Tamara Lich is going to trial and those crowdfunding her defence say they will live tweet all the proceedings..The four-week trial for the Freedom Convoy leader starts Sept. 5. The Democracy Fund (TDF) is crowdfunding Lich’s legal defence and promises TDF lawyers will provide daily real-time insights and updates directly from the courtroom at Twitter.com/TDF_Can..Through the live posts, the organization aims “to foster transparency, engagement, and understanding surrounding the legal proceedings” which it calls "a significant moment in Canada's legal and social landscape.”.Lich’s legal team is led by Lawrence Greenspon, a senior criminal lawyer in Ottawa. The Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms continues to provide a legal defence to Lich and many other truckers who are being sued by Ottawa resident Zexi Li.."Tamara's prosecution shows how a prominent political dissident is treated by our justice system," said Alan Honner, TDF's director of litigation. ."Many people see Tamara as a political prisoner as her prosecution has been impassioned and she has already been imprisoned for 49 days on relatively minor charges. She is now facing a month-long trial, which is prohibitively expensive for the average person.".Honner said the consequences of Lich’s trial are significant.."The trucker convoy exposed the government's willingness to invoke extraordinary powers to suppress a nationwide protest that was remarkably peaceful," added Honner. ."Tamara has become the face of that protest, so there is a lot at stake in the outcome of her trial.".On July 28, TDF announced its lawyers would represent 12 clients charged with more than 24 offences arising from the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa and Windsor..These clients include a decorated Canadian military veteran, an indigenous single father and a law school grad. The charges range from mischief, breach of a court order and breach of bail conditions to obstruction of a police officer. In each of these cases, the Crown is seeking up to three months in prison. .TDF pledged to “vigorously advance all defences available to our clients.”.“These are regular folks from all parts of Canadian society and none qualify for legal aid. Many of these individuals found it difficult to obtain legal representation. It is only through generous donations from our donors that TDF is able to fight for their legal rights,” TDF wrote in a press release..TDF lawyers have attended court on more than 50 occasions on behalf of these clients seeking further disclosure, clarification of the Crown's position, variation of bail conditions, and more. The organization achieved stays, dismissals or favourable resolutions for 16 charges in relation to nine clients..Most trials for TDF clients are expected to take between two to five days each, yet TDF expects back-to-back trials from Dec 2023 to Feb 2024.
