Court hearing for prominent Palestinian mother and activist Samar Alkhdour

Three pro-Palestine activists had their first hearing over criminal charges of mischief and harassment after approaching Immigration Minister Marc Miller over his handling of the temporary resident visa program for Gazans. After a pro-Palestine protest was hosted outside of Liberal MP Laura Palestini's office in Verdun, activist Samar Alkhdour spotted Miller and approached him voicing her discontent over the program.

Savana Craig – Local Journalism Initiative

Since the program was unveiled on January 9, only 212 people have arrived in Canada from Gaza while 539 people have exited Gaza and are waiting to come to Canada under the TRV program, according to recent statistics from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Alkhdour has been hosting sit-ins outside of Miller's office in the south west of Montreal since late March. One day before the program was unveiled, Alkhdour's daughter Jana died in Gaza. Alkhdour had been trying to bring Jana to Canada since 2019 and has been meeting with politicians to expedite the process since Israel's bombardment of Gaza began a year ago. Jana was approved by Global Affairs Canada to come to Gaza two weeks after she died.

Two of Miller's assistants filed a complaint with the Montreal police following the incident, resulting in her arrest as well as two other activists involved in the sit-in. Alkhdour is now potentially facing criminal charges of harassment and mischief, which can result in a maximum of two years in prison or a $5,000 fine.

"The conditions that they have now are just to basically not communicate with or approach Mr. Miller and two of his employees," Alkhdour's lawyer Barbara Bedont said to reporters following the hearing.