The Canadian media has earned the wrath of the judge in the Air-India bombing trial for publishing pictures of the key witness amid fears that they may endanger her safety. A Vancouver court is hearing the case of the men accused of bombing Air-India Flight 182, which crashed off Ireland in June 1985.
The judge was upset after a second Vancouver newspaper violated the court order that prohibits the media from publishing pictures that may identify the witness' identity.
Compete coverage of the Kanishka crash
Justice Ian Bruce Josephson said yesterday the media also compromised the ability of law enforcement agencies to attract people into witness protection in exchange for their cooperation.
"The time for trust and goodwill has come to an end," he was quoted by the Canadian daily The Globe and Mail as saying. He also invited the Attorney General's office to consider laying contempt of court charges. Geoff Gaul, spokesman for the prosecution later said senior Government Counsel would "be reviewing the entire matter".
Josephson also outlined new rules for the media. He prohibited sketches of a witnesses by any publication and said the media would require to obtain approval of the prosecution for sketches of anything else
A Canadian daily, Vancouver Province, had published a sketch of the star prosecution witness testifying in court. Her hand partially hid her face.
The paper's editor-in-chief, Vivienne Sosnowski, has apologised to the court. In a letter read out in the court, she said the sketch was published as a result of human error.
Earlier this week, another daily The Vancouver Sun, published a sketch of the woman that obscured her face but showed her hairstyle and clothes. It also apologised.
The Canadian Police told the court yesterday that the woman's security was placed in unnecessary peril as a result of the media's failure to comply with the publication ban.
The woman had on November 6 told the court that she feared being killed by supporters of two key accused in the Kanishka trial -- Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, charged with murder of the two bombings in June 1985 which killed 331 people.
The woman has been living in a Canadian government witness protection programme since 1993. British Colombia does not allow cameras in courtrooms so the media relies on sketch artists for illustrations.
