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HALIFAX — The case against a man accused of threatening to bomb the U.S. Consulate in Halifax has been pushed to later date after his lawyer asked for more time to review additional charges filed against her client.
Ali Assakereh appeared in Halifax provincial court Monday and was expected to chose a trial format.
However, Judge Paul Scovil adjourned the case to Nov. 30 after legal aid lawyer Krysten Stevens said a delay was necessary.
On Oct. 22, Halifax Regional Police charged Assakereh with two offences related to hoax terrorist activity.
After Monday’s hearing, Federal Crown prosecutor Lee-Ann Conrod told reporters that the latest charges are typically aimed at those accused of conveying information and committing an act that leads people believe a terrorist activity is occurring.
The 54-year-old accused was already facing charges of uttering threats and public mischief, as well as a charge related to threatening an internationally protected person, such as a diplomat.
Conrod said the hoax charges, along with the charges of uttering threats and public mischief each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
As well, Conrod said the charge related to threatening an protected person has a maximum penalty of life in prison. She said that if the accused is convicted, the Crown would ask that each sentence be served consecutively.
Assakereh was arrested on Aug. 10 after allegedly making a bomb threat that prompted evacuations across a large section of downtown Halifax. Police also accused him of placing a propane tank and flammable liquids in his car and parking it near the consulate.
On Monday, he appeared in a Halifax courtroom wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey sweatpants, while an interpreter relayed the proceedings to him in Farsi, a language mainly spoken in Iran.
Monday’s adjournment marks the latest delay in a case that has made little progress since August, aside from the addition of new charges.
A hearing in October was derailed after Assakereh appeared to contradict his lawyer after she told the court her client wanted to be tried by a judge alone in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Assakereh, who appeared by video that day, held up a handwritten note to the camera that read, “I no need to change court.”
The judge adjourned the matter, saying Assakereh and his interpreter should appear in person to avoid confusion.
On Monday, federal prosecutor Conrod said she had hoped the case would move forward.
“The majority of the charges have been laid since Aug. 10 and Aug. 18, so it’s been almost three months that the charges have been before the court,” she told reporters after the hearing. “There are two new charges that were laid … but it is the same disclosure and the same facts.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2026.
Tori Fitzpatrick, The Canadian Press
