Accused in Amanda Lindhout kidnapping faces trial 9 years after events

More than nine years after journalist Amanda Lindhout was taken hostage in Somalia, a man will face trial Monday in an Ottawa courtroom.

Three weeks have been set aside for the Ontario Superior Court trial of Ali Omar Ader, to be heard without a jury.

Lindhout and photographer Nigel Brennan were grabbed by masked gunmen near strife-ridden Mogadishu in August 2008. Both were released on Nov. 25, 2009.

Ader, a 40-year-old Somalian national, faces a criminal charge of hostage-taking for his alleged role as a negotiator.

• Amanda Lindhout says arrest of alleged kidnapper was 'absolute surprise'

He was arrested by the RCMP in Ottawa in June 2015.

The Crown opted for a direct indictment in the case, meaning there was no preliminary inquiry.