Judge dismisses convicted mail bomber’s second bid for release in past month

Convicted mail bomber Guido Amsel has lost his second bid for release in the past month after his motion, claiming he was being unlawfully detained, was dismissed by a judge Thursday.

Amsel, 59, was convicted after trial in 2018 of four counts of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison for mailing a series of explosives in 2015. One of the explosive packages was mailed to his ex-wife and another to her lawyer Maria Mitousis, who lost a hand and was severely injured when a booby-trapped tape recorder exploded.

Amsel, who represented himself in court, filed the motion arguing he was being detained in custody illegally.

“This is all fraud,” Amsel told Court of King’s Bench Justice Jeffrey Harris, claiming evidence was withheld at his trial and DNA evidence tying him to the bombs was “planted.”

Crown attorney Jocelyne Ritchot said the appropriate avenue for Amsel’s complaints is an appeal, noting Amsel filed a notice of appeal in December 2018 that was later deemed to have been abandoned when he failed to follow up direction from the Court of Appeal of Manitoba on how to properly file his appeal.

“He has been found guilty of several offences,” Ritchot said. “He’s a sentenced prisoner. He’s not being detained. These issues he’s raising… are matters that should have been addressed by way of appeal.”

Amsel said it wasn’t his intention to abandon his appeal, but he couldn’t afford to order trial transcripts, as directed by the province’s highest court.

Amsel, who court heard had filed a previous motion on the lawfulness of his detention — also dismissed — in 2022, claimed he has attempted to file 35 such motions, all of which were “mislaid” or “not answered.”

Harris said he declined to hear the motion “for the reasons put forward by the Crown,” but suggested Amsel could take his complaints about parole ineligibility to the Federal Court.

“We don’t have that jurisdiction, but there is a process in that court to deal with complaints respecting parole eligibility,” he said.

Amsel appeared before the Parole Board of Canada last month to argue for full parole, which would see him released from federal custody and immediately deported to Germany — where he was born and lived for decades.

The board denied his application, citing a warning from a parole officer that Amsel continues to present a threat to the public in Canada and abroad.

“You present with a lack of victim empathy, remorse and insight,” the parole board said in a written decision. “This persistent denial, combined with the severity and targeted nature of your violence, indicates that you remain a serious and ongoing risk to the victims and public safety.”

dean.pritchard@freepess.mb..ca