Showing posts with label mohamed anas bennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mohamed anas bennis. Show all posts

Monday, January 26, 2009

[Montreal] Demand Truth & Justice for Anas!

DENOUNCE THE MONTREAL POLICE BROTHERHOOD'S MOTION TO PREVENT A CORONER'S INQUEST

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LUNCHTIME RALLY
12:00 (noon), Thursday, January 29, 2009
Palais de Justice, 1 Notre-Dame East
Champs-de-mars metro

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T-shirts to support the Justice for Anas campaign will be available on-site
Family-friendly rally!! Bring your placards and banners!!


Join us in denouncing the proceedings filed by the Montreal Police Brotherhood that seeks to prevent the coroner's inquest into the death of Anas from taking place!



IMPORTANT UPDATE (27-1-09):


Dear friends and supporters of the Justice for Anas Coalition:

We have just learned, via the Bennis family lawyer, that the hearing of the legal proceedings filed by the Montreal Police Brotherhood to prevent the coroner's inquest from taking place has been postponed. In light of this news, we are calling off our call for courtroom solidarity this Thursday, January 29. However, we will continue with our plans to have a lunchtime rally (see above) to oppose the Montreal Police Brotherhood's attempts to cancel the coroner's inquiry from taking place and to share our perspectives on why the hearing has been postponed.

Please note that we will make sure to mobilize again to ensure that there is a strong presence in court for whenever the postponed hearing ends up taking place, which we anticipate will be in the coming months.

In solidarity,
Justice for Anas Coalition
(514) 342-2111



BACKGROUNDER

Early in the morning of December 1, 2005, Mohamed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan origin, was on his way home following morning prayers in a nearby mosque in his neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges when he was shot twice by Montreal police officer Yannick Bernier who was working with officer Jonathan Roy. Anas was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital.

Now, over three years later, the Bennis family and the public are hardly any closer to understanding exactly why Anas, who was described as a mild-mannered and sensitive person, was killed by the Montreal police that morning. The Bennis family has been met with disrespect and disdain on the part of government bodies in its multiple attempts to ascertain very basic truths. A troubling veil of secrecy continues to cloud the circumstances surrounding Anas' death. For two years now, the Bennis family, along with the Justice for Anas Coalition, has been demanding a full, public and independent inquiry on Anas' death.
In June 2008, Quebec's chief coroner, Louise Nolet, announced that she had ordered a coroner's inquiry into Anas' death. Although this was not a full and independent inquiry as the Justice for Anas Coalition had been demanding since its formation in January 2007, it was nevertheless an important, albeit partial, victory. The decision to order the coroner's inquiry surely came as a result of the public pressure campaign led by the Justice for Anas Coalition, whose three demands have been endorsed by more than 30 organisations, over the past 2 years.

However, in August 2008, the Montreal Police Brotherhood filed proceedings against Louise Nolet and coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier – who was to preside over the coroner's inquiry – with the goal of having the coroner's inquiry cancelled. The Brotherhood alleges that all of the answers to the family's questions have already been made available. Yet, up until now, the family has not received answers to many of their questions: why has the knife that Anas allegedly wielded -- according to the police version of the events -- never been produced or undergone forensic evaluation? Why has the video of the scene never been made public? Why have the police officers Bernier and Roy never had to testify publicly or been cross-examined on their version of the facts? The Brotherhood also preposterously alleges that the coroner's inquiry will only serve to harass officer Bernier.

This action by the Police Brotherhood simply adds more questions for the Bennis family, and reveals the police's bad faith and lack of transparency. It is worth noting that this is the same Brotherhood that filed similar proceedings to prevent an inquest into the death of Michel Berniquez (killed by a police officer in 2003), and whose president Yves Francoeur has stated that officer Jean-Loup Lapointe (who killed Fredy Villanueva this past summer on August 9th) "did his job properly."
It is imperative that the Brotherhood as well as municipal and provincial governments are reminded that the public support for the Justice for Anas campaign remains strong, and that the Brotherhood's attempts at preventing the truth from coming out will not go unchallenged.
Please come out in large numbers to fill the court and to support the demands of the Justice for Anas Coalition.

THE JUSTICE FOR ANAS COALITION

The Justice for Anas Coalition demands:
  1. The immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
  2. A full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
  3. An end to police brutality and impunity.


