Ottawa man who spent 2 years in solitary sentenced to 5 years for fatal stabbing

A 22-year-old Ottawa man who according to his lawyer spent two years in solitary confinement has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for manslaughter.

Mutiur Rehman had admitted to the 2013 killing of 37-year-old Andre Boisclair. The crime took place at a rooming house on Somerset Street West.

Rehman was originally charged with murder, but agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Thursday's sentence was for eight and a half years, but takes into account time already served. The sentence was jointly supported by lawyers for the Crown and defence.

Lawyer says client's charter rights violated

The criminal case against Rehman became complicated and overshadowed by his alleged treatment in custody.

• Solitary confinement use to be curbed in Ontario jails

His lawyer, Dominic Lamb, argued his client's charter rights were violated by degrading inhuman treatment at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre on Innis Road. Lamb saidRehman was "put in shower cells, denied food, denied books."

The conditions caused a mental breakdown to the point that Rehman was unable to give him instructions, said Lamb.

Rehman was later found fit to stand trial, but only after being treated at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. Rehmanhas been at the Royal since January.

Meaghan Cunningham, the Crown prosecutor, said she does not accept Lamb's position.

"There is no evidence that segregation caused him to be unfit," she said.

Incarceration a 'potential travesty'

Judge Robert Maranger had already refused to consider the charter application. He clarified his position at Thursday's sentencing, saying he did want anyone to think the application was not legitimate. In fact, he went on to call the incarceration a "potential travesty."

However, Maranger repeated his previous view that the civil courts or a human rights tribunal are the more suitable venues to deal with a charter case.

After Maranger left the courtroom, there was an angry exchange between Cunningham and Lamb over the defence lawyer's insistence of again raising the issue of Rehman's mental state and the conditions of his custody.

Rehman will become eligible for parole after serving one third of his sentence.

His mother was in the courtroom today, but declined to comment on her son's sentence.