City closes Edmonton shisha bar for third time as appeal hearing begins
Nyala Lounge closed until hearing resumes Feb. 19
A city committee has once again shut down an Edmonton shisha lounge until the owner's appeal resumes later this month.
It's the third time in under five months that Nyala Lounge has been forced to close its doors in an ongoing battle with the city's hospitality policing unit.
City authorities say Nyala Lounge, northeast of the downtown, is a risk to public safety but the owner Mulugeta"Moe"Tesfaysays he's a target ofpolice harassment and racial profiling.
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On Friday, the city's licence appeal committee was scheduled to hear arguments on why Nyala should keep its licence in a room packed with Tesfay's staff, customers and neighbours. Members of the public safety team were also there including some of the officers who have inspected the lounge.
Instead,Tesfay's lawyerTom Engelargued for an adjournment as he tries to access police records around investigations involving Nyala.
"I think [police are]putting a spin on things that may not be supported by all of this disclosure if we had the police reports, so I'm very concerned about that," said Engel. "I'm concerned that the panel may put too much trust in what the police say and I guess as a criminal defence lawyer, quite often that's not warranted."
The committee which is made up of councillors Jon Dziadyk, Moe Banga and Tony Caterina agreed to postpone the hearing until Feb. 19. The committee also decided shut down the bar until then, without providing reasons. Engel called the decision to close the bar unfair.
In his submissions, Engel said he is trying to access witness testimony from the lead investigator of anincident at Nyala involving a gun. Police charged Tesfay with obstruction of a peace officer in the January2018 incident. It's one of the reasons the public safety compliance team says the bar should be shut down.
The hospitality inspection unit also cites alleged violent incidents in the bar's proximity and dozens of alleged infractions.
Police have issued more than $60,000 worth of tickets many of which Tesfay has successfully fought in court. He has been found guilty for several infractions such as overcrowding and unclear photographs taken of patrons by the ID scanner.
Two criminal tobacco-related offences that prompted police to detain Tesfay overnight were eventually stayed. Documents show police considered Tesfay, who immigrated to Canada as a teenager, a flight-risk because of his African roots.
His case has prompted the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights to request a meeting with police chief Dale McFee and help some Nyala customers file human rights complaints.
On Friday, Engel said business licencing manager, Melanie Matqie, based her decision to close Nyala on allegations made by police without seeing the actual reports or considering all of the submissions by Tesfay's previous counsel.
"I think [city officials]are making decisions based on the cops making allegations, without delving into the meat of it, by looking behind their bare statements about what their reports say," said Engel.
I'm not going to give up. I'm going to fight until the end.- Mulugeta Tesfay
Friday was the third time the bar has been shut down. City officials first announced Nyala's closure at a news conference in September.
One day later the decision was reversed after city officials realized Tesfay had not been given the opportunity to challenge the decision.
After the hearing Friday, Tesfay a Canadian military veteran who won a sacrifice medal for his service in Afghanistan vowed to keep fighting for his business and his customers.
"I'm not going to give up," said Tesfay. "I'm going to fight until the end."
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