BRAMPTON, Ont. - A legal challenge to what lawyers call the "inhumane" detention conditions of 11 people arrested on terrorism-related charges in southern Ontario last year is underway.
However, the Superior Court justice in the case imposed a ban on publishing any details of the proceedings. The accused have been held in solitary confinement at the Maplehurst detention centre in Milton, Ont., since their much-publicized arrests almost a year ago.
Their lawyers argue being held in strict isolation 23 hours a day amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, especially since their trials could be a year or more away.
In four cases, the Crown had not requested a ban on the accused communicating with one another.
Lawyer Edward Sapiano, who represents one of those four, said outside court he was confident his client would soon be "allowed to commingle with other human beings."
Dressed in regular street clothes, the accused sat in two prisoner boxes, in a group of four and a group of seven.
They talked freely among themselves, seeming relaxed and joking at times, while others stroked wispy beards as they watched.
Some gestured to relatives sitting in the courtroom.
The case could take up to two weeks to be completed.
