After two days of bail review proceedings, Calgary street preacher Artur Pawlowski has been granted bail with conditions on Friday after spending 45 days behind bars, but cannot be released due to overlapping charges.
Pawlowski, one of the principal organizers of anti-mandate protests across Alberta, was arrested by Alberta RCMP and Calgary Police Service officers in February and charged under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act in relation to the Coutts border protest last month.
He is also facing charges of obstruction for allegedly inciting people to obstruct the highway and failing to comply with a release order.
Pawlowski has to abide by the conditions laid out by the court, which state that he must be under house arrest and will be subject to curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. He can also only leave his residence to conduct worship services or for medical emergencies.
He is forbidden from attending any protests.
He must also obey all probation conditions, be of good behaviour and report to his probation officer. All exceptions must be approved by his probation officer.
Pawlowski is also required to pay $25,000 in bail as well as $10,000 surety from his wife and an additional $2,000 from his son.
However, Pawlowski will not be released due to new probation-relation charges that have yet to have a bail hearing. A date for his release has not been set.
The decision comes after Pawlowski’s lawyers sought an appeal after Pawlowski was denied bail by a judge on Feb. 16.
Details regarding Pawlowski’s bail review cannot be published due to a publication ban on evidence and arguments heard.
This isn’t the first time Pawlowski has been arrested.
Artur Pawlowski and his brother, Dawid Pawlowski, were arrested last May for organizing an illegal gathering as well as promoting and attending illegal gatherings. The pair held church services that ignored Alberta’s COVID-19 rules on masking and physical distancing.
Justice Adam Germain spared the brothers from jail time in October but gave out hefty fines along with a year of probation with conditions. The pair must keep the peace and be of good behaviour, obey all Alberta Health Services health orders relating to COVID-19 and complete 120 hours of community service, excluding the preacher’s street church.
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They must also provide the following message when speaking out against AHS health orders and recommendations:
“I am also aware that the views I am expressing to you on this occasion may not be views held by the majority of medical experts in Alberta.
While I may disagree with them, I am obliged to inform you that the majority of medical experts favour social distancing, mask-wearing, and avoiding large crowds to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Most medical experts also support participation in a vaccination program unless for a valid religious or medical reason you cannot be vaccinated. Vaccinations have been shown statistically to save lives and to reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.”
The brothers must also stay in Alberta unless for a family emergency that must be approved by their probation officers.
In January, a video posted on Facebook showed Artur and Dawid Pawlowski being arrested by Calgary police. The video was posted on the same day a rally protesting COVID-19 related mandates was held outside Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping’s house.
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