The man who allegedly fatally punched a father before leaving the country and being arrested in France last spring was finally repatriated to Quebec to be formally charged.
Ismail Karaoui, 26, appeared Tuesday afternoon at the Montreal courthouse on charges of aggravated assault and manslaughter.
The facts with which he is accused occurred in May 2023, in the parking lot of the legendary Gibeau Orange Julep restaurant, on Décarie Boulevard, in Montreal.
Photo Agence QMI, Erik Peters
Karaoui and his friends allegedly had a spat with the victim, Andrei Petuhov, following an incident that occurred a few minutes earlier, on the Décarie highway.
Mr. Petuhov, 50, allegedly stopped in the courtyard of a restaurant and the suspects insulted him from the Gibeau Orange Julep parking lot.
The discussion became heated and Andrei Petuhov wisely decided to turn around and leave the scene.
It was at this moment that one of the suspects sneakily punched the father in the head, attacking him in the back.
Andrei Petuhov then collapsed to the ground, convulsing. He died two days later in hospital.
Andrei Petuhov, 50, died following a fatal punch in the Orange Julep parking lot in Montreal on May 31, 2023.
Photo taken from the salonlfclive site
The suspects fled in a car after the crime. The next day, Montreal police apprehended a first suspect in this case.
Nedjem Eddine Khirat, 24, is currently awaiting his trial, which is scheduled to begin at the beginning of February.
Quickly after the crime, Ismail Karaoui fled the country to take refuge in France. Wanted under an international arrest warrant, the young amateur boxer was arrested last spring in Nice, in the south-east of France.
The extradition process stretched over several months and Karaoui was finally able to be repatriated to Quebec soil on Monday to face justice.
