will not be made public, ruled a Quebec judge Wednesday.
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The footage will still be presented as evidence during sentencing arguments for Alexandre Bissonnette, who pleaded guilty in March to six charges of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder.
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The Crown had been arguing against having the videos released, saying it risked causing trauma to victims or prompting others to commit violence.
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A consortium of seven news organizations argued in favour of having the recordings released.
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“If journalists are allowed to broadcast parts of the video, then people can form their own ideas about the images they see and that’s fundamental,” said the lawyer representing the consortium, Jean-François Côté, Tuesday.
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Judge François Huot also heard expert testimony from psychiatrist Dr. Cécile Rousseau on the matter.
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“The trauma it would cause to surviving victims and families is great,” she told the court.
“If you want to destroy someone, you force them to watch a loved one being tortured or killed.”
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She also warned that broadcasting the video could influence others to commit similar crimes or it could be used as propaganda by radical groups.
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Sentencing arguments for the 28-year-old gunman are expected to commence Wednesday afternoon.
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— with files from Global’s Raquel Fletcher and The Canadian Press.
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