Three men facing charges in the death of Owen Sound restaurant owner Sharif Rahman have a preliminary hearing in Scotland tomorrow in their extradition cases.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirms to Bayshore News a preliminary hearing is scheduled at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court Thursday morning for Robert Evans, who is charged by police in Canada with manslaughter in relation to Rahman’s 2023 death.
Robert Busby Evans and Barry Evans — both charged with accessory after the fact — are also due at the preliminary hearing in Scotland Thursday.
A full hearing in the extradition process for the three men is scheduled next month, on May 29, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirms.
Rahman was assaulted outside his restaurant The Curry House on 2nd Avenue East in downtown Owen Sound on Aug. 17, 2023 and died one week later — on Aug. 24, 2023 — from injuries he suffered. He was 44-years-old, and left behind a wife and a young daughter.
Police say the assault was related to a dispute connected to the restaurant.
There was an outpouring of support for Rahman’s family in wake of the incident. Vigil walks were held in Owen Sound. An online fundraiser brought in more than $250,000. Hundreds lined the streets for his funeral. And a sense of sadness and anger lingered in the community for weeks after the August 2023 incident.
Rahman was also posthumously awarded the YMCA Peace Medal in Grey Bruce. Last year, a commemorative oak tree was planted in his honour outside the Julie McArthur Regional Recreation Centre in Owen Sound.
Owen Sound Police and Ontario Provincial Police announced the charges connected to Rahman’s death against three United Kingdom men — Robert Evans, Robert Busby Evans and Barry Evans — in December 2024. At the time, police acknowledged the three accused were in the U.K. and before the courts for extradition.
Extradition is a formal process where one country asks another for a person to be returned in order to face criminal proceedings in the requesting nation.
A public document describing the United Kingdom’s extradition process says it includes an initial hearing and extradition hearing. Appeals could potentially follow.
