Quebec man denied bail in alleged abduction of Elnaz Hajtamiri in Wasaga Beach, Ont.

A Quebec man accused of kidnapping a woman in Wasaga Beach, Ont. in January was denied bail on Monday in a Barrie, Ont., courtroom.

Mohamad Lilo, 35, has been charged with kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of Elnaz Hajtamiri, 37. Lilo was arrested in his hometown of Brossard, Que. in July before being transferred to Ontario. Sources have said Lilo is Hajtamiri's ex-boyfriend.

Lilo has also been charged with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping in connection with a prior assault on Hajtamiri in a Richmond Hill, Ont. parking garage on Dec. 21, when she was beaten with a frying pan.

Hajtamiri, who is of Iranian descent, has been missing since she was forcibly taken by three men wearing police gear on the evening of Jan. 12. She was abducted from a home where she'd been staying with relatives in Wasaga Beach, a popular tourist town at the southern end of Georgian Bay, north of Toronto.

Publication ban

A publication ban is in place in the case, preventing CBC Toronto from explaining why the justice of the peace in the Ontario Court of Justice refused to release the accused.

The bail hearing was held in French on Aug. 2, 5, 16 and 18. Lilo appeared via video-conference from Penetanguishene, Ont. in a hearing that took more than an hour.

When he heard the decision, Lilo, dressed in an orange prisoner's uniform, appeared disappointed on the screen.

Lilo asked to speak to his lawyer, who was on Zoom from Montreal. Philippe Grenier asked him to be quiet because the hearing had not yet been adjourned.

The accused is expected to return to court via Zoom in Collingwood, Ont. on Oct. 11.

Lilo has been ordered not to contact six other individuals connected to the case.