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Irish Examiner
11-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Paws for thought: How a furry friend can help your family's health
FERGUS SHANAHAN, founder of the APC Microbiome Ireland research centre in Cork, was intrigued when he came across a series of photographs of Irish Travellers in a 2016 National Geographic magazine. Looking at the striking portraits, he was struck by the number of animals living amidst the Traveller families. It gave him an idea for a new study. 'There were a lot of animals — dogs, cats, ferrets, and always horses,' he says. Shanahan decided to try to characterise the gut microbiomes of more than 100 Irish Travellers and compare them with those of people in Ireland, Britain, the US, and Canada living more modern lifestyles. When his study was published in 2020, the results jumped out. 'The Traveller microbiome was more akin to what you see from hunter-gatherer tribes in Tanzania or Mongolian horsemen than the rest of the Irish population,' he says. Prof Fergus Shanahan, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at University College Cork and founding Director of APC Microbiome Ireland, the SFI Research Centre at UCC. Shanahan noted that indigenous communities from other countries in the study also lived in close quarters with animals. As he dug deeper into the data, he found that this constant animal exposure seemed to play a key role in their unique microbiome characteristics, more so than other possible explanations, such as diet. The diversity of their gut microbiomes particularly captured his attention because while Irish Travellers often experience poor physical and mental health, one area — directly linked to gut microbiome diversity — where they fare better than the rest of the population is their immune health. 'I ran a clinic for inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis for many years. Based on population averages, I should have seen 40 to 50 Travellers over the years, and I never saw one.' While one explanation could be that Travellers are often nomadic and can be reluctant to engage with the conventional health system, Shanahan says that this is unlikely to be the full picture. In his view, the apparent lack of Travellers presenting with very serious inflammatory bowel conditions suggests that they probably have better gut health than the average Irish person. 'As a socially marginalised ethnic group, it makes sense that they may not get to the attention of a doctor for things like asthma or allergies or eczema but it must happen if you've got Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis,' he says. 'Those conditions present with bloody diarrhoea, the symptoms are quite dramatic, and it's life-threatening.' It seemed to Shanahan that the Traveller microbiome was protecting them against these chronic inflammatory diseases and, somehow, animals were responsible. Puppy power While the concept of having pets is largely a modern phenomenon, humans have been domesticating and coexisting alongside animals for tens of thousands of years, and a growing amount of research worldwide is increasingly suggesting that our immune system has evolved to expect to see the presence of microbes from dogs, cats, cows, or horses. As a result, some scientists now believe that regular exposure to these bacteria throughout life triggers the immune system to develop in ways that are beneficial for our health, preventing it from going awry, as in the case of many autoimmune diseases, and attacking our own tissues. While you are unlikely to acquire any permanent microbial residents directly from your pet, Shanahan believes that animals can help transfer gut bacteria between different human household members. This increases the diversity of the gut microbiome, making it more stable and better able to withstand harmful pathogens from flourishing. 'We know that dogs can do this,' he says. 'If you and I are living in the same house and we both pet the dog, that is a way of receiving and transmitting microbes from each other.' Due to the benefits for the gut microbiome, enabling children to grow up around pets from the earliest stages of life, and even before birth, is increasingly viewed as particularly helpful for their immune development. Last month, a major new study found that growing up alongside a pet dog reduces the risk of eczema in children who are genetically prone to the condition. Children in the Amish communities of North America have previously been found to have significantly lower rates of allergies and asthma as a consequence of living in close proximity to animals. Similar trends have been seen in children who live on farms in Central Europe. APC Microbiome Ireland (APC) SFI Research Centre PI Liam O'Mahony who is a Professor of Immunology at the Dept. of Medicine and School of Microbiology, University College Cork (UCC). 'There have been some cool studies of kids growing up on these traditional Austrian farms where the cows are in the basement at nighttime, and they don't get allergies,' says Liam O'Mahony, professor of immunology at APC Microbiome Ireland. 'And, again, it's that traditional farming, interacting with animals, that seems to be important. The kids who grow up on more modern farms with more machinery and less contact with animals are far less protected.' Jonathan Hourihane, professor of paediatrics at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, points out that while pets are sometimes viewed as a potential source of allergies, this is much less likely to be the case if children are exposed to them within their first year of life. 'Exposure is generally now considered to be tolerising,' he says. 