Justice For Anas Coalition
tel: 514-342-2111
email: justicepouranas@gmail.com
web: http://www.justicepouranas.org



Wednesday, November 26, 2008

[Montreal] Vigil for Mohamed Anas Bennis: Monday, December 1st



3 YEARS...AND STILL WAITING FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR ANAS

A vigil to commemorate the life of Anas Bennis, killed 3 years ago by Montreal Police




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3pm-5pm, Monday, December 1st, 2008
Park Kent (corner of Kent and Côte-des-Neiges)
Côte-des-Neiges metro, bus #165 North
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Family-friendly vigil!! Bring your placards and banners!!

Dress warmly!! Coffee and hot chocolate will be served!!

Early in the morning of December 1, 2005, Anas Bennis was on his way home following morning prayers in a nearby mosque in his neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges when he was shot twice by Montreal police officer Yannick Bernier who was taking part in an unrelated police intervention along with officer Jonathan Roy. Anas was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital.

Now, almost three years later, the Bennis family and the public are hardly any closer to understanding exactly why Anas, a young Canadian man of Moroccan origin who was described as a mild-mannered and sensitive person, was killed by the Montreal police that morning. The Bennis family has been met with disrespect and disdain on the part of government bodies in their multiple attempts to ascertain very basic truths of what happened that morning when their beloved son and brother died. A troubling veil of secrecy continues to cloud the circumstances surrounding Anas' death.

In June 2008, Quebec's chief coroner, Louise Nolet, announced that she had ordered a coroner's inquiry into Anas' death. Although this was not a full, independent and public inquiry as the Justice for Anas Coalition has been demanding since its formation in January 2007, it was nevertheless an important, albeit partial, victory. The decision to order the coroner's inquiry surely came as a result of the public pressure campaign led by the Justice for Anas Coalition, whose three demands have been endorsed by more than 30 organisations, over the past 2 years. However, in August 2008, the Montreal Police Brotherhood filed a legal action suing the Bennis family and coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier – who was to preside over the coroner's inquiry – with the goal of having the coroner's inquiry cancelled. The Bennis family has already filed a motion to have the Brotherhood's lawsuit dismissed, but it is imperative that the Brotherhood as well as municipal and provincial governments are reminded that the public support for the Justice for Anas campaign remains strong, and that the Brotherhood's attempts at preventing the truth from coming out will not go unchallenged. If the police have nothing to hide, why not simply allow the coroner's inquiry to proceed?

Together, on December 1, 2008, let us commemorate the life of Anas, and send a clear message to the Montreal Police Brotherhood that we will not rest until they cease their attempts at obstructing justice – in this case, by blocking the coroner's inquiry from proceeding. Let us also continue to pressure the Minister of Public Security and of Justice, Jacques Dupuis, to order a full, independent and public inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis. Please come out in large numbers to support the demands of the Justice for Anas Coalition.

JOIN US TO HELP ORGANIZE AND MOBILIZE FOR JUSTICE!!
TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR ANAS!!

The Justice for Anas Coalition's demands are the following:

1. The immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;

2. A full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;

3. An end to police brutality and impunity

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Justice for Anas Coalition
514-342-2111
justicepouranas@gmail.com
http://justicepouranas.org
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Sunday, October 19, 2008

[Montreal] Picket to Demand a Public Inquiry and to Denounce the Montreal Police Brotherhood's Motion to Prevent a Coroner's Inquest!

Please forward and come in great numbers!

-- JUSTICE FOR ANAS COALITION --

:: PICKET TO DEMAND A PUBLIC INQUIRY AND TO DENOUNCE THE MONTREAL POLICE BROTHERHOOD'S MOTION TO PREVENT A CORONER'S INQUEST ::


Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 4pm
Offices of the Montreal Police Brotherhood
480 Gilford (Laurier Metro, St Joseph street exit)


!! Child-friendly picket !!
!! Bring your banners, placards and noise-makers !!

