Prison justice groups profoundly disappointed by OPP’s decision not to lay charges in the killing of Soleiman Faqiri

The East Coast Prison Justice Society, Women’s Wellness Within, and the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia write to express their profound sadness and disappointment in the Ontario Provincial Police’s decision not to lay criminal charges against any of the guards in relation to the beating and death of Soleiman in December 2016.

Soleiman, who suffered from schizophrenia, was in custody at Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario, as he waited for a bed to open up at the Ontario Shores hospital. On December 15, 2016, while transporting Soleiman from one unit to another, guards pepper sprayed him, put a spit hood on his head, punched and kicked him, and left him face down and restrained with his hands tied behind his back in a cell. Soleiman died during the attack.

The Kawartha Lakes Police Service originally conducted the criminal investigation but declined to lay charges. After the ensuing public outcry, and with the benefit of new eyewitness evidence, the OPP agreed to reinvestigate, but recently announced that they will not proceed with charges. They have told the family that they could not be assured of a successful prosecution against any of the individual guards.

Our profound disappointment in this regard is especially pertinent in light of the fact that today is Prisoners’ Justice Day, a national day of mourning to remember those who have died in state custody. Every year on August 10, prisoners and their allies in the community join together in protest to fight for better conditions in our jails and prisons and to call for the reinvestment of public funds in community-based initiatives to prevent criminalization in all its forms.

Today, and every day, we fight for the rights of all those subjected to any form of incarceration and its resultant harms--whether in the correctional system, police custody, psychiatric hospitals, immigration detention, secure care, or long-term care facilities.

Today, and every day, we remember those who have died and speak their names, so as to ensure that they will never be forgotten. We remember Greg Hiles, Samantha Wallace, Clayton Cromwell, Camille Strickland-Murphy, Jason Leblanc, Matthew Hines, Veronica Park, Joshua Evans, and countless others. Today, and every day, we reject those institutions of the carceral state, including the police, that do not keep our communities safe and from which we cannot expect justice.