Re: Samad Dabiri
ORB File No: 5270
Hearing held on: Monday, March 2, 2026
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. J. Goldenberg
Members: Dr. R. Sheppard Dr. G. Nexhipi Ms. C. Murray (Via Zoom Videoconference) Mr. W. Apted
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Samad Dabiri Counsel: Mr. A. Rai
The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. P. Darby
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. M. Feindel
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated March 18, 2026)
Introduction
On February 5, 2009, Samad Dabiri was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on a charge of aggravated assault, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (the “Criminal Code”).
On March 2, 2026, a panel of the Ontario Review Board (“Board” or “panel”) convened to review Mr. Dabiri’s current Disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. At the time of the hearing, Mr. Dabiri was subject to a Disposition of the Board dated February 27, 2025, which discharges him on certain terms and conditions, including provisions, inter alia, that he:
a. report to the person in charge of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH”), Toronto, or his or her designate, not less than once per month; and
b. refrain from having in his possession any firearm, ammunition, or other offensive weapon, or being in the company of any person possessing a firearm other than a peace officer.
Mr. Dabiri was present at the hearing. His counsel, Mr. Rai, represented him throughout the proceedings. A Farsi interpreter was present. Mr. Dabiri and his counsel indicated that Mr. Dabiri was able to understand English. However, he requested interpretation of his own testimony from Farsi to English.
A Hospital Report dated February 6, 2026, was entered as Exhibit 1. A redacted Victim Impact Statement of Nicole MacDonald dated February 7, 2023, was entered as Exhibit 2.
The issues to be determined are whether Mr. Dabiri continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, and if so, the necessary and appropriate disposition to manage that risk having regard to the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
For the reasons set out below and based on the evidence and opinions before us, the Board finds that Mr. Dabiri continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. The Board finds that a continuation of the existing Conditional Discharge is the necessary and appropriate Order having regard to the safety of the public, which is the paramount concern, and also having regard to Mr. Dabiri’s mental health, reintegration into society, and his other needs.
Current Psychiatric Diagnoses
- Delusional Disorder, persecutory type
Positions of the Parties
At the commencement of the hearing, the parties were canvassed for their without prejudice positions. The hospital took the position that Mr. Dabiri continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a Conditional Discharge with no change to the Disposition Order.
Counsel for the Attorney General, Mr. Feindel, supported the recommendation of the hospital.
Mr. Rai submitted that Mr. Dabiri is no longer a significant threat to the safety of the public and requested that Mr. Dabiri receive an Absolute Discharge. In the alternative, if the Board finds that Mr. Dabiri remains a significant threat, he agrees to continuation of the current Disposition.
Index Offence
- Pages 6 and 7 of the Hospital Report set out the details of the index offence. The circumstances of the index offence are summarized as follows:
On May 20, 2008, Mr. Dabiri stabbed a person in a bus shelter at least three times in front of witnesses. The victim suffered three stab wounds to her abdomen, including two wounds to her liver. She required surgery. She also suffered a significant slash to her left forearm that required staples and stitches. A cut to her finger also required stitches.
- In subsequent reports, Mr. Dabiri said that he assaulted the victim because she was a member of CSIS and had targeted him and his family in Iran in cooperation with Iranian intelligence services. Mr. Dabiri believed that CSIS had killed his family and assaulted him twice.
Legal History
In September 1999 Mr. Dabiri was charged with two counts of threatening death, and one count of weapons dangerous. Mr. Dabiri had entered a rooming house and threatened the occupant university students with a knife on the delusional belief that the students worked for intelligence services. The charges were withdrawn.
In 2003 Mr. Dabiri was charged with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault. He was found not criminally responsible on July 24, 2003, for those charges and subsequently received an Absolute Discharge in 2007. These charges involved Mr. Dabiri brandishing a knife in a mall where he punched and stabbed an elderly man sitting on a bench. The victim sustained a two-inch-deep puncture wound to his stomach. His belief that the victim was affiliated with CSIS was the motivation behind this attack.
Background and History
The Hospital Report contains extensive information regarding Mr. Dabiri’s personal background and psychiatric history, the entirety of which need not be repeated here in detail. In summary, Mr. Dabiri is 65 years of age. He was born in Iran and immigrated to Canada in 1996 after having lived for 8 years in Pakistan as a refugee. He has no family members in Canada. He completed grade 12 in Iran and worked as a police officer for 7 years in that country after high school.
Mr. Dabiri does not have a history of substance use.
