When Luka Magnotta returns before a judge for his preliminary hearing next week in Montreal, he'll seek to have the public banned entirely from the courtroom.

While a publication ban on evidence heard at a preliminary hearing is normal, Magnotta's lawyer has also asked to bar everyone except the judge, the lawyers in the case and the court clerk from the room.

The motion states that the grounds for the request stem from an unspecified reason related to Magnotta's personal and medical history, which have not been disclosed in the document.

The motion was filed in Quebec Court last Thursday by Luc Leclair, Magnotta's Toronto-based lawyer. It will be debated next Monday.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder and other charges in the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese-born student Jun Lin last May.

Magnotta became the subject of an international manhunt after parts of Lin's body began turning up across the country.