Stabbed Russian Diplomat Leaves Canada
A Russian diplomat who was allegedly stabbed by a Canadian army reservist last week has left Canada, police confirmed Monday after the soldier was granted bail.
Ottawa police Constable Marc Soucy told Agence France Presse the Russian embassy worker identified in court documents as Andrey Gorobets "has left the country."
The accused, Private Kevin Martin, 32, an army reservist and civilian staffer at Canada's Department of National Defense, meanwhile, was released on a $15,000 bond.
Martin must return to court for an April 9 hearing to face a charge of aggravated assault.
Ottawa police responding to an emergency call last Friday morning found the 44-year-old Gorobets in the lobby of an apartment building two blocks from the Russian embassy in Ottawa, bleeding from "stab wounds" to his arm and back.
Gorobets was reportedly drunk and belligerent with authorities, claiming initially that he had been bitten by a dog. He was later taken to hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The Ottawa Citizen newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said police had followed a trail of blood to an apartment in the building, where they found Martin, bloodied and naked, and a knife on the floor nearby.
Both the accused and victim are believed to live in the building.
Martin's father Nelson told the Citizen over the weekend that Martin had met the diplomat and his wife and child for the first time while he was out walking his dog Thursday night.
The couple invited Martin to their apartment, and a few minutes later Martin and Gorobets moved to Martin's apartment, he said.
At some point an argument broke out, but it is not known what it was about.
There was a language barrier, so the two men used a cellphone translation app to help communicate, the father said.
He noted that the family is of Ukrainian descent but their ties to the region are distant. Martin's great-grandfather was the last to live there.
Canada's foreign ministry has also said the incident is not believed to have been politically-motivated.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/122955 |