Saskatchewan human trafficking case ‘sets a precedent,’ Crown says, with 2 found guilty

A precedent-setting decision was made in a Saskatchewan human trafficking case Thursday, after years in the court system.

The judge found Sohel Hadiar and Muhammad Masum guilty on charges of human trafficking, and Masum guilty of eight counts of sexual assault.

“I’ve not had a guilty verdict on human trafficking alone. So, for Saskatchewan, this is one of the first human trafficking cases that has gone to trial employment trafficking,” said senior Crown prosecutor Leslie Dunning.

“I think going forward, this case certainly sets a precedent for human trafficking cases because we don’t have written decisions in our province.”

Dunning says human trafficking comes in many forms and in different forms of relationships.

“We’ll see more as time goes on, but I also think that this hopefully would be a deterrent that people follow the law in the province and in the federal system as well,” Dunning said.

“Because that’s why we have these laws out there, is to protect our temporary foreign workers and our newcomers.”

The judge read out his determined facts, stating the two men exploited a Bengali woman, whose identity is being protected, by preying on her fear of leaving Canada and threatening to revoke her work permit.

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He said the woman, referred to as “SK,” was desperately trying to stay in Canada and searching for a job to gain a work visa when Hadiar hired her.

“Human trafficking can be very diverse in different ways and as I said at the argument, it doesn’t always mean somebody coming in over a crate,” Dunning said.

“It could be that human trafficking can happen in relationships. Human trafficking can happen in employment relationships, such as what we’ve seen in this case happen.”

Hadiar brought her to Saskatchewan from Toronto, promising to pay and house “SK,” but never paid her while forcing her to work 12-hour shifts six days a week at Empire Diner in Gull Lake.

She started working for Hadiar in September 2022, without a work permit.

Saskatchewan MLA for Cypress Hills, Doug Steele, came into the Empire Diner regularly during this time and grew concerned over “SK”’s well-being.

Steele gave “SK” his business card and told her to contact her if she needed help.

Hadiar and Masum made an agreement to move “SK” to Tisdale while awaiting her documentation.

Steele became increasingly concerned for “SK” and secretly gave her the contact information to a social worker.

While working for Masum at Little Town Diner in November 2022, he paid her $3,500 for months of working 12-hour-shifts six days a week while going with him to get supplies on Mondays.

The judge found Masum guilty of eight counts of sexual assaulting “SK,” including seven instances of rape.

She got a closed work permit in January 2023, meaning her visa was tied to her employment at Hadiar’s restaurant, Bob’s Diner, in Elrose.

Steele and the social worker devised a plan to help “SK” leave her situation.

The judge found Steel, the social worker and “SK” to be credible witnesses, but could not say the same about the co-accused.

He said he found Hadiar’s testimony to be unconvincing and self-serving.

“Human trafficking cases, or any type of cases, where it’s a he said-she said can always be complex. We don’t know how our witnesses are going to respond. Witnesses get nervous,” said Dunning.

“I think we’re well enough informed in this day and age about a trauma-informed approach when we’re looking at our witnesses’ evidence, allowing them time to get their evidence out in a meaningful way for the judge to make their decision about how he or she accepts that evidence.”

The two men have been remanded into custody until Aug. 14 and have been ordered to have no contact with the complainant.