FREDERIC SERRE
The 1510 West

A Quebec Court judge on Monday acquitted two brothers of kidnapping their 16-year-old sister from a Kirkland restaurant in 2021.

But both men will be back in court in October to learn their punishment on charges of assaulting a witness during the alleged kidnapping.

Judge Thierry Nadon announced the acquittal at the Montreal courthouse, clearing the 25- and 26-year-olds of kidnapping and uttering threats, saying the sister’s sudden decision to testify in her brothers’ defence cast reasonable doubt on accusations of kidnapping and forcible confinement against them.

Nadon presided over the trial in which the two men allegedly stormed the B12 Burger outlet on St. Charles Blvd. on July 26, 2021, where their sister worked, and forced her into a waiting vehicle before driving off. The incident touched off an Amber Alert, with Montreal police setting up a command post in front of the restaurant. Several hours later, as police searched the West Island, the brothers dropped off their sister at a local police station. The identities of the girl and her brothers are protected by a publication ban.

The trial began last November, when a third individual, identified as a friend of the brothers, pleaded guilty to forcible confinement after admitting he was at the wheel of the getaway vehicle. During the trial, a colleague of the alleged kidnapping victim testified that as the woman was being dragged out of the restaurant, she was screaming for someone to call 911. The man will return to court in July for sentencing.

In a twist of events, on April 7, the victim chose to testify on behalf of her brothers, saying the abduction was a big misunderstanding. She told the courth that her siblings were only trying to help her, as she had been going through a difficult and rebellious stage and not following her family’s Muslim traditions.

Meanwhile, Nadon found the brothers guilty of assaulting a man who tried to intervene during the alleged attack. Video footage presented in court showed both brothers attempting to strangle the sister’s co-worker.