'The idea that you have to avoid something to prevent an allergy developing has been proven to be incorrect. We're meant to live with animals, and pets are part of normal family life. It's good for children's psychological and social health too.' Healthy outlook While caring for a pet can be expensive, it seems our furry companions can repay the investment in multiple unexpected ways. According to a new scientific review published earlier this year by psychologists in Australia, pet owners make fewer doctor visits per year. However, the evidence for whether they improve long-term mental health is inconclusive. The apparent immune benefits may further swing the dial in favour of pet ownership — but are there any particular dos and don'ts? According to O'Mahony, whether you choose to let your cat or dog sleep on your bed really comes down to personal preference. However, he says it's still generally important to maintain good hygiene practices and make sure that your animals are up to date with all their vaccine requirements. 'It is very important to keep pets vaccinated, wormed, and free from fleas as this protects your pet and you from dangerous pathogens and infectious diseases that can be very harmful,' he says. 'Likewise, with hygiene, a balanced approach is needed. 'We know excessive cleaning can be detrimental but there is a sensible minimum level that should be maintained, for example, correct disposal of poo in the bin is important to prevent disease.' And what about children who grow up without the presence of pets? Last year, a research group from Italy published data that suggests it may be possible to replicate some of the benefits by allowing them to regularly interact with animals in other settings such as zoos or during farm visits. In the study, in which children from homes with no pets were allowed to regularly pet horses under supervision, subsequent gut microbiome testing showed that their microbiomes began to produce more beneficial chemicals for immune health. It seems likely that having a pet at any stage of your life could yield all kinds of health benefits. 'While there is a critical immunological developmental window in early life where we think these microbial exposures have the most significant effects on the immune system, ' says O'Mahony, 'living with animals during adulthood remains important and will likely continue to provide immune health benefits.'
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'I will die a traveller and be proud of it'
As Irish Travellers, Kim Moloney's family have lived a nomadic lifestyle for generations, calling caravans and wagons pulled up on parks and roadsides their after Travellers parked on a green space in Leeds, an MP has called for increased powers that would see communities moved from public land within hours."It makes me feel like I am not wanted in this world," Ms Moloney 55-year-old is no stranger to eviction, having spent much of her life moving from place to place around Leeds."You can get a lot of hassle," she described moments including people banging on the caravan door as her family sat down for tea."When I was a little girl, I saw all these men in the fields throwing bricks at the windows of the caravans and one injured a child," she said."The police did nothing about it, 'they should not be here' they said. That is how travellers have to live."Nomadism is not illegal in the UK but travellers can only park on authorised sites which can be either council-owned or privately-owned with a licence. Unauthorised encampments, including roadside or greenspaces, can be considered a breach of civil Moloney, who has been awarded an MBE for her work as a campaigner for Travellers' rights, said over the years her community had been treated "like dirt" because of their way of said she felt Travellers "lived life under surveillance" and described being followed around shops by people who seemed suspicious of her and her Moloney said members of the Traveller community had taken their own lives because of the negative attitude of society towards them."We are people, we didn't come from space, we are human like anybody else, why should we be treated any differently because we live roadside?" she said. However, Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East, said residents in his constituency are being "constantly disrupted" by encampments near Roundhay said residents had seen fence posts being cut down and "human waste being left undealt with"."What we need is legislation that allows orders granted instantly, so that removal can take place within hours, if not a day or two, rather than days and weeks," he said."It is far too slow right now, people have no problem with Travellers but they should not be in public parks because it stops others using the park. "Most of all they should not be destroying parts of public property so that other users cannot enjoy them."Ellie Rogers, the CEO of Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (GATE), which supports the Traveller and Romany Gypsy communities, said more powers were the "last thing" authorities needed."We have enough powers and they are used very frequently," she charity has created a negotiated stopping policy with Leeds City Council but Ms Rogers said it was not being "actively implemented".The policy means Gypsies and Travellers will work with the local authority and may be allowed to remain on land for up to 28 days, as long as the site is left and skips are provided under the policy, in what Ms Rogers said was a financially beneficial arrangement for authorities."There are clear up costs and court fees you do not see, it saves a lot of money," she