  • Join us in denouncing the motion submitted by the Montreal Police Brotherhood against the Bennis family and coroner Rudel-Tessier to stop the coroner's inquest into the murder of Anas!
  • October 22nd is the National Day Against Police Brutality in the US. Let us denounce the bad faith and lack of transparency of the Brotherhood and demand an end to police brutality and repression!
For a backgrounder and more info: http://www.cmaq.net/node/31224

::::THE JUSTICE FOR ANAS COALITION::::

The Justice for Anas Coalition demands:

1. The immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;

2. A full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;

3. An end to police brutality and impunity.

----
Justice for Anas Coalition
(514) 342-2111
justicepouranas@gmail.com
http://www.justicepouranas.org



Saturday, July 28, 2007

Montreal Gazette Calls for Public Inquiry into the Police Killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis



You could say that i'm surprised.

Pleasantly surprised, but surprised nevertheless that Montreal's english daily paper, the Gazette, has called for a public inquiry into the police killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis.

This is certainly a victory for the Bennis family and their supporters, who have met with nothing but contempt and closed doors from the Quebec provincial government so far.

There is also a subsequent article in yesterday's Gazette in which the police complain that it is really they who are suffering due to the Minister of Public Security's policy of not releasing details about police killings. They imply that if they got to tell "their side" of the story people would realize that they were not to blame.

i sincerely doubt that, but it does highlight the fact that even under conditions of State secrecy, it is possible to break through the media whiteout, and in doing so put the police on the defensive. Especially in a case like this one - where the police kill someone not even related to the crime they are investigating, where the autopsy shows bullets going down through the victim's body, where the weapon the victim was allegedly wielding has never been produced, and where a security video recording of the incident was suppressed.

There is a funny phrasing to the police's complaint: "it would be to our advantage to be able to (make public) our version of events, but because of concerns about transparency and fairness, the law says we can't say what happened."

Get that: out of concern for "transparency" the police "can't say what happened". Clearly what they are talking about is not "transparency" as it is normally understood, i.e. making all details of a case clear (i.e. transparent) to the public. Rather, like a kid caught doing something they're not supposed to, caught in a situation where they have no real excuse for what they have done, the police are now hiding behind the fact that they're not allowed to say what happened.

As if that stopped them from accusing Anas of being mentally unstable, as if that stopped them from claiming he attacked a cop with a knife, as if it stopped them from leaking all manner of falsehoods to the media... but now that attention has finally been brought to the inconsistencies and impossibilities in the police version of events, mum's the word and they simply bemoan the fact that they're "not allowed" to explain what went wrong early in the morning that tragic December 1st...

Here is the editorial and article from yesterday's Gazette:

We deserve to know why police shot Bennis
The Gazette, Editorial
Friday, July 27, 2007
It is instructive to read in sequence the Gazette headlines about the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis:

Dec. 3, 2005: "Knife attack on constable remains a mystery: Police officer recovering from wounds. Quebec City investigators question relatives of man shot to death."

Dec. 10, 2005: "Burial clouded by questions ... Attempts to speak with officer involved in shooting rebuffed: family."

Dec. 12, 2006: "Islamic relations council seeks inquiry into death."

Jan. 8, 2006: "Protesters push for probe into police shooting."

Jan 10, 2006: "Details of shooting by cops to be held till after probe: 'No interest in hiding anything.' Community demands Quebec set up inquiry into death of devout Muslim man."

Nov. 7, 2006: "Police officer cleared after bizarre shooting: Investigation cloaked in secrecy."

Nov. 8, 2006: "Dead man's family still in the dark."

April 12, 2007: "Family demands answers in 2005 slaying."

Now it's July, and the victim's sister and other relatives are still asking in vain for answers. As Khadija Bennis explained in a powerful appeal for public support on our Opinion page yesterday, police and the Quebec Public security department have silently stonewalled the family's requests for an end to secrecy. Our columnist Henry Aubin endorsed that request yesterday, and today we add our voice to the chorus.

A citizen was shot and killed by police on no obvious provocation; what little evidence we do have is a poor match for what little the police have said. Justice must be done, and must be seen to be done. This secrecy should be seen as offensive and alarming not only by those who knew Mohamed Anas Bennis, but to everyone in Quebec society.

If the police continue to stonewall, then it will be up to their bosses, Mayor Gérald Tremblay and executive committee member Claude Dauphin, who is responsible for public security, to reassure us all. Can police really kill without public accountability? Surely not. And if city hall thinks Montrealers don't care about that question, then the Quebec government needs to get involved.

