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NCCM SHOCKED BY OPP DECISION TO NOT LAY CHARGES IN SOLEIMAN FAQIRI’S MURDER

8-26-2020

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) expresses shock and disappointment at the Ontario Provincial Police’s (OPP) decision not to lay charges against the corrections officers who killed Soleiman Faqiri while he was in custody at Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario on December 15, 2016. 

A post-mortem report showed over 50 signs of blunt impact trauma and an eyewitness saw the attack on Faqiri by the guards. The OPP decision refers to being unable to determine which guard dealt the fatal blow. 

“It is beyond comprehension that Soleiman Faqiri, a schizophrenic man in custody, took his last breath after being punched and kicked over 50 times by corrections officers while they allegedly had their knee on his neck, and no one will be held accountable by our criminal justice system,” said Mustafa Farooq, NCCM’s Chief Executive Officer. “It would be unfathomable in any other circumstance that no charges would be laid in a group assault simply because the police were unable to determine which guard dealt which blow. The OPP’s decision reveals a dangerous double standard in our justice system where officers seem to get away with heinous violence that no one else in society would. Our hearts ache for the family and we are absolutely gutted by the decision.” 

The OPP’s decision not to lay charges in Soleiman Faqiri’s death is yet another example of how our justice system fails the most vulnerable and marginalized in our communities time and time again. The NCCM stands with the Faqiri family as they continue to fight for justice. 

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Article Source: ALAMEENPOST.COM