Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Nearly seven years after police told them their son would never come home, the family of Soleiman Faqiri might finally learn the answers to the questions that have haunted them since his death in an Ontario jail cell.
30-year-old with mental illness died from restraint, injuries from struggle with guards.
Nearly seven years after police told them their son would never come home, the family of Soleiman Faqiri might finally learn the answers to the questions that have haunted them since his death in an Ontario jail cell.
In a notice to the family, Ontario’s chief coroner office has indicated an inquest will begin Nov. 20 to examine the 30-year-old’s death at the Central East Correctional Centre while he awaited a bed at a mental health facility.
It’s there that members of a coroner’s jury and the public may, for the first time, witness video captured on the jail’s surveillance cameras of the moments leading up to Faqiri’s death on Dec.15, 2016. And it’s where lawyers for the family say they hope “the full story” of what happened to him will finally emerge.
“The inquest will be about shining a light on this travesty of justice. What happened to Soleiman Faqiri should not happen to anyone,” the family’s lawyer, Nader Hasan, told CBC Toronto.
“We expect the inquest will tell that full story, and that the inquest will show both how the system failed Soli and how the very people entrusted with his care failed Soli miserably.”
At the time of his death, Faqiri, who suffered from schizophrenia and had not been convicted of any crimes, was awaiting a medical evaluation at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences after being charged with aggravated assault, assault and uttering threats following an altercation with a neighbour.
Among the family’s questions, says Faqiri’s elder brother, Yusuf: “Why was he not transferred to hospital when it was ordered by a judge? Why were we not able to see him, especially his mother, when we tried to visit the Central East Correctional Centre four times? What was he going through in those 11 days?”
No charges, despite pathologist’s findings
News of the inquest date comes after police in 2022 declined — for the third time — to lay criminal charges against the correctional officers who restrained Faqiri, twice pepper-sprayed him in the face, placed a spit hood him, and left him face-down in a segregation cell, before he stopped breathing.
A post-mortem examination would find Faqiri suffered more than 50 bruises or other signs of injury from blunt trauma. His cause of death, previously deemed unascertained, was in 2020 deemed to be restraint in a face-down position and injuries from his struggle with guards.
No charges were ever laid in Faqiri’s death. As reported by CBC Toronto last August, Ontario Provincial Police said there was “insufficient” evidence to bring charges against any of the jail staff involved, despite the province’s chief forensic pathologist finding the guards’ actions contributed directly to his death.
If admitted as evidence by the coroner, footage from the jail’s hallways and other areas with cameras could shed light on exactly how many correctional officers were involved and Faqiri’s state in the hours before his death. It could also potentially corroborate some of what an inmate across the hall told CBC’s The Fifth Estate he saw the day Faqiri died.
There is no footage of what took place inside the cell or in the shower where reports indicated he was agitated. The Fifth Estate previously filed an access-to-information request for the surveillance footage in Faqiri’s death. That request was denied.
The coroner could also choose to admit as evidence an internal investigation report by the province’s Correctional Services Oversight and Investigations unit, completed sometime around the summer of 2018. That report could reveal more about the steps taken in the aftermath of Faqiri’s death, the disciplinary actions taken and why — according to the province — at least five of the jail staff involved were allowed to keep their jobs.
The inquest is also likely to bring further attention to guards’ breaches of specific Ontario’s policies on use of force.
As CBC Toronto has previously reported, the province’s procedures manual for jail staff notes inmate must not be placed on his or her stomach while wearing a spit hood because of the risk of asphyxiation or losing oxygen. Inmates must also be “properly decontaminated” when pepper spray is used and must not be left attended while wearing a spit hood, the policies states.
At least two of those policies appear to have been violated in Faqiri’s case.
While a coroner’s jury cannot make any finding of legal responsibility, according to the province, the inquest must deliver a verdict about manner of death, such as accident, homicide, or natural causes, for example. The jury can also make recommendations to prevent future such deaths.
Union points to ‘crisis in corrections’
In 2019, the family had launched a $14.3-million lawsuit against the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the superintendent of the Central East Correctional Centre and seven individual correctional staff members. That has since been settled, though the terms of the settlement were not made public.
Asked if the province would abide by the jury’s recommendations, the Ministry of the Solicitor General told CBC Toronto it “continuously works to make sure policies are based on the best evidence.
“Inquest recommendations directed at the ministry are thoroughly reviewed and remain an important resource to prevent deaths in custody,” ministry spokesperson Andrew Morrison said.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents Ontario correctional officers, told CBC Toronto it hopes the inquest will result in recommendations to prevent future deaths.
“Our corrections division has been urging the Ontario government for many years to fix the crisis in our correctional institutions that leads to tragic situations. It is a priority for the division to ensure that all incarcerated people and correctional workers are in a safe environment,” the union said.
For its part, the family will seek standing at the inquest. Under the Coroner’s Act, those with standing at inquests can call and examine witnesses as well as present arguments to the jury.
“Although this inquest will be a painful experience for our entire family to relive Soleiman’s tragedy, we believe that the public needs to know what happens to Canadians who suffer from mental illness in jails,” said Yusuf. “Too many people die in custody and are returned to their loved ones in body bags without transparency and accountability.”
As they prepare for this next step in their search for answers, Yusuf says he’s buoyed by the memory of Faqiri’s warm smile, big hugs and the words, “I love you” when they were together.
“I miss my little brother so much.”
Shanifa Nasser is a journalist with CBC Toronto interested in national security, the justice system and stories with a heartbeat. Her reporting on Canada’s spy agency earned a 2020 Amnesty International award and an RTDNA, and her investigative work has led to two documentaries at The Fifth Estate. Reach her at: shanifa.nasser@cbc.ca
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