What's needed is a proper public inquiry. We can imagine numerous scenarios in which the shooting might have been well justified; we can also imagine many ways the shooting might have been utterly wrong. But a man is dead at the hands of the police: Why does the public have to imagine what happened? The people need to know.

From Thursday's Gazette: The appeal by Khadija Bennis, and Henry Aubin's column on the subject, are still available at montrealgazette.com

Justice for Anas website: www.justicepouranas.ca



Police frustrated by inability to speak up about probe
Secretive system forbids them from discussing inquiry into case of man killed by cops in '05
MICHELLE LALONDE, The Gazette
Published: Friday, July 27

A Montreal police spokesperson expressed frustration yesterday with the province of Quebec's secretive system for investigating incidents in which civilians are killed by police officers.

"In some cases, it would be to our advantage to be able to (make public) our version of events, but because of concerns about transparency and fairness, the law says we can't say what happened," Sgt. Ian Lafreniere said in interview.

Lafreniere was reacting to a call by family members of Mohamed Anas Bennis, shot to death by a Montreal police officer in December 2005, for a public inquiry into the killing.

Bennis, 25, of Montreal, was on his way home from morning prayers at a C?te des Neiges mosque when police allege Bennis attacked officers with a kitchen knife, an accusation the family contends is absurd.

"It was completely out of character that suddenly, one morning, my brother would attack a police officer, or anyone, with a knife after his morning prayers just steps from his house," Khadija Bennis, twin sister of Anas Bennis, wrote in an opinion piece published in yesterday's Gazette.

Appeals by the family to Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis for access to a report produced by Quebec City police investigating the incident have gone unanswered, she wrote.

She referred to community concerns that "racial profiling might have played a role in the police shooting of my brother, an identifiable and practising Muslim."

Dupuis was unavailable for comment yesterday, but his aide Philippe Archambault said the minister is "very sensitive to the concerns and demands of the family in this case, but the law prevents us from commenting or giving (the family or the media) access to the report,"

When a police officer in the province is involved in an incident that results in death or severe injury, an outside police service is called in to investigate.

In the Anas Bennis case, Quebec City police investigated and found nothing to warrant charges against the Montreal officer. Since no charges were laid, no details of the incident were made public.

Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada where an independent civilian agency has the power to investigate and charge police officers with a criminal offence.

Created 17 years ago in response to public outcry over police shootings of unarmed black men in that province, the Special Investigations Unit probes incidents involving police in which civilians are killed or severely injured.

SIU spokesperson Rose Bliss said the agency has not satisfied all calls for transparency, as it must still work within restrictions imposed by privacy laws, considerations about protecting witnesses and preserving the integrity of the investigation.

Investigative reports are not rendered public, but the agency produces news releases that provide summaries of evidence.

"I would argue that our news releases are the most detailed of any information on police investigations made available by any law agency in our country right now," she said.

mlalonde@thegazette.canwest.com



Thursday, July 26, 2007

Police Killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis: Authorities Must Come Clean



Two opinion pieces from today's Montreal Gazette calling for full disclosure in the case of Mohamed Anas Bennis, killed my Montreal police on December 1st 2005 - one of them by Anas' twin sister Khadija:

Police Shooting of Mohamed Anas Bennis: Authorities Must come Clean
Slain Montrealer’s family is seeking answers in the shooting death, but police and justice officials aren’t talking. The family wants to know the facts
KHADIJA BENNIS
In the past month, two Montrealers have been shot by Montreal police, one fatally. In British Columbia, disturbing evidence of a potential police cover-up in the death of a man in RCMP custody was also reported. I don't read these news stories as a casual observer: I have had a loved one killed in a Montreal police intervention.

My brother Mohamed Anas Bennis was killed by Montreal police 19 months ago. Since then, my family and I have struggled to obtain basic answers about why my brother was killed, and in what circumstances. We are asking the same questions anyone would ask in the same situation.

I am now reaching out to all Montrealers of good conscience to ask that they help in making sure the truth will prevail.

On Dec. 1, 2005, in the early morning, my 25-year-old brother was returning from prayers at a neighbourhood mosque in Côte des Neiges, just minutes from where we lived. He was shot and killed because, inexplicably, he is alleged to have had a kitchen knife and threatened a police officer involved in a separate incident completely unrelated to my brother.

