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Sam Tsega, convicted in the 2010 execution-style killing of Barrhaven teen Michael Swan, has been freed on bail less than two months after he was sentenced to prison, and now lives 800 metres down the road from the home of his victim’s parents.

Tsega, 25, was sentenced to nine years in April for his key role in the deadly home invasion, and on Wednesday was freed on bail by appeal court Justice Janet Simmons, who let him out of prison despite Crown concerns for public safety.

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The judge’s decision to free Tsega while he awaits an appeal of conviction has devastated his victim’s family. Swan’s parents sat, pained, at every court appearance over seven years until all of their son’s killers were convicted. They felt as if they didn’t have a voice in court, and noted that their son’s life story was barely a footnote in the lengthy trials.

Swan’s brother, Alex, condemned the justice system: “I have officially lost all respect and confidence I once had for the so-called justice system in Canada after seven plus years of trials and appeals … once again Sam Tsega is a free man and ultimately justice has not been served, he told the Citizen. “If not for Sam Tsega, my brother would still be alive today … I am shocked and appalled that a convicted killer is now living as a free man, mere steps away from Michael’s childhood home. It is beyond insulting that my parents still have to live in fear and cannot find closure.”