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Alberta’s top court has released convicted murderer Assmar Shlah on bail, pending his appeal in the slaying of Calgarian Lukas Strasser-Hird.

Tuesday’s decision has struck a blow to the victim’s family, the victim’s father said.

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“It’s an incredible gut punch,” Dale Hird said, after a three-member Alberta Court of Appeal handed down the written decision.

“We knew it was a possibility but never considered it a reality, because he’s convicted of murder,” Hird said.

Hird said he felt “so much disappointment in our justice system, our judges who don’t seem to care about the victim’s family.”

The three appeal judges said Shlah’s upcoming appeal was not a frivolous one.

And they agreed with defence lawyer Balfour Der the public would not be offended if Shlah returned to the streets until his appeal is decided.

“We conclude that a reasonable member of the public would understand that Canada has an appeal mechanism for a reason and would not lose confidence in the administration of justice if we granted the applicant bail in this case,” they wrote.