Mr. Dabiri’s first psychiatric admission to hospital was at CAMH following his 2003 offences. He persisted in his persecutory beliefs about CSIS, RCMP and FBI agents working as spies for the Iranian government and following him. He was prescribed antipsychotic medication in the hospital between August 12, 2003, and August 24, 2004, when he was discharged to the community. Mr. Dabiri was followed by the Forensic Outpatient Service after discharge. As noted in paragraph 15 above, Mr. Dabiri received an Absolute Discharge in November 2007.
Mr. Dabiri was admitted to CAMH subsequent to the current index offences. He remained on a Secure Forensic Unit at CAMH from 2009 to 2014. In 2015, Mr. Dabiri was transferred to a General Forensic unit at CAMH where he remained until 2016. From September 2016 to May 13, 2025, Mr. Dabiri resided at housing on O’Connor Drive, Toronto, operated by LOFT community services. On May 13, 2025, Mr. Dabiri moved to St. Anne’s Place (“St. Anne’s”) on Dufferin Street, Toronto, which is also operated by LOFT community services. He adjusted well to his new residence. Staff at the residence have reported no behavioural concerns.
In 2025, Mr. Dabiri became eligible for Old Age Supplement (“OAS”) and Canada Pension Plan (“CPP”). He is now responsible for paying his own rent.
Mr. Dabiri is not interested in participating in any therapeutic programming. He visits the YMCA gym 3 to 4 times per week where he works out alone. He is not willing to engage in any other external activities.
Mr. Dabiri’s mental status has not changed over the reporting year. He continues to endorse delusional beliefs involving the Iranian Secret Service and CSIS. He now believes that CSIS is “on his side and will exonerate him.” On September 12, 2025, Mr. Dabiri was adamant that the Iranian Secret Service had been harassing him and that the victims of the two index offences were part of that plan. He believes he committed the index offences in 2003 and 2008 in self-defence.
Over the past reporting year, Mr. Dabiri has been compliant with his psychiatric medication, paliperidone 100mg every 4 weeks.
A formal mental status examination was conducted on February 3, 2026. Mr. Dabiri insisted that his behaviour surrounding the index offence was justified because he was being harassed by the Iranian Secret Service. He continued to express the belief that they had been monitoring him in his room and following him in the community. When asked if he would continue to take medication after an Absolute Discharge, Mr. Dabiri indicated that he believed he was not on the right medication. He felt he should be on a medication to help him deal with stress. He remained adamant that his beliefs at the time of both index offences did not represent delusions, and he did not need to be on antipsychotic medication.
Oral Evidence at the Hearing
Dr. Padraig Darby, Mr. Dabiri’s psychiatrist and author of the Hospital Report, provided viva voce evidence at the hearing. Mr. Dabiri also provided viva voce evidence at the hearing with the interpreter providing consecutive translation.
Dr. Darby testified as follows:
a. Mr. Dabiri had a positive reporting year. There have been no behavioural concerns.
b. Mr. Dabiri moved to St. Anne’s, which is a LOFT residence. He is satisfied with his residence, which is close to the YMCA.
c. Mr. Dabiri continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public because he maintains the same core delusions that he had at the time of the index offence and the 2003 offence. Mr. Dabiri continues to believe that the Iranian Secret Service was harassing him. He thinks he was exercising self-defence with respect to the index offence and the 2003 offence. Mr. Dabiri continues to believe that he does not have a mental illness, and he does not need medication, except for the purpose of relieving stress. Dr. Darby stated that he firmly believes that Mr. Dabiri would not take his medication in the community if he were to receive an Absolute Discharge at this time.
d. Mr. Dabiri believes that he needs medication only for stress. He is not experiencing any significant stressors currently. Dr. Darby stated that he was, therefore, convinced that Mr. Dabiri would not take medication in the community, including medications for stress, absent ORB oversight. If Mr. Dabiri was not taking antipsychotic medication, his delusions would intensify, and he would act out in a serious manner similar to his behaviour at the time of the index offence. Mr. Dabiri is not currently an immediate threat of harm to the public because the Public Guardian and Trustee is consenting to Mr. Dabiri’s medications.
e. In response to questions from the Crown, Dr. Darby stated that Mr. Dabiri discontinued medications within his first year after Absolute Discharge from his 2003 index offence. His compliance with medications is externally motivated. Mr. Dabiri is at very high risk of committing violence absent the external controls of the ORB and his Disposition.
f. Mr. Dabiri did not know the victim of his index offence. He very quickly developed a delusion about the victim being part of the Iranian Secret Service. Quite possibly “any individual in the community could come into the crosshairs” of his long-standing delusion.
g. In response to questions of Mr. Rai, Dr. Darby stated that Mr. Dabiri has not had any readmissions to hospital since 2018. He is compliant with his long-acting injectable antipsychotic, which is administered both by CAMH nursing staff in the community and during visits to CAMH.
