Fundraiser to Cover Legal Debts of Umar Zameer After His Acquittal Already Surpassed Goal

According to their GoFundMe Page, ""On July 1, 2021, Umar, his wife Aaida and their 2-year-old son were enjoying a night out sightseeing around Nathan Phillips Square. When it got late, they returned to their car in the underground parking lot in order to drive home. As they were getting into their car, a man and a woman in casual clothing approached them aggressively and demanded that they stop. At that very moment, a large grey van stopped in front of Umar’s car, blocking the exit route from the front. Umar tried to escape by reversing the car and then driving forward. In so doing, he accidentally struck the man on his way out, who later succumbed to his injuries. Umar and Aaida later found out that the man and woman who confronted them in the parking lot were plainclothes police officers, who were investigating an unrelated incident. The police and the Crown Attorney did not accept Umar and Aaida’s innocent explanation for what happened and had charged Umar with first-degree murder. This is one of the most serious charges in Canadian law. Umar has a strong legal team behind him and is vigorously defending against the charges, but he needs your help to support this effort. Without proper legal assistance, Umar would be at risk of facing the rest of his life in jail leaving his wife Aaida, their 5-year-old son, 2-year-old daughter and 4-month old baby girl. They are new to the country with very little support. The family would be grateful for any support you may provide."

Zameer and his family were able to get the legal representation they needed and this month he was acquitted of all charges.

The family now needs to pay off their debts and rebuild their lives.

Their crowdfunding campaign, whose goal was $200,000, has already surpassed that amount. Diverse people from across Canada have left supportive messages for Zameer and his family on the crowdfunding page.

According to The Toronto Star, "In the 48 hours since Zameer was acquitted, thousands of people have raised the vast majority of his family’s target to pay for mounting legal costs. The GoFundMe — organized by Zameer’s wife, Aaida Shaikh, shortly after his arrest in 2021 — had just $30,000 in donations before Sunday’s verdict. By Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $207,000, and counting."

At the time of writing, it is already at over $280,000.

In an interview with The Toronto Star, Husein Panju, chair of the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association (CMLA), "Being a newcomer to Canada is hard enough as it is, but that, combined with being a father of three and facing one of the most serious crimes in Canada, takes “an enormous toll.  So we’re hoping this campaign helps to allay at least some of the financial costs that have got him to this point,” he said. Panju cautioned that the verdict was not a cause for celebration, adding the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association mourns Const. Northrup’s death and acknowledges the difficulty his family is facing."

Watch an interview with Umar Zameer and his wife Aaida Shaikh below on:

The National

CP24

CityNews