Alexandre Bissonnette made a brief court appearance Thursday in Quebec City -- his third since his arrest in January.
The man accused of killing six people at a mosque in January and charged with the attempted murder of five other people has a new lawyer.
His previous legal representative, Jean Petit, withdrew from the case, and so Bissonnette is represented by a government-paid legal aid attorney, Charles-Olivier Gosselin.
When asked by the judge he if wanted to change his lawyer, Bissonnette answered "yes sir."
At his previous hearing in February, Bissonnette's defence lawyer requested a publication ban on the evidence presented in court by the Crown.
The police investigation is still underway, so the Crown hasn't yet turned over all the evidence to the defence.
Bissonnette's next court appearance in front of Judge Jean-Louis Lemay is scheduled for May 29.
Bissonnette is accused of walking into the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City and killing Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Azzeddine Soufiane, Abdelkrim Hassane, Khaled Belkacemi and Aboubaker Thabti. Nineteen others were injured.
Threats continue to be made
Mohamed Yangui, president of the mosque, watched the court proceedings.
He said he is still nervous when he goes to the building where the massacre took place.
"We are terrified. And every time we go to the mosque now we can't pray properly. We always have the feeling there's someone behind us who will shoot us, and we can't concentrate on our prayers," said Yangui.
Yangui added that he is urging the Crown to charge Bissonnette as a terrorist, pointing out both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Philippe Couillard called the mass murder a terrorist act.
Since the deadly attack, the mosque has continued to receive other threats.
No terrorism charges
Bissonnette is facing 11 charges: six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.
So, there are no terror charges, leaving many feeling frustrated.
“The Islamic community wants to feel that what happened that night – that the charges are really representing the act that night,” said Jean-Felix Charbonneau of Roy & Charbonneau Avocats.
Charbonneau is one of the lawyers doing pro-bono work for the Muslim community.
“We're there to support them, to give them answers to some of the questions that the community has about the criminal procedures against Mr. Bissonnette and also all the procedures for the victims who are asking for government help,” he said.