said. There are 3,000 Gypsy and Traveller families across the country who have nowhere to stay, according to Leeds GATE, with a further 10,000 living on land without permission."This is an issue of homelessness and social injustice," Ms Rogers said."The negotiated stopping policy is a really good tool we could be using and we are not using it as well as we could."Ms Rogers also called for more permanent sites for Gypsy and Traveller families."Camps do not disappear," Ms Rogers said."They just pop up somewhere else, you are not making that issue go away, you are just moving it."A permanent site is similar to a housing estate but instead of houses, the plot has a building with a bathroom, kitchen and space to park pay rent, council tax and Springs, a site in the Gildersome area of Leeds, opened in 1969 for Gypsy and Traveller families and has 41 Park opened in Hunslet in 2019, but has a temporary 10-year licence in place, because it is on the proposed route of the high speed rail line Lennox, executive member for housing at Leeds City Council, said the authority "considers the potential for negotiated stopping for all unauthorised Traveller encampments".She said the council "recognised the challenges where encampments cause loss of amenities and disruption to local settled communities".The council would continue to look for other suitable land for encampments, she added. 'Better management' West Yorkshire Police said it had a "long-standing commitment to engaging with travelling communities".Alison Lowe, the deputy mayor for policing and crime in West Yorkshire, said "better management of the situation" was needed and added that this included using negotiated stopping sites."More enforcement will only further marginalise our Traveller community, and I will continue to work with the police and our partners to ensure we apply the right approach," she Moloney now lives at Cottingley Springs but continues to fight for the rights of than powers to move people on she wants more suitable sites for families to live at to be created."People should not leave mess lying around. If authorities helped Travellers more, they might have solved the problem a long time ago," she said."You have to understand, Travellers are never going to give up their culture."I'll die a Traveller and be proud of it." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Irish Times
08-06-2025
- Irish Times
Traveller youth take the reins as crowds visit Appleby Horse Fair
From nowhere the atmosphere shifted from serene to slightly edgy. It was a sunny Friday at the Appleby Horse Fair and there had been a collision on the Flashing Lane, a stretch outside the Cumbrian village where Travellers show-off and 'flash' horses for sale by running them at speed up and down the lane. One man had run his horse and cart into the back of another – a yellow cart – and broken its wheels. A row brewed. A crowd gawked as the angry owner of the yellow cart demanded compensation from the other man, who denied blame. 'Queensbury rules,' said an observer, as tempers threatened to flare. A third man, a Traveller like the others, stepped in. He ushered them towards a nearby field, telling the yellow cart owner: 'You're a big man. We'll sort it out.' READ MORE The crowd of mostly younger men, excited at the possibility of a scrap, flowed behind and formed a ring around them. The protagonist trio – the cart owners and their impromptu mediator – disappeared behind a camper van. Minutes later they emerged arm-in-arm like old friends. Clearly a deal was struck. Irish Travellers watching on were heard to make phone calls telling others all was solved. Calm resumed. The crowd went back to the flashing in the lane, where horses hurtled beneath the dappled sunlight streaming in between the leaves above. [ Racism seen as permeating all aspects of Roma and Traveller lives in Ireland, European report finds Opens in new window ] Appleby fair: Horses are walked through the town centre. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA A procession of carts go through Appleby village. Photograph: Mark Paul This all took place under the noses of Cumbria police, who stayed well back from the field to let those involved sort it out themselves. It illustrated the unique and sometimes flexible approach of authorities to managing the Appleby Horse Fair. The event finishes this week. It attracts 10,000 Travellers and Romany Gypsies from Ireland , Britain and further afield to this small town in bucolic northwest England over several days at the beginning of each June. An estimated 20-30,000 other visitors also attended in recent days, but the atmosphere was led by Traveller culture. There was no central organisation in overall control when The Irish Times visited over the weekend. Billy Welch, the Shera Rom – Head Gypsy – of the Romani community organised toilets and other facilities in fields on Fair Hill outside the village. But much of the rest operated autonomously. Two bars were set up in an adjacent field, where Traveller men gambled on tossed coins late into the evening. The cacophonous Appleby fair, a mixture of stalls, camping and equine-related activities, is billed as the largest gathering of Travellers in Europe. It is a mainstay of the community, which remains one of the most disadvantaged in the UK as it is in Ireland. People washing horses in river Eden during the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire British census statistics show Travellers in Britain face the same social problems as their kin across the Irish Sea: lower education, poorer health, higher deprivation. They also experience discrimination. The 250-year old fair an annual demonstration of