Family seeks criminal charges
aggravated assault and uttering threats. Faqiri, a smart and athletic young man living in Ajax, had once attended the University of Waterloo for environmental engineering.
He did not have a criminal record but had been apprehended under the Mental Health Act about 10 times over the past 10 years and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
He was placed in solitary confinement in the Lindsay, Ont., superjail while awaiting a mental health assessment.
He died 11 days later after what police, at the time, described as an “altercation” with corrections officers.
Documents obtained by the Star through a Freedom-of-Information request said that 20 to 30 officers were involved in subduing him, he was pepper sprayed twice, his face covered with a spit hood and his body held down with leg irons.
He repeatedly covered himself in his own urine and feces in the last days leading up to his death and refused to wear anything but his underwear, according to the internal investigation by the Kawartha Lakes Police Service.
According to that report, he was seeing a ministry psychiatrist but refused to take his medication, something he had history of doing.
A coroner’s report in 2017 found he had suffered more than 50 injuries, including a bruised laceration on his forehead and multiple bruises and abrasions on his face, torso and limbs, from a three-hour confrontation with prison officers.
The report said it was unknown what injuries were from his struggle with the officers, and it couldn’t ascertain the cause of death.
Ministry of the Attorney General spokesperson Brian Gray said it would be “inappropriate to comment” as the matter is before the court.
Faqiri’s family has started a “Justice for Soli” campaign and marked the three-year anniversary of his death with vigils.
His brother Yusuf said the family is still looking for answers.
“We have now been waiting for years, three years, since my brother was given to us in a body bag,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the most important question is: ‘Why, still, after three years is there still no accountability on the killing of my late brother?’ ”
Yusuf would like to see criminal charges for all of the guards involved in his brother’s death and he wants to know why the family was not allowed to see Soleiman, despite trying several times, and why he was not transferred to a mental health facility.
“This was a Canadian citizen, a vulnerable Canadian,” Yusuf said.
“Soleiman’s story, although it’s painful for my family to fight every day, is a story that’s a catalyst that’s inspired people across the nation,” he added.
“To come and say enough is enough. To make sure another family doesn’t go through what we’re going through.”
The Ministry of the Attorney General directed questions on Faqiri’s time in jail to the Ministry of the Solicitor General, who declined to comment given the lawsuit and an OPP investigation, which continues, spokesperson Kerry Schmidt confirmed.
Cheryl Mahyr, a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Coroner, said it will be “conducting an inquest into the circumstances of the death.” There is no start date or location yet for the inquest.