Hostage-taker gets conditional sentence

IQALUIT — Last week in Purvirnituq, Quebec court judge Donald Bissonnette sentenced Alashuak Aliqu, 26, to a conditional sentence of eight months. The time, added to the two months he spent in preventive custody, amounts to the equivalent to a one-year jail term.

On Sept. 20, Aliqu barricaded himself and several hostages in Akulivik’s co-op store.

Aliqu pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, which included unlawful confinement, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, uttering death threats, mischief, and using a firearm while committing a criminal offense.

Aliqu, a resident of Akulivik, will serve his sentence in Puvirnituq where he will have to keep the peace, observe a curfew and attend anger management counseling.