June 18th 2013
The Digby Courier Weeklies
Digby, Nova Scotia - www.digbycourier.ca no-reply@transcontinentalmedia.com
Jonathan Riley
Hallidays
Sheree Halliday sent a short email to media outlets today saying she had recieved a verdict but didn't reveal what that verdict was.
Sources in Digby close to the Halliday family say Phillip Halliday is out of jail and could be home as early as this weekend.
The Courier will be speaking to the Halliday's lawyer Kevin Burke at 4 p.m. to confirm the details.
Philip Halliday has been in jail in Spain on drug trafficking charges for over three years.
jriley@digbycourier.ca
No I don't get my info from facebook.. had a chuckle on that one. Fair Trials International, Amnesty International and the EU and Violation findings by the European Court of Human Rights have all criticised the Spanish system. The EU has been in the process of making Spain adhere to a better justice system. Their Justice Minister in Spain is at this moment, bringing changes to the antiquated system. It doesn't take long to find many, many cases such as Philip's where the innocent are jailed and the kingpins go free or never apprehended. It is based on Roman Law and just in the few past years have they started to use the jury system and even yet they do not use it very frequently. You will be hard pressed to find the outcome of any drug smuggling trial. We also know of one man in the Uk who was in a similar circumstance. They can keep you up to 4 years with no trial whether you are innocent or not. I have travelled through Spain and I will tell you this.. it is not Canada and you don't ever want to have anything to do with the police. One journey there was enough for me. If for one moment I or many of the supporters or even Sheree Halliday thought Philip was guilty there would have been NO support. But, you see "Marc" we know Philip, we know he was and is innocent. These drug kingpins used Philip and others as pawns. They gave them an unexpected few days off when they arrived to work... why? I would venture so they could stash their drugs. As for the limo, well, good friends got together & decided to give him a surprise.. all he wanted when he returned home was a soft comfy chair.. so they got together & provided that for him for his return home.. Out of all this I would think people would take from it to learn not to be so quickly to judge others, be thankful for our justice system, blemished as it is, be thankful for your family and your true friends. Philip was an innocent pawn that trusted in the wrong people.. it really is as simple as that. Philip will clear his name and Philip has the most wonderful family & friends, it is all he needs. As for your comments, I find them hurtful and from someone quick to judge & believing he received a fair trial which he did not. These hard drugs that come into Countries in large quantities are a plight to their citizens and these people should be put away for a very long time. Philip was not one of these people I can assure you of that. I get my facts straight and am always willing to listen to another opinion as we are not always right... but in this case I know we are right & you are not. Perhaps, over the next few weeks you could read Philip's accounting of this incident and others like him, you could research the legal system in Spain & other Countries and perhaps it may shed some light to the fact it doesn't work like Canada and for that we can all be thankful to say we are true " Canadians" regards....
Disappointed to say the least in the previous comment from "Marc".. if Marc knew anything about the Spanish justice system or followed the case from the real criminals in the UK he would know that Philip was used as a pawn. FYI "Marc" Philip is appealing his verdict and I sincerely hope you will post an apology when he has his acquittal. Considering the thousands of supporters here in the Maritimes & throughout Canada I believe you are in the minority. Hundreds lined the street in a blizzard to welcome Philip home. Embarrassed really to see this sort of comment and we thank the Courier for the coverage not only on this story but other events that occur in the Digby area. Job well done.
I know this won't get posted. This is for the moderator. I thought as journalists you believed in free speech and were supposed to be non biased. By you not posting my previous comments it just goes to show that your news reporting is amateurish and totally bias. Mr Halliday is a convicted drug smuggler and your paper has helped to make this criminal look like a hero. You have let me down as well as the whole town of Digby. You can write me at my email if you stand behind your paper.
I'm not sure what part of this particular story has upset you -- when this story was published - no one knew the verdict? As far as we knew he hadn't been convicted of anything? This particular story does nothing I can see to make him look like a hero? If however you are referring to the photos I took and published of the crowds welcoming him home, that is another matter. You think this shouldn't be reported? When is the last time that many people lined up in a snow storm in Digby for anything? Of course it has to be reported. To ignore it, would have been silly and irresponsible. Any comments I may have deleted (and I personally am not the only one moderating this site) were deleted because they contained profane language, or language that was unnecessarily provocative, or were attached to an email address that didn't actually work. It is sad, I opine personally, how many people make bold comments with a fake email address and half a name. No one deleted your comments because they disagreed with them, but perhaps they disagreed with how you chose to express yourself. We as journalists make judgements every day and part of that is about what comments we are going to allow on our webpage. I am in no way limiting your freedom of speech - say whatever you want. At the same time I have a duty to our readers to maintain the level of discussion that appears on our web page. You feel I have let you down, but many others understand that this story is big news in Digby and across Canada and has to be reported. Whatever your thoughts on Mr. Halliday's guilt, you must admit two things are true: (1) he has served all the time the courts have asked of him; and (2) the unprecedented outpouring of emotion at his return is news. Yours faithfully, Jonathan Riley
So happy to hear Mr. Halliday is coming back to Nova Scotia. I don't believe for a minute he is guilty. I admire his wife and family so much and I am just elated they will be together again. God bless you Halliday family.
What great news!! So happy to hear that the Halliday family will be together after such a lengthy separation.
My feelings for phillip have never changed ,I don't believe he had any knowledgr of drugs on that boat. He has been a hardworking fisherman since he was a kid and our goverment and fisheries stold his licences and livileehood, I continue to pray canadians will one day have a pay back for this injustice.
So glad to hear this fabulous news. It's way been way too long. Congrats!!!! xxoo
Can't wait to see Sheree, Phil and Tex out for a stroll in Digby..amazing what you miss sometimes..Welcome home Philip!!! Cheers!!!!
All I can say is Happy Valentine's Day to the whole family!!!! Such good news this is. He has a lot of great friends and I'm sure the "Welcome Home's" will go on and on!! Take care to a real nice family..
Congrats to that family. God Bless them all for all they have been through. May they have a long and happy life together. They are an example of what family is all about!
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Hello Teressa, I have a question for you. What makes you think the Spanish judicial system did not give Phillip a fair trial? Do you not think that with all the global publicity the Spanish government would have made sure things were done correctly? Are your accusations about the Spanish from facts or just what you have read from Facebook? Don't get me wrong, I am glad Phillip is home because he is as Canadian as I am and this is where he belongs. What bothers me is that he is (fact) a convicted drug smuggler and for him to be paraded around in a limousine is a mockery of the legal system as a whole. The only difference between Phillip and the drug dealer on the corner that sells drugs to our children is that he has a good family that stood by him.