Former Halifax cabbie convicted of sexual assault extradited back to Canada

CITYnews halifax / By Mark Hodgins

A former Halifax taxi driver convicted of sexual assault has been brought back to Canada to serve out his sentence.

In 2020, Bassam Al-Rawi was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in his Halifax-area apartment in 2012.

“In 2022, Mr. Al-Rawi was released on bail while seeking leave to appeal his sexual assault conviction with the Supreme Court of Canada. His release order included strict conditions, which required him to reside in Ottawa with his surety,” said a release from the Public Prosecution Service of Nova Scotia. “However, in May 2022, authorities were made aware that Mr. Al-Rawi had breached his conditions and travelled to Montreal. He met his wife and one-year-old son and fled to Iraq.”

The PPS says Al-Rawi was arrested in Italy on September 8, 2023, and he was extradited from Italy back to Canada on September 5 of this year.

“The extradition process, which typically spans several years, was expedited in this case through the collaborative efforts of multiple international agencies,” PPS wrote.

Al-Rawi was originally sentenced to two years in prison for the 2012 sexual assault.