A Calgary man who spent three and a half years in the Calgary Remand Centre is now free.
On Tuesday, Fuad Ali was found not guilty of the second-degree murder of Mustafe Mohamud Hussein.
Hussein died in hospital following an attack in downtown Calgary in July 2015. Court heard Hussein suffered severe blunt force trauma to his head.
Both Ali and Hussein were homeless at the time of the attack.
Defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli said he was extremely pleased with the decision, and called the second-degree murder acquittal “rare.”
“Being in remand for a significant period of time with other individuals that are charged with murder, you get concerned that you are going to spend the rest of your life in jail,” Iovinelli said.
“Coming to court and hearing the justice say you are a free man is… I don’t think he will appreciate all of it until he’s released from remand.”
CCTV surveillance video from the scene showed the attack, but court heard the justice was not convinced Ali was in those images.
Queen’s Bench Justice Keith Yamauchi said identity was the crucial issue before court, and he wasn’t satisfied the Crown proved its case.
In handing down his decision, Yamauchi said he was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.