Supporters of victim disgusted after Ibrahim Ali’s attorney describes dead girl as not 'innocent'

X/ @bruce_mcgonigal

Stomachs churned in B.C. Supreme Court last week as Kevin McCullough, the defence attorney for Ibrahim Ali, a Syrian national accused of murdering a 13-year-old Burnaby girl, gave his closing remarks.

1. After many, many, delays the trial for Syrian refugee, Ibrahim Ali, who is accused of murdering a 13 year old BC child shortly after arriving to Canada is about to reconvene.

I am live tweeting from the Supreme Court of B.C.’s Vancouver courthouse for https://t.co/Gi9Wj4LxWc pic.twitter.com/Y0Q0lKEU79

— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) April 26, 2023

McCullough, who's been called ferocious in the courtroom, may have lived up to the label during closing proceedings by saying it wouldn’t have been "outlandish" for the teen girl to have been attracted to Ali, given he was "handsome" back in 2017, when the girl's body was discovered with his semen inside her.

The teen’s name and likeness are protected by a publication ban, but many of the gruesome details related to her death are not. Earlier in the case, Crown prosecutors called up witnesses to testify to their theory that Ali, who was not known to the victim, dragged the young teen around 30 meters off a Burnaby Park trail before she was discovered half-naked, raped, and strangled.

In closing, Crown attorney Daniel Porte called for a two-minute moment of silence, reminding the jury of the amount of strangulation time an expert coroner testified to that the victim must have endured.

“Ibrahim Ali strangled (her) for at least that long with his hands or another item,” Porte said to the jury.

Although Ali’s sole charge is one of 1st-degree murder, the Crown also argued that if the jury assessed the evidence with wisdom and “common sense,” they will find that Ali sexually assaulted and murdered the deceased teen.

McCullough, on the other hand, closed by arguing that the Crown’s case was speculative and that proving Ali and the girl had sex does not prove that Ali killed the girl.

McCullough also stated that unlike the Crown’s “rose-coloured” depiction of the victim, the young teen was not “innocent.”

In August, while the girl’s Chinese mother, whose name is also sealed by a publication ban, was testifying, McCullough alleged that she and the teen's relationship was poor.

McCullough also suggested that the mother believed her daughter was irrational and unstable. The mother did not concede to the defence attorney’s inferences, saying the 13-year-old child “mostly” listened to her, and that she did not comprehend what he meant by saying not rational and stable.

McCullough’s closing remarks have struck a nerve with many supporters of the victim's family, some of whom had gathered outside the courthouse with signs demanding justice for the crime that has particularly impacted BC’s Chinese community for nearly seven years.

Closing arguments set to begin in Ibrahim Ali murder trial. He’s the man accused of murdering a 13 year old girl in Burnaby in the summer of 2017. Her name covered by a publication ban. These are the scenes outside court. pic.twitter.com/wGmRaRBMfp

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) November 30, 2023

In a statement to Rebel News, one Chinese Canadian supporter who has been following the case closely and prefers not to be named, says he and others in the community are disgusted by McCullough’s characterization of the girl as lacking innocence.

“It’s really not respectful for a kid who is only 13 years old and was a good school kid,” he said.

“I don’t want to say anything bad about the lawyer. We are just really disgusted.”

The supporter reflected on conversations he said he had previously with the teen’s heartbroken father before adding, “it’s all just very sad; we want to support this family. Also, we want the community to wake up to the criminals in our society for the safety of the country.”

“We stand out and get our voice out so it not be tolerated by any society of Canada.”

Ali, who pleaded not guilty back in April, was arrested and charged for the young teen's murder in September 2018 at the age of 28. If found guilty, it will mean that he murdered the girl just months after arriving in Canada as a single, military-aged refugee.

Justice Lance Bernard, who is presiding over the case, is expected to give final instructions to the jury this Wednesday before they begin deliberations for their verdict.