TORONTO — Soleiman Faqiri was a man with significant mental health conditions killed in provincial custody in 2016. An inquest in 2023 found that Mr. Faqiri’s death was a homicide and made several key recommendations to prevent such deaths in future. The Ministry of the Solicitor General has not adopted any of the recommendations and no timeline to review them has been announced.
As announced at a conference at Queen’s Park this morning, the CCLA, with the support of 35 civil society organizations, have written the appended letter to the Solicitor General of Ontario. The letter calls on the government to release specific plans to respond to the recommendations from the inquest and apologize for Soleiman’s death.
Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, said, “There is no excuse for the government’s inaction on the recommendations from the Faqiri inquest. Prisoners with complex mental health conditions are some of the most vulnerable people in our province. They have the right to adequate care and treatment.”
Yusuf Faqiri, Soleiman’s brother, said, “Ontarians deserve transparency from their prison system. To take away someone’s freedoms is a heavy responsibility that should only be done under the most rigorous scrutiny – and certainly, they should not face death. Soleiman’s life mattered, as does so many other vulnerable Ontarians who continue to suffer in our prison system.”
Video of the press conference is available from the Queen’s Park media studio.
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
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