Men accused of defaming Edmonton mayor deny allegations in lawsuit

Three people facing a defamation lawsuit from Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi are denying that they repeated false statements about him to damage his reputation.

Sohi launched the $750,000-lawsuit in October, alleging Abdusselam Huzeyfe Bezirgan produced a video series "around the false claims that Sohi is involved in serious criminality and corruption." 

Sohi's statement of claim, which was filed with the Edmonton Court of King's Bench, said Bezirgan and Bob Rai, one of Bezirgan's sources, claimed in interviews that Sohi and a close family member "improperly benefited from a major infrastructure project in Regina with Sohi unlawfully using his influence as a minister of the federal government to award a trucking contract for the project to a non-arm's length company."

Varinder Bhullar, Sohi said in the document, "shared the defamatory videos and added his own false claims."

The allegations have not been proven in court. 

Sohi has pledged to donate any proceeds from the lawsuit.

Lawyers for Rai and Bezirgan filed a statement of defence on Tuesday afternoon. 

The document said Bezirgan is the founder and principal of the journalistic organization Media Bezirgan and "holds himself to the highest journalistic and ethical standards" and Rai is a businessman and "concerned citizen, who acting in good faith and out of a sense of civic duty, raised information he reasonably believed to be of public interest."

They said Sohi failed to identify which statements he has alleged to be defamatory. Without more information, it is impossible to defend themselves against the claim, they said in their statement of defence.

Rai and Bezirgan said in the document that all statements they made about Sohi are "true or substantially true and rely on the defence of justification" — and that they were made in good faith and without malice.

The pair also said they took reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of information before publication, spending hundreds of hours researching the allegations.

They said the damages Sohi has claimed are "excessive and unsupported."

Sohi's statement of claim said he has received death threats and other attacks that referenced the defendant's false allegations.

Bhullar filed his statement of defence in November. He is also denying Sohi's allegations, saying he has never made, repeated or amplified any defamatory statements to harm his reputation.

His statement of defence describes Sohi's claims as "false and frivolous" with an intention to harm Bhullar's reputation or the companies in which he holds a share or interest.

"I am going to win, I think, because I have done nothing wrong," Bhullar told CBC News on Wednesday in an interview. 

Bhullar, who described himself as a community activist, said his goal is spreading awareness of what is happening so Edmontonians can make informed decisions and contact elected representatives about their concerns.

All of the defendants are requesting Sohi's claim to be dismissed, plus costs. Bezirgan and Rai also filed a counterclaim on Tuesday against Sohi, seeking more than $3 million in damages.

CBC News asked Bezirgan and Rai to comment on this story. 

Bezirgan sent the following statement by email: "Public officials must remain accountable to taxpayers and should not resort to litigation to stifle legitimate scrutiny or undermine honest and truthful investigative reporting." 

Also in an emailed statement, Rai questioned Sohi's background and political decisions and said, "lawfare cannot be used to silence truth and integrity."