Kanchi Uttamchandani | Assistant News Editor
Featured image: After the conclusion of the trial, some members of the York commmunity are calling for judicial reform. | Victoria Goldberg
The R v. Ururyar sexual assault case came to a close with Judge Marvin Zuker having sentenced accused Mustafa Ururyar to 18 months in prison and three years probation. Additionally, Ururyar has been ordered to pay Gray’s legal fees of $8,000.
Nevertheless, controversy continues.
News emerged that York professor Stephen Newman wrote a character reference for Ururyar, who was advised to submit character references to the judge prior to his sentencing.
“I am not familiar with Canada’s criminal justice system, but I gather this is standard procedure. I also presume that the character references supply the judge with one more item of information to consider in determining an appropriate sentence,” says Professor Newman.
Ururyar had approached the professor for a character reference as he was his student and teaching assistant.
“I agreed to write the letter because he made a good impression as a student and as a TA. Indeed, his conduct in the classroom suggested that he was a person of good moral character,” says Newman.
Newman says he was shocked to learn of the charges against his student and finds it difficult to believe he was capable of such a thing, despite the conviction.
The Gray verdict has not been immune to criticism. Noted columnists and legal experts have particularly been critical of Judge Zuker’s decision, calling foul on Zuker’s references to critical feminist theory and his alleged character assasination of Ururyar.
Nevertheless, the verdict is being hailed as precedent setting. Gray herself admits that it is statistically rare to get a conviction after a sexual assault, adding that the decision is currently being appealed by Ururyar and might take another one to two years in court.
“I hope that my case has taught people that they do not have to be silenced by the institutions that tell them ‘no’—that there are groups like Silence is Violence that will support them in any route that they want to take, whether that is at the university or in the system justice,” says Gray.
Meanwhile, other members of the York community have called for judicial reform after the conclusion of the trial.
“The Women Empowerment Club, or WEC, applauds the bravery and resilience exhibited by Mandi Gray through this ordeal. While a guilty verdict was concluded, the justice system continues to shut out voices of women, in particular the voices of women of colour,” says Noor Dhillon, WEC special projects coordinator.
Dhillon urges community leaders and lawmakers to redesign the justice system so that justice is within reach of everyone.
Gray had previously launched a human rights complaint against York, criticizing the university’s inadequate sexual assault policies. Mediation between York and Gray is scheduled for late September.
The Trans Feminist Action Caucus, or TFAC, an autonomous body of CUPE 3903, shares Gray’s concerns about the status of York’s sexual assault policy.
“Union representatives from TFAC, CUPE 3903’s employment equity committee, and CUPE 3903’s joint health and safety committee have met with York administration over the last year and have pushed for both more progress on York’s sexual assault policy as well as pushed for responses regarding our concerns over the current content and direction of their sexual assault policy,” state TFAC Co-Chairs Nicole Leach and Donya Ziaee.
TFAC maintains they are in the process of developing survivor-centric policies in consultation with CUPE 3903, which would be in addition to the protections against discrimination and harassment that exist within the union’s collective agreements with York.
