An Alberta judge has given a refugee who pleaded guilty to sexual assault and drug trafficking more time to appeal his convictions after he argued that his lawyer misled him into thinking he would not be deported for the crimes.
Mahir Yahya Sharif pleaded guilty to sexual assault and trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl in 2022, and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to court documents.
He is now facing deportation to Somalia after the federal immigration minister determined that he posed “a danger to the public in Canada.”
In a July 27 ruling, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Kevin Feth granted Sharif an extension of time to file an appeal of his convictions, finding that the interests of justice favoured allowing him to challenge his guilty pleas in light of his claim that he did not understand their potential consequences for his immigration status….