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Mutiur Rehman, 22, may have lost his mind on Innes Road after spending a staggering 18 months in solitary confinement.

Rehman was kept in isolation for up to 23 hours a day without any social interaction beyond a guard bringing him meals and the odd 20-minute visit from family. He didn’t have access to newspapers, television or radio.

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Rehman was awaiting trial at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre after being charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of André Boisclair in October 2013.

On Jan. 15, 2016, Rehman was transferred to the Royal Ottawa hospital for a psychiatric assessment after his defence lawyer raised serious concerns about Rehman’s inability to give instructions about his case.

A psychiatrist found Rehman was unfit for trial, and he is now in treatment in a secured unit at the Royal and under the authority of the Ontario Review Board, which oversees the future of those found unfit to stand trial. He suffers from what the psychiatrist described as an acute first episode of a psychotic illness.