Defence seeks delay in Lindhout kidnapping case

Lawyers for a man accused of kidnapping journalist Amanda Lindhout in Somalia are asking a judge to temporarily adjourn his criminal trial.

Defence counsel say Ali Omar Ader cannot get a fair trial in Ontario Superior Court at this point because side proceedings continue over how much sensitive information can be admitted.

A Federal Court judge recently ruled that certain classified records must remain under wraps a decision Ader's lawyers say they are challenging in the Federal Court of Appeal.

The Crown, meanwhile, is opposing the defence request for a delay in the criminal trial, which was set to begin Monday.

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

Ader, a 40-year-old Somalinational, faces a criminal charge of hostage-taking for his alleged role as a negotiator. He was arrested by the RCMP in Ottawa in June 2015.