pride, an unabashed display of Traveller and Gypsy culture, especially by its youth. They lead the ancient tradition of riding horses bareback into the river Eden in the town centre to wash the animals before and after they are flashed and possibly traded. Some in Britain have always viewed the fair with a critical eye. Leading up to this year's event, English tabloids were filled with stories of Irish Travellers and Romany Gypsies 'descending' on Cumbria, bringing an alleged crime wave. Locals, coverage said, had 'battened down the hatches'. Police reported about 30 arrests in the week or so leading up to the event last Thursday. Last year's fair recorded about 450 police 'incidents' in total, roughly comparable to a typical music festival of the same size. People attending the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Dozens of officers were around Appleby town at the weekend, more on the outskirts. Some used automatic number plate recognition technology to check vehicles against police records. Police said they might deploy facial recognition technology in future. 'If Cumbria Police can use it to identify criminality and troublemakers and keep them away from the fair, then I would support it,' said Welch. The fair attracts the attention animal rights groups, concerned over the welfare of horses. Many Travellers whom The Irish Times spoke to argued these concerns were overplayed. A traditional horse-drawn caravan makes its way to the annual Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph:The RSPCA looks on as people go by in horse-drawn carriage during the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Owen Humphreys Liam Hamilton, an English-born Traveller of Irish descent from Doncaster, who caught a lift with The Irish Times to Fair Hill on Saturday, said the majority of Travellers knew not to over-whip horses. He was also critical of what he saw as excessive policing. An RSPCA inspector near Flashing Lane on Friday evening said just four horses had been seized by that stage of this year's event. In 2007, one horse infamously drowned in deep water while being washed in the Eden. In more recent years, a few horses died from overwork. A group of Dublin men at the fair, non-Travellers who said they kept horses in their working class communities including Coolock and Finglas, said welfare standards had improved in recent years. They welcomed the strong RSPCA presence. One horse was seized late on Thursday evening. Three crestfallen young Irish Traveller boys were seen walking to a police barrier pulling an empty cart. 'Where is the horse?' asked an officer. They said the RSPCA seized it to treat an injured eye. Another horse headbutted it, they said, and they couldn't get it back. People riding horses in water during the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA A family in their traditional horse-drawn caravan make their way to the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph:Away from the equine areas, many retail stalls were manned by Romany immigrants from eastern Europe, as well as native Rominchal from Britain. One Roma man, who did not want to be named, was doing a roaring trade selling water pistols. Asked where he was from, he replied 'Galway' in a half-Irish accent. 'The Irish Travellers, they don't consider us Irish,' he said. 'But that's where I grew up.' British tabloids ran stories in recent years of alcohol-fuelled fighting between gangs at the fair. After Thursday, most pubs were shut in Appleby last weekend, along with the majority of shops. There were few locals around; many houses looked deserted. The Irish Times witnessed no real trouble over several days. A person in a horse-drawn carriage during the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Religious organisations were prominent at the fair. Irish Travellers and their English kin are mostly Catholic, while some Romany are Protestants and evangelicals. 'Apostle' Des Pilling, a plasterer from Wigan, was on the bridge promoting his vision of religion for CLMI Street Evangelists UK. Most Irish Travellers were Catholic, he said, and needed to be 'born again' to reach heaven. Many passing Travellers just smiled at him. Another man, who did not want to be identified, spoke to The Irish Times at the Catholic Traveller Renewal stand on Fair Hill. He said it was easier to be a Traveller in Britain than Ireland.: 'Even a man with no ar*e in his trousers in Ireland will come up and call you a k****er. But not here.' People in horse-drawn carriages during the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA People racing in a horse-drawn carriage during the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA He had a perfect Irish Traveller accent, but was born and raised in London and lived there all his life. 'Your accent comes from who you mix with,' he said. Yet most talk in Appleby was not of accents or trouble or discrimination. It was simply of horses, especially among excited young people. Some of the most striking images of the weekend were of Traveller teenagers – girls as well as boys – riding huge horses bareback into the Eden and down the Flashing Lane. Lucy Smith, a young Traveller from Morecambe, with her horse Comanche at the Flashing Lane at the Appleby Horse Fair. Photograph: Mark Paul Lucy Smith, an English-born young Traveller from Morecambe, but who once lived in Ireland, seemed delighted to be told that she seemed like one of the best riders on the lane. She appeared to handle her horse, Comanche, with ease riding without a saddle: 'He's really a driving horse [for carts]. But I just love riding him here.' Then she took off down the lane, through the dust and crowds.
