Three citizens of the United Kingdom have been charged in connection with the death of Owen Sound restaurant owner Sharif Rahman in August of 2023.
Owen Sound police and members of the Ontario Provincial police announced the charges at a news conference in Owen Sound Wednesday afternoon, when they also explained why information about the case had been withheld since two arrest were announced in August of this year.
Robert Evans, 24, of the UK has been charged with manslaughter, police announced in a news release issued Wednesday. Robert Busby Evans, 47, of the UK has been charged with accessory after the fact to commit and indictable offence.
On Oct. 29 Barry Evans, 54 of the UK, was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to commit and indictable offence, police said in the release.
“The individuals are currently in the UK and are before the courts in relation to extradition. There are no timelines available for the extradition of the accused individuals,” police said.
When police announced four months ago that they’d made arrests in the death of Rahman, there was relief but lots of unanswered questions in the community. Police provided some of those answers Wednesday.
“Due to the nature of the investigation and the international element, the information was sealed in an effort to support the apprehension of the accused,” police said in the news release “On August 15, 2024, the OPP and OSPS released limited information that arrests have been made. As the information was sealed and one suspect was outstanding, further information could not be released.”
Rahman, 44, was assaulted and suffered serious injuries outside his business, The Curry House, on Aug. 17, 2023. He would never regain consciousness and died in a London hospital a week later, on Aug. 24.
A few days after the assault, police announced they were looking for three suspects who ate at the restaurant. There was a dispute over an unpaid bill, which left Rahman unconscious on the street. Police released grainy images of two men leaving the area and a vehicle believed to be involved.
In the days and weeks that followed Rahman’s hospitalization and death, the community held vigils, walks and other gatherings in his memory and to support his family. On the day of Rahman’s funeral, people lined the streets along the procession route from the Owen Sound mosque to Greenwood Cemetery, some waving small handmade Bangladeshi flags.
A GoFundMe for the family raised $250,000 from more than 3,000 individual donations. The story has captured national media attention.
Rahman was posthumously awarded the 2023 YMCA Peace Medallion for his exceptional contributions to peace building in the community and beyond, and the Community Foundation Grey Bruce announced an anonymous donor had initiated the Sharifur Rahman Memorial Scholarship Fund, using his full given name.
The city began installing surveillance cameras downtown in September, in response to public calls for more safety measures in the wake of Rahman’s death. Also this fall, an oak tree was planted outside the Y in Rahman’s memory, at the Julie McArthur Regional Recreation Centre.
Rahman’s wife, Shayela Nasrin, continues to run The Curry House and has spoken at events honouring her husband, sometimes accompanied by their young daughter.
The investigation continues, police said Wednesday, by the Owen Sound under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, with the assistance of the OPP West Region Crime Units, OPP Forensic Identification Services and the OPP Regional Support Team, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. Assistance was also provided by police services in West Grey and Hanover, the RCMP, INTERPOL Ottawa Fugitive Apprehension Support Team (FAST) and UK law enforcement members from the National Extradition Unit of the National Crime Agency and Police Scotland.
MORE TO COME
Files from Rob Gowan and Greg Cowan