ROSETOWN – The trial for two men accused of human trafficking continues today in Rosetown Circuit Court.
Mohammad Masum and Sohel Haider both face charges of trafficking a person, with Masum additionally charged with three counts of sexual assault against the woman. Judge Miguel Martinez has imposed a publication ban protecting the victim’s identity.
On June 6, Judge Martinez denied Haider’s application for a stay of proceedings against him. His lawyer, Christopher Gratton, had applied for the stay under the Jordan Rule, a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that says criminal cases in provincial court must be heard within 18 months. The two were arrested in July 2023.
The trial has dragged on since September 2024 with numerous adjournments. It had been scheduled to finish at the end of September 2024.
“In the circumstances of this case, the trial delay is both reasonable and justified,” ruled Judge Martinez.
On May 12, 2025, when the trial resumed, Judge Martinez dismissed Masum’s application for a stay of proceedings.
According to court documents, two Saskatchewan Party MLA’s intervened to help the woman they believed was a victim of human trafficking.
Hugh Nerlien, a former Sask. Party MLA, testified on May 20 that he and fellow MLA Doug Steele grew increasingly concerned about the woman’s safety after she was moved unexpectedly multiple times and sometimes her location wasn’t known.
“She had been moved a couple of times, so we didn’t know where she was or if she was safe potentially for days,” Nerlien told the court.
He said Steele had raised alarms about the woman’s treatment.
“Mr. Steele had expressed to me that he was concerned with how [the victim] was being observed and that something was not quite right,” in the employer-employee relationship, said Nerlien.
Court heard the woman, a newcomer to Canada who could barely speak English, was allegedly forced to work 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, at restaurants in Gull Lake, Elrose, and Tisdale. Her identification was reportedly taken from her, and she was kept under constant surveillance and prevented from seeking help.
RCMP’s Swift Current Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team (STRT) arrested Masum and Haider in Elrose on July 5, 2023. Police allege the woman was threatened with the loss of her work permit or police involvement if she did not comply with grueling work demands and restrictions on her freedom.
She was allegedly kept in an unfinished, damp, and dimly lit basement.
The trial isn’t expected to finish until September 2025 at the earliest and November 2025 at the latest.
