Sahab Jamshidi.
HAMILTON SPECTATOR - On the eve of a court hearing that will decide if an Canadian doctor will stand trial in the drowning death of a four-year-old St. Lucia boy, his family says the defence has still not seen any of the evidence against him.
Sahab Jamshidi is charged with a type of manslaughter — gross negligence or recklessness causing death — in the drowning of a local boy, T.J. Elibox, on Feb. 22.
“We urge the Government of St. Lucia and their police to respect their own legislation and disclose the required information to Sahab’s lawyer ahead of the hearing so the lawyer can prepare a defence for Sahab,” his family said in an emailed statement Thursday.
“We place our hope in the St. Lucian Justice system, and we are confident that justice will prevail.”
Jamshidi is a McMaster graduate who was visiting St. Lucia, where he had previously attended medical school, when he became involved in the boy’s death at the beach on a church outing.
He is due in court April 24 for a “sufficiency hearing,” in which a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence for the case to move forward. The maximum sentence for his charge is life imprisonment.
Conflicting stories around the circumstances of the death have circulated on the Caribbean island since Jamshidi was charged.
Police allege the boy drowned after Jamshidi took him out into the water on his kite board.
Jamshidi maintains he was out on the water kite-surfing when he first spotted T.J. drowning, and called for help after failing to rescue him.