h. Mr. Dabiri has had no incidents involving violence in over 14 years. He has not incurred any new criminal charges. He has no history of substance abuse.
i. Mr. Dabiri has held his fixed delusional beliefs for many years. He has experienced a reduction in the intensity of his beliefs.
j. If Mr. Dabiri were granted an Absolute Discharge, the hospital would continue to follow him in the community until satisfactory community psychiatric resources could be arranged.
k. In response to questions of the Board, Dr. Darby testified that Mr. Dabiri has been incapable of consenting to psychiatric treatment for the entirety of his time under the auspices of the ORB. There have been no changes in Mr. Dabiri’s insight into his illness or need for treatment during that time.
l. Mr. Dabiri is not interested in behavioural therapy. He is very rigid in his delusional beliefs and there has been no indication that the beliefs are changing.
m. Mr. Dabiri’s residence provides 24/7 supervision. He does not need this level of supervision. However, Mr. Dabiri is happy with the housing because it is close to the YMCA, which is very important to him. The hospital would consider a lower level of supervision if such housing became available and Mr. Dabiri was interested. The address of the residence does not need to be stated in the Disposition. If Mr. Dabiri was granted an Absolute Discharge, he would likely remain at St. Anne’s, at least for the short term. He would have difficulty finding alternate accommodation on his CPP and OAS income.
n. Despite Mr. Dabiri’s current stability, the treatment team unanimously opine that Mr. Dabiri remains a significant threat.
- Mr. Dabiri provided oral evidence at the hearing as follows:
a. His daughter and the ORB have the same opinion that he is a risk to the public. His daughter is wrong. He believes that the Board is influenced by his daughter’s opinion.
b. The ORB and hospital are involved with him because of incidents that happened 20 years ago. That is now over. He no longer gets into arguments. Mr. Dabiri repeated several times that the issues arose “20 years ago and are done”.
c. He likes his current residence.
d. He believes that his medication is wrong, and it needs to be changed.
Submissions
- The parties maintained their initial positions. The hospital and Mr. Feindel emphasized the central role of medication compliance and structured supports in Mr. Dabiri’s current stability. Mr. Rai highlighted Mr. Dabiri’s lack of substance use, absence of recent violence, and successful community living, submitting that these factors justify an Absolute Discharge.
Analysis and Conclusions
Significant Threat
Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence as well as the submissions from the parties, the Board independently finds that Mr. Dabiri remains a significant threat to the safety of the public.
In Winko, the Supreme Court outlined that, in coming to the conclusion on the issue of significant risk, a Review Board should closely examine a range of evidence, including: the circumstances of the original offence; the past and expected course of the accused’s treatment; the present state of the NCR accused’s medical condition; the NCR accused’s own plans for the future; the support existing for the NCR accused in the community; and most importantly, the recommendations provided by experts who examined the NCR accused.
The risk Mr. Dabiri poses to the public flows directly from his chronic psychotic condition and lack of insight into his illness and need for treatment. While his behaviour has been stable for several years, this stability exists within a highly supportive environment with medication management. His past and present delusional beliefs remain materially unchanged and have historically led to serious, unprovoked violence. In the absence of his supportive environment, Mr. Dabiri would likely discontinue his medication. The Board accepts Dr. Darby’s compelling evidence that risk would escalate rapidly if medication were discontinued.
Mr. Dabiri’s index offence was serious, violent, and resulted in significant injury to the victim. His past history includes a shockingly similar offence for which he received an Absolute Discharge.
The Board accepts Dr. Darby’s clear and cogent evidence that Mr. Dabiri remains a significant threat to the safety of the public.
Necessary and Appropriate Disposition
In light of the Board’s finding of significant risk, it is charged with shaping a Disposition for the coming year.
All parties agreed that, if significant risk were established, a continuation of the Conditional Discharge with no change to the terms is the appropriate Disposition. Given our finding of significant risk, the Board finds that Conditional Discharge is necessary to ensure that Mr. Dabiri receives the support he requires to remain compliant with medication and enjoy continued success in the community in the coming year. The panel reviewed the conditions and considered them to be necessary and appropriate. These conditions remain the least onerous and least restrictive in the circumstances and foster his reintegration into society.
The Board acknowledges and commends Mr. Dabiri for his positive year. We appreciate his comprehensive oral evidence.
After considering all evidence and submissions of the parties, the Board finds that that the necessary and appropriate, least onerous and least restrictive Disposition, is continuation of the Conditional Discharge with no change to the terms, as set out in our formal Disposition.
DATED this 18th day of March, 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. C. Murray Legal Member
__________________ Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board