Re: Ahmad Shahwan
ORB File No: 7467
Hearing held on: Thursday, January 16, 2025
Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. C. MacIntyre, K.C.
Members: Dr. K. Patel
Dr. W. Loza
Ms. C. Murray
Mr. S. Duffy
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Ahmad Shahwan
Counsel: Mr. F. Bernhardt
The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Szabo
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated February 26, 2025)
Introduction
[1]. On December 14, 2018, Ahmad Shahwan was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of utter a threat to cause death or bodily harm (x4), all contrary to the Criminal Code.
[2]. Mr. Shahwan is subject to an Ontario Review Board disposition of January 19, 2024, which discharges him subject to conditions, including that he refrains from contact, directly or indirectly, with the victims of the index offences and that on his consent he attend at the hospital for psychiatric assessment at the request of the person in charge.
[3]. The parties presented their preliminary positions. The hospital submits that Mr. Shahwan is no longer a significant threat to the safety of the public and ought to be absolutely discharged. Mr. Bernhardt, on behalf of his client, agrees with this. Ms. MacDonald took no position until she had heard the evidence. Upon the conclusion of the evidence, Ms. MacDonald agreed with the hospital that Mr. Shahwan should have an absolute discharge. Accordingly, it was a joint submission.
[4]. At the conclusion of the hearing the Board agreed with the joint position that Mr. Shahwan no longer met the test for significant threat to the safety of the public and ought to be absolutely discharged.
Index Offences
[5]. A hospital report of December 12, 2024, was filed as an exhibit to this hearing. It contains a description of the index offences as taken from the Toronto Police Service Synopsis for Guilty Plea:
“On Sunday, November 13, 2016, officers from 42 Division of the Toronto Police Service were alerted to a video posting on “YouTube” involving the accused, Mr. Ahmad Shahwan. Officers reviewed the short video that clearly showed the accused professing himself to be an American Citizen which further investigation revealed Mr. Shahwan is a Canadian citizen. Mr. Shahwan then continued on a rant that included him making threats to kill “the Queen of England, the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper the former Prime Minister of Canada also Michael Coulombe of the Canadian Intelligence Services, as well as all the Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada.”
On Monday, November 14, 2016, Mr. Shahwan was located at his home address and placed under arrest. He was handcuffed and he was read his rights to counsel. Mr. Shahwan was then transported to 42 Division of the Toronto Police Service where he was charged and held for a show cause hearing.”
Background
[6]. The only criminal conviction that Mr. Shahwan has is a failure to comply with recognizance on October 30, 2018. This was likely a breach of conditions imposed on him by the Court following the index offence charges and pending his trial. The hospital report notes that in addition to the above-noted conviction, Mr. Shahwan was also charged with three more counts of fail to comply with recognizance and one count of fail to comply with probation order on October 30, 2018; however, these charges were withdrawn.
[7]. There is no history of Mr. Shahwan being involved with alcohol or street drug use.
[8]. Mr. Shahwan was born in Jordan 38 years ago. He immigrated to Canada at the age of 24 to join his father who had already moved to Canada. His mother, brother and a sister also immigrated shortly afterward.
[9]. Mr. Shahwan completed high school in Jordan and attended the University of Jordan studying applied English. He reported training to become a certified translator achieving certification for this just before coming to Canada. He did not pursue this as an occupation in Canada and instead worked at three call centres. He stopped working at the last one after his arrest for the index offences in 2016. At the time of his arrest, he was living at home in Toronto with his parents and one brother.
[10]. Mr. Shahwan underwent a psychological test on July 29, 2018. This was conducted by Dr. Heasman, whose notes are recorded in the hospital report as follows:
“Mr. Shahwan is a 31-year-old male convicted of Uttering a Death Threat x4 as a result of statements to harm high ranking members of the government and monarchy. He was provided with psychological testing to assist in his psychiatric assessment for the court. Mr. Shahwan denied any history of mental health problems or related hospitalizations. He further denied any use of legal or illegal substances at any point in his life. Mr. Shahwan reported (through collateral documentation and the current interview) a lengthy history of paranoid delusions and possible auditory hallucinations. Apart from this however, he maintained a relatively organized and coherent interaction during the interviews. Mr. Shahwan reported comfort with English and noted his achievements in translating, through a placement, a certificate, and various tests. It does appear however that his English language comprehension abilities are not fulsomely developed.
Mr. Shahwan’s test results suggest he is not malingering mental illness, and they support his verbal statements that he believes he has no psychopathology. His intellectual abilities were identified to be in the Borderline range of functioning, however given the significant discrepancy between his verbal and nonverbal reasoning abilities, and some limitations with English, his nonverbal reasoning ability (in the Low Average range) is likely a more accurate reflection of his true cognitive abilities.
