Sexual offender who fled Canada in 2022 extradited from Italy: Nova Scotia officials

HALIFAX — A sexual offender who fled Canada in 2022 has been extradited from Italy to serve the remainder of his sentence in Canada, Nova Scotia’s public prosecution service says.

Bassam Al-Rawi was convicted in 2020 of sexually assaulting a woman in Halifax in December 2012. He was sentenced to two years in prison. The agency said he fled Canada after he sought leave to appeal the conviction and was released on bail.

His release conditions included a requirement that he continue to live in Ottawa, but in May 2022 authorities learned he had left for Montreal, where he joined his wife and one-year-old son before they fled to Iraq.

Al-Rawi was arrested in Italy in September 2023 and returned to Canada on Thursday following his unsuccessful appeal of an extradition order imposed by Italy’s Court of Appeal.

Officials say this type of extradition process typically takes several years to complete, but the public prosecution service says the case was expedited through an extraordinary level of international co-operation.

“The successful extradition of Bassam Al-Rawi in less than one year is a remarkable achievement,” Jennifer MacLellan, a member of the public prosecution service, said in a statement.

She cited the help of Halifax Regional Police, Correctional Service Canada and the International Assistance Group within the federal Department of Justice.

“This case serves as a reminder that Nova Scotia will not tolerate attempts to evade justice and will pursue fugitives to ensure they are held accountable for their actions,” Rick Woodburn, acting director of public prosecutions, said in a statement.

Police had decided in March 2013 there was insufficient evidence to charge Al-Rawi in the case, but they took another look at the file in 2017 and decided there were grounds for a charge.

During the trial by judge alone, the victim testified that she was intoxicated in downtown Halifax in December 2012, when a cab driver picked her up. The woman said the driver took her to his apartment, where he sexually assaulted her while she pretended to be unconscious.

Al-Rawi was previously charged with sexually assaulting another woman in his cab in 2015, but he was acquitted in that case following two high-profile trials.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press