Outside the courtroom he tells a different story. He disputes most of the details contained in the summary, especially the quote about the World Trade Center. And since pleading guilty in May he has insisted, twice, to a Montreal Gazette reporter that his rights, as outlined in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, were violated by the court order to abstain from posting on social networks. During a break in his most recent hearing in November, Markuze handed a Montreal Gazette reporter a document, which he referred to as an affidavit that, he said, tells his side of the story.

“The charges laid on me are based on hearsay and conjecture. I am being charged for my controversial ideas, not for any offence,” Markuze wrote. “The condition to not debate on forums is a direct violation of my fundamental human rights. This condition must be removed. I’m a writer who engages in debate with the power of words, not force of arms.”

This is actually good news, I suppose. Many of the preceding court proceedings seemed to gloss over the possibility that a mental disorder might be playing a major role in Markuze’s behavior. It will be good for the judge to hear some direct testimony on this issue.

A St-Laurent man with mental health problems who admitted he has threatened several people over the Internet because he disagreed with their atheistic opinions has received a sentence that requires him to follow psychiatric treatment for three years.

Dennis Markuze’s inability to control his impulses was evident during a sentence hearing at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday. While the psychiatrist was testifying for the defence, Markuze could be heard laughing at what his doctor said and uttered the word “bulls–t” at least once.

“I know he’s going to be upset at some of the stuff I’ve said in court today,” said Trent Semeniuk, a psychiatrist at the Jewish General Hospital who has been treating Markuze since 2013, or shortly after his second arrest since 2011 for harassing people through social networks and uttering threats. Semeniuk told Quebec Court Judge Jean-Pierre Boyer he believes Markuze suffers from a delusional disorder and “his beliefs are not grounded in reality.” He said Markuze’s problems date back to childhood and that he had been an outpatient at the Jewish General for a decade before 2013...