BBC News
05-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Travellers at overcrowded Brent site asked to leave by council
Irish Travellers living on an authorised site in north London have been sent letters asking many of them to leave due to overcrowding. The breach notices from Brent Council said the proximity of mobile homes and caravans within Lynton Close in Neasden was a fire risk and posed an "intolerable risk to life".It said "bricks-and-mortar" temporary accommodation was available for established residents to move into, however many called the offer "culturally inappropriate". Bernie Corcoran, 58, has lived in Lynton Close since it opened in 1997. He said: "We're not just going to get up and leave, we're going to make a stand." Mr Corcoran, who is considered by residents as one of the elders in the community, said he had always accompanied council representatives any time they visited the site. "If they're coming down here to evict everyone, they'll have to have the British army with them," he told the Brigid Corcoran, 48, of no relation to Mr Corcoran, pointed to a mobile home close to her own. "That's my daughter's home. She lives there, she needs that," she said. She said Brent Council had asked for it to be removed. "If I don't agree to that, I get an eviction," she early April, a wave of "notices for breach of licence" were sent to residents from the council, beginning a process of civil Corcoran believes she is one of roughly 300 residents, including 90 children, who face eviction if they do not comply with the council's demands "to bring the site within safe and legal limits".Residents were told that voluntary compliance was encouraged "to avoid the need for legal escalation". Lynton Close, which opened with 31 pitches, has become densely populated over the years and overcrowding is not a new issue.A report by Brent Council estimated there were now as many as 74 mobile homes on 2017, months after the Grenfell Tower fire, Brent Council published a report on the traveller site and described space between individual homes and neighbouring pitches as "practically non-existent", and said this posed a fire said the risk of a fire spreading would reduce if a gap of 19ft 7in (6m) was "maintained between each individual residence" or "a fire-resisting wall" was built between each who the BBC spoke to said that neither of the mitigation measures was discussed with them nor the BBC asked Brent Council about any efforts to complete the work that the 2017 report requested, the council did not respond on that point, but said the site's most recent risk assessment superseded the 2017 report. A London Fire Brigade officer who previously worked with the council on making Lynton Close more fire secure said he installed about 70 smoke alarms " in every van and mobile home that we could". Brent Council said the site's level of overcrowding had become an "intolerable risk to life" and told residents that it had accommodation in the borough ready for them to move into."The properties that we have found and matched families to are available now. They are all in Brent and have been matched to the specific requirements of families," the local authority told residents in a letter in woman, who did not want to be identified and who cannot read, told the BBC that the council asked her to sign a document relating to its offer of a temporary she said she did not realise that she and her family may end up outside the borough if she signed the Wright, chief executive of the council, apologised to the family and said established residents were assured there was "safe, affordable, secure, bricks-and-mortar accommodation for them in Brent". Some residents have left the site in an effort to comply with the council's breach early May, the BBC observed one family leave Lynton Close, towing their mobile home with a pick-up truck. "We'll try to find a Tesco or Asda car park, or some vacant land somewhere," the driver said. Dr Nancy Hawker from non-profit organisation London Gypsy and Travellers said some of the Lynton Close residents had been made homeless."The council had promised to accommodate anyone displaced as a result of the council's orders, but they have broken their promise," Dr Hawker said."We have found where residents of Lynton Close have agreed - under pressure of threats of wholesale site closure - to move at the council's behest, they have been denied council accommodation, and have been made homeless as a result." Ms Wright said she would not comment on the specifics of individual cases, adding that residents who were not deemed to be "established residents" would not receive the same housing offer."Any members of the community who weren't living there in April as an established resident absolutely will be supported through our homelessness program," she said. Local Labour MP Dawn Butler wrote to Brent Council's chief executive "deeply concerned" by what she saw and heard from residents after visiting the site in May. "Many families feel they are being displaced once again without consideration, echoing generational trauma," she said in a Wright said the council was not conducting "enforcement evictions"."What we've been doing with the residents is working with them really constructively in the last few months," she said."We recognise that there have been some mental health concerns and some anxiety and distress on the site and no-one wants to be in the position to see that."We have put in place a package of support for them through a community support day." Many Lynton Close residents told the BBC that they feared speaking publicly about what was happening in case they were treated also said they had no intention of moving into the bricks-and-mortar accommodation being offered by the council and called it "culturally inappropriate".Ms Wright said: "I recognise that bricks and mortar is not their chosen lifestyle."We have a situation at the moment where that site is unsafe and there are overcrowded living conditions and no responsible landlord wants to see their tenants living in those conditions."We've been clear with any family who is interested in moving that it would be a temporary relocation for them and we have already had two families that have moved off the site into bricks and mortar on a temporary basis."