Based on the information available to me at this time, it appears that Mr. Shahwan does present with a major mental illness, namely Schizophrenia. He has evidenced symptoms of the illness for a number of years and this illness appears directly related to his beliefs that led to his offending behaviour. Mr. Shahwan could benefit from pharmacological and therapeutic intervention to address his symptoms going forward.”
[11]. The hospital report records that four months prior to his NCR finding on the above noted index offences in Dec. 2018, he had committed additional offences in August of 2018 by making 26 death threats to American individuals including Border Protection officers, the Trump family, Barack Obama, and to the Queen of England. He was arrested as he attempted to cross the United States border and then held at the Toronto East Detention Centre prior to his transfer to Ontario Shores in December 2018.
[12]. At last year's annual review, the Board heard evidence that Mr. Shahwan’s insight was poor in all areas and the hospital’s goal then was to engage him in therapy groups to increases his insight.
[13]. Mr. Shahwan was on a waitlist for support from a community health unit. Of note is that Mr. Shahwan had stated that he would not follow through with treatment and health care assistance after an absolute discharge.
[14]. Mr. Shahwan’s current diagnosis is schizophrenia.
Evidence at Hearing
[15]. Dr. Bhullar continues to be Mr. Shahwan’s treating psychiatrist. In support of her opinion that Mr. Shahwan is no longer a significant threat to the safety of the public she provides the following reasons:
Mr. Shahwan’s major mental illness has been in remission since 2019.
Historically his violence is while he has been in a decompensated state; however, this has not happened since he has been in hospital.
Although insight into his illness is not complete, he has been compliant with his treatment and medication.
Substance use is not an issue. There is no issue of alcohol or street drug use. He has successfully been discharged from hospital since July of 2023.
He has been living with his family at their home and there have been no reports of difficulties or behavioural issues.
Mr. Shahwan’s family are very supportive, and Mr. Shahwan wishes to remain living there and his family members are content that he do so.
[16]. Importantly, Mr. Shahwan has now been connected with a community ACT team, the East Metro Assertive Community Treatment Team, with care from psychiatrist, Dr. Naidu. The ACT team administers his long-acting injectable medication and since being connected with them in September of 2024, he has worked well with them and is willing to continue to do so.
[17]. Although it is recognized that Mr. Shahwan’s insight into his mental illness is considered underdeveloped, he is committed to receiving his psychiatric medication and is willing to continue this and to follow his doctor’s advice on an absolute discharge.
[18]. A summary of the psychological risk assessment completed in December of 2024 is that:
“Mr. Shahwan is considered a Low risk to reoffend violently if he were awarded an Absolute Discharge.
Mr. Shahwan’s risk factors for re-offending include his serious mental illness (specifically, Schizophrenia), history of violence (especially when his condition is unstable), and limited insight into his illness and need for treatment. He continues to experience a low baseline of negative symptoms such as low energy and lack of motivation. Still, since his discharge to his family home, Mr. Shahwan has been willing to engage in some programming, despite at times long commutes to do so. Mr. Shahwan's mental status has remained stable since his discharge, he is following his oral and depot medication regimen, and he attends all scheduled appointments. He has not shown verbal or physical aggression during this time, and there have been no concerns regarding substance use. ... His family with whom he resides are knowledgeable about Mr. Shahwan’s mental illness and his need for treatment, and they are highly supportive of him and willing to provide support to him ongoing. Absent Mr. Shahwan’s family support network, he would likely experience stressors related to finance and self-care that could impact his willingness or ability to follow through with clinical appointments absent an ORB disposition. However, it seems likely for the foreseeable future that Mr. Shahwan will remain within the supportive structure of his family, who plan to continue encouraging and facilitating his involvement with his ACT team.”
Decision
[19]. The Board accepts the joint recommendation of the parties, and the evidence supports that Mr. Shahwan is no longer a significant threat to the safety of the public.
[20]. Undoubtedly, Mr. Shahwan’s insight into his illness and need for treatment is suboptimal. However, he has been willing to follow the advice and the treatment proposed by his caregivers while in hospital and is committed to continuing this if on an absolute discharge. Dr. Bhullar recites an example of Mr. Shahwan’s goals when in July of 2023, before he was discharged from the hospital, Mr. Shahwan had agreed to stay in hospital until he felt ready to return to the community.
[21]. The results of his cooperation have been that he is free of positive symptoms of his illness; his mental state has remained stable as has his community living since discharge to his home a year and a half ago; and community support is well in place with his medication and monitoring now conducted by an ACT team in addition to the support provided by his family.
[22]. In all the circumstances and with the evidence provided today, the Board finds that Mr. Shahwan no longer meets the threshold for significant threat to the safety of the public and therefore must be absolutely discharged.
DATED this 26th day of February, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. C. MacIntyre, K.C.
Alternate Chairperson