Mahdis Habibinia | Executive Editor, Online
Featured Image: From left to right—Haider Syed (campaign team researcher), Mimuna Mohamed (campaign manager), Michelle Shelley (campaign research assistant), and Yusuf Faqiri (campaign leader and speaker). | Courtesy of Mahdis Habibinia
On Wednesday, November 13, Yusuf Faqiri and the Justice for Soli campaign visited Osgoode Hall. Yusuf spoke to students about his brother, 30-year-old Soleiman Faqiri, who faced an injustice that ultimately led to his death.
Soleiman (Soli) was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 19. Eleven years later on December 4, 2016, he was arrested for an altercation with a neighbour. Instead of being taken to a hospital under Ontario’s Mental Health Act, Soleiman was taken to the Lindsay superjail where he remained in solitary for 11 days. Then on December 15, he was given to his family in a bodybag, said Yusuf.
Soleiman Faqiri. (Courtesy of the Justice for Soli Campaign)
“He mercilessly and violently lost his life in the very institution that’s supposed to protect him,” Yusuf said during the event.
The officers involved in his death were suspended. The case was closed without the testimony of a vital eye witness, and the coroner’s report read that the cause of death was “unascertained,” in other words, unknown.
The Faqiri family reached out to CBC’s The Fifth Estate, Canada’s leading investigative documentary program, to discover the nature of Soleiman’s death.
They learned that an altercation occurred between Soleiman and 20 to 30 prison guards: Soleiman was pepper sprayed twice, sustained 50 bruises across his body, and subdued to the point where ligature marks were visible on his wrists and ankles.
Former inmate and eye witness, John Thibeault, described it as, “They viciously beat him to death. There’s no other answer.”
According to former forensic pathologist, Doctor John Butt, the evidence also suggests that Soleiman’s death was caused by asphyxiation via the restrain of the prison guards.
“People with mental illness, their lives are not cheap. They have a story to tell, and their stories should be told through a lens of compassion.”
“It could have been hands on the neck, an arm around the neck, could have been a foot on the neck,” said Butt in the documentary video by The Fifth Estate, shown during Wednesday’s event.
Subsequently, Ontario’s chief coroner reopened the case in 2019 which is currently being led by the Ontario Provincial Police. Yusuf and his family filed a $14-million lawsuit against the province in January 2019 which is currently ongoing. However, Yusuf and his family have been seeking justice for his brother for almost three years.
According to Yusuf, the Justice for Soli campaign was created upon two mandates: to seek accountability for the guards involved in Soleiman’s death—namely, criminal charges—as well as ensuring other families don’t suffer a similar loss.
“I’m a human rights and mental health advocate,” says Mimuna Mohamed, campaign manager and third-year psychology student at York.
“Soli has been on my radar since it happened because I make it my business to know when any types of human rights violations take place within our country.” Moved by Yusuf’s story and his family’s loss, Mohamed contacted Yusuf in January 2019 to join the movement.
“People with mental illness, their lives are not cheap,” said Yusuf. “They have a story to tell, and their stories should be told through a lens of compassion.”
The Justice for Soli campaign began its law school tour early last month. When Shayyan Malik, third-year Osgoode Hall student and co-president of the Muslim Law Students’ Association, heard the story he became immediately interested with the event.
“Not only is this an issue that we care about personally, as an individual,” says Malik, “but also on a student organization level. We recognize that as Muslims, in our community, these issues are not heard.”
“Maybe the criminal justice system doesn’t have any business in dealing with incidents involving mental health.”
“Mental health is something that has yet to be accepted and it is something that we struggle with,” Malik continues. “So at a law school, we thought this was a perfect platform to speak out about these issues and raise awareness. And through Soleiman’s story, I think we are able to accomplish that.”
Many attendees, ranging from Osgoode Hall students to high school students, were present during Wednesday’s event to express their concerns and ask pressing questions.
“Thank you for sharing your story. I want to express my condolences for your loss,” said an unnamed Osgoode Hall student. “What you’re talking about affects a lot of people.”
A second Osgoode Hall student also expressed her condolences, then continued to comment: “Maybe the criminal justice system doesn’t have any business in dealing with incidents involving mental health.”
Yusuf and his team have been campaigning across the country, conducting speaking tours, and seeking accountability since 2016. The campaign is scheduled to hold vigils in major cities across the nation on Sunday, December 15, 2019 — on the third anniversary of Soleiman’s death. His Toronto vigil will be held at Dundas Square at 6 p.m.
