Charges dropped

– Toronto –

Charges against two of the three journalists arrested outside a Toronto abortion clinic last October have been dropped.

“Today (June 21), during our tenth court appearance at College Park Courts in Toronto, Steve Jalsevac and I were released from the charge of ‘obstructing a peace officer,’” says Gord Truscott of Guelph, Ontario.

Truscott, Jalsevac and photojournalist Sue Careless were arrested last October 15 while taking pictures of Linda Gibbons, an abortion protestor who was once again being arrested for defying the “bubble zone” injunction that prohibits protestors from distributing pamphlets, offering counseling or even praying silently within 60 feet of the facility. Gibbons, 51, has already spent more than 60 months in prison.

Truscott, who recently published a biography of Gibbons (Alone: A Grandmother’s Struggle for Life), is rejoicing at his new sense of freedom. “God always gets his way,” he says.

Careless has also made numerous procedural visits to court and expects her case to be heard October 30. “I hope I’m next. The dropping of their charges can only help my case, but there are no guarantees. I have a different crown attorney and it’s his call.”

I hope IÍm next. The dropping of their charges can only help my case, but there are no guarantees.