A teenage girl who was allegedly forcibly kidnapped by her own brothers from her workplace was panicking and screaming to call 911, a colleague testified at the trial of the two defendants who deny any criminal wrongdoing.
“She was running and her brother was running behind her, she was pushing herself, she was transported to the back… She was screaming to call 911, she was in panic,” Ali Ahmed testified this Tuesday at the courthouse from Montreal.
Mr. Ahmed then recounted the kidnapping he witnessed in July 2021 when, in the evening, two individuals burst into a small restaurant in the west of the island. Quickly, an individual speaks to the cashier and then goes behind the counter. He is followed by another customer, who arrived shortly before.
A scuffle ensued. And when the teenager tries to take her phone, she is caught by one of the attackers, who begins to push her and take her to the back of the business, before being placed in a car which then leaves in a hurry. .
The event, which occurred in the evening, prompted the police to issue an Amber Alert, due to fears for the teenager’s safety. This prompted the attackers to drop the teenager off at the police station.
Two brothers
However, according to the police investigation, the attackers were none other than the victim’s two older brothers. The latter, aged 25 and 26, however, pleaded not guilty to both kidnapping and kidnapping, threats and assault.
By order of the court, it is forbidden to name the two brothers, since this would allow the victim, who was a minor at the time, to be identified. Interestingly, during the legal process, the young woman appeared in court to support her brothers, even though she is considered their victim.
A friend of the two brothers, who had acted as a driver for the attackers, for his part cut short his trial, which was also due to begin this Tuesday, by pleading guilty to kidnapping.
“He brought the victim close to her father’s house,” indicates the summary of facts. Afterwards, according to the victim’s statement, she was with this accused’s sister watching television and talking. It was shortly after the Amber Alert that the victim was dropped off at the police station. »
This accused, who also cannot be named, will return to court later for arguments on the sentence to be imposed on him.
