Lawyers for Family of Soleiman Faqiri Call on Ontario Party Leaders for Transparency and Accountability

TORONTO, May 15, 2018 /CNW/ - There has been a significant development in the case of Soleiman Faqiri.  New documents obtained from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services show that the Ministry is anticipating taking action against the prison guards who caused Soleiman's death.  Soleiman Faqiri died on December 15, 2016 at the Central East Detention Facility in Lindsay, Ontario after being assaulted by more than a dozen correctional officers.

But the Ministry is still refusing to provide the family with access to its investigative file, including crucial video footage that may show what happened in the minutes prior to Soleiman's death.

Today, lawyers for the Faqiri family, Nader Hasan and Edward Marrocco, issued the following statement:

"The Faqiri family has been waiting for answers since December 15, 2016, the day Soleiman was killed. The family has been kept in the dark for a year and a half. They were told they needed to wait for the police investigation to conclude. So they waited nearly a year. Then they were told they needed to wait for the Ministry's investigation. So they waited longer. There has been enough waiting.  We are asking for transparency and accountability. The Ministry's investigative files should be released to the family immediately.

"We are calling on the Ontario government to reverse its misguided decision to withhold the investigative files from the family.  And we are calling on Andrea Horwath and Doug Ford to commit to releasing these investigative materials within 10 days of taking office should they be elected Premier.

"No family should have to go through what the Faqiri family has gone through. The Ontario government should be providing accountability, not hindering it."

SOURCE Stockwoods LLP

Media Contacts: Nader R. Hasan, 416-593-7200, [email protected]; Edward Marrocco, 416-593-7200, [email protected]