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
Scottish court reveals details surrounding death of Ontario restaurant owner
A Scottish court hearing has revealed new details about three men facing charges in the death of an Owen Sound, Ont., restaurateur, and the measures they allegedly took to escape police. Sharif Rahman, 44, was attacked outside of The Curry House restaurant in downtown Owen Sound, on Aug. 17, 2023, after confronting three men about an unpaid $150 bill. The 44-year-old husband and father of a young girl, died a week later in a London, Ont., hospital. Robert Evans, 24, faces a charge of manslaughter, while his father, Robert Busby Evans, 47, and his uncle, Barry Evans, 54, are charged with being accessories after the fact. All three appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on May 22, for a preliminary hearing on an extradition request made by Canadian authorities. The court provided CBC News with exclusive access to documents prepared by the Ontario Provincial Police and Crown — containing details that Canadian authorities have so far refused to share with the media or public. The filings, along with testimony during the hearing, reveal that the men are members of an Irish Traveller community located near Manchester, England, and had been in Owen Sound — along with at least two other family members — for a number of days before the alleged attack. Robert Evans Sr. was reportedly working in the area, despite being in Canada on a visitor visa. Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic group similar to, but ethnically distinct from, the Roma people. Police were called to Rahman's restaurant at 9:23 p.m. for a report of an assault in progress, arriving minutes later to find the restaurateur lying on the ground outside, gravely injured. A witness to the confrontation told officers that he saw Robert Evans Jr. punch Rahman in the face, causing him to fall backward. As he hit the pavement, there was a loud thud, likened to the sound of "a bowling ball falling six feet from the air." It is alleged that Robert Evans Jr., his uncle Barry, and another, previously unidentified family member — Robert Justin Evans — were present during the altercation. The court was told that Barry Evans instructed Robert Evans Jr. to "run," then left to collect their vehicle, a grey SUV, picking him up from another downtown location. In the aftermath, all three men reportedly fled to Collingwood, Ont., 65 kilometres away. Robert Justin Evans has not been charged in connection with the alleged events. Court files reveal actions following altercation The procurator fiscal, Scotland's equivalent of a Crown prosecutor, told the court that cellphone records document "a flurry" of calls made to Robert Evans Sr. — who was not present at the restaurant — by all three men in the minutes and hours after the altercation. The senior Evans quickly left a local Owen Sound hotel where he had been staying with his brother. Surveillance photos in the court files show Barry Evans visiting the reception desk on two occasions the following day — first to retrieve what was left of their cash deposit, and then to request the return of their registration documentation and a photocopy that had been taken of his passport. That same day, Robert Evans Sr. reportedly arranged transport for his son to Toronto's Pearson International airport and booked him an evening flight to Manchester. To date, Canadian authorities have provided the public with almost no information about the case, refusing to specify why the accused were in the country, how and when they left, or discuss details about the altercation that led to Rahman's death. In August 2024, almost a year after the restaurateur's death, police issued a brief news release saying "arrests" had been made, but gave no further insights. It wasn't until Dec. 19 that year that investigators finally disclosed the names of their suspects and confirmed that the father and son had been apprehended in late July, and the uncle at the end of October. Police Scotland said at the time that all three had been arrested in the Edinburgh and Dalkeith areas in connection with an international warrant. Ontario court documents about the case remain sealed, and a CBC News request for a judicial review of the file has been pending since mid-March. Questions from CBC News about the case have gone unanswered, with the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Crown and courts all saying there is no "publicly available information" to share. Extradition hearing set for August The preliminary hearing in Edinburgh court is set to resume on in June, with a full extradition hearing set for mid-August. All three men remain in custody. Thursday's preliminary hearing ran well beyond the allotted time, as the court began the process of grappling with legal arguments about "dual criminality." The defence is asking whether the accessory after the fact charges made under Canadian law are similar enough to the "attempting to pervert the course of justice" charges that exist in Scots law to be dealt with by a single court, or whether the case needs to be tried in both countries. The arguments dragged on so long that a prison officer who was hand-cuffed to Barry Evans fell asleep in the box. A group of Evans family supporters watched the proceedings from the public gallery, calling on the men to "smile" and asking if they were alright. They said they had travelled from the Manchester area for the hearing, but refused to answer other questions. "It's a disgrace," said one of the men, suggesting the case should never have come to court.