I knew my brother well – he was my twin – and the actions ascribed to him make no sense. My brother was a generous and gentle person, with everything to live for. He was engaged to be married, and had recently started a business. It was completely out of character that suddenly, one morning, my brother would attack a police officer, or anyone, with a knife after his morning prayers just steps from his house.

I love my brother, of course, and I won’t love him any less if the acts ascribed to him are proven to be true.

Nineteen months after my brother’s death, my family and I are asking only that the truth of how my brother was killed be revealed through testimony and evidence in a full, independent and transparent inquiry.

From the little information that we have, there are some disturbing facts. According to the autopsy, the bullets that killed my brother entered his body downward, indicating that he was not in a threatening position. The kitchen knife that my brother allegedly possessed has never been produced. The injuries allegedly sustained by a police officer have never been proven. There is even a security video of the incident that the police refuse to divulge.

There are many other basic unanswered questions, such as confirmation about which police officer actually shot and killed my dear brother.

Since December 2005, my family and I put our trust in the procedures use by the police and government, particularly the Quebec Ministry of Public Security under Jacques Dupuis. But those procedures have proven to be completely inadequate, if not insulting.

Our family cannot even have access to the report produced by the investigating police or the crown attorney’s report concerning this matter. We are not even allowed to have a partial report. Despite our letters, Dupuis has remained silent.

After a police shooting resulting in death, the Ministry of Public Security’s policies allow for all reports and evidence to remain secret. This heavy-handed approach prevents even journalists from investigating the facts.

Ironically, if my brother had survived and was charged with a crime, he would at the very minimum have the right to know the evidence against him and to defend himself. My brother’s life, and voice, were taken away. But as a family, we are his voice, and to defend his memory we will continue to demand basic answers.

Since the day Anas was killed, I feel my family has been treated with disrespect. And for every day that goes by without basic answers being provided, that disrespect increases.

Despite our efforts for almost two years, Dupuis and his department have not provided any basic answers to my family.

In January 2006, on one of the coldest days of the year, several thousand protesters demonstrated to demand the truth concerning Anas’s death. Throughout 2006, we were hoping for answers, but by the first anniversary of Anas’s death, we were still in the dark.

The Justice for Anas Coalition was formed in January 2007, and has organized public meetings, formed delegations and written letters, all without a substantive reply from the minister.

Just last week, physicians from the Côte des Neiges neighbourhood called upon Dupuis to uncover the mystery surrounding the death of my brother. In their letter, they have not excluded the possibility that racial profiling might have played a role in the police shooting of my brother, an identifiable and practising Muslim.

Now, I am reaching out to Gazette readers for your support. To break the almost twoyears of silence, your pressure and support is needed.

I encourage you to consult www.justicepouranas.ca to find out how you can support this case, and make sure justice, not secrecy, is served.


And by Henry Aubin:

It’s wrong to have police investigating police shootings
HENRY AUBIN

The adjacent article by Khadija Bennis is a moving appeal to end the secrecy over the circumstances under which her twin brother, Mohamed Anas Bennis, was killed by a Montreal police officer’s bullets in 2005. She is doing a public service by refusing to let the case blow over, as have so many similar ones over the years. Systemic silence over police-related deaths has no place in a modern democracy.

In the case of her brother, authorities won’t say why an officer had to shoot this pedestrian on a Côte des Neiges street. He had no criminal record and no discernible reason to be aggressive toward police. To be sure, police say the young man struck an officer twice with a knife on the neck and leg, but authorities say nothing more. What would have prompted his alleged attack? Who knows?

Such secrecy, sanctioned by provincial law, has three problems. First, as Khadija Bennis’s article all too poignantly shows, it is callously insensitive to the survivors of the deceased.

Second, it allows officialdom to exonerate the shooter without showing any reasons. Such silence can only weaken public confidence in the police.

And, finally, the secrecy makes no sense objectively. If Mohamed Anas Bennis had not died, prosecutors could have charged him with a crime. In court, the police then would have had to state their version of events, and Bennis could have had the opportunity to give his side. Everything would have been out in the open.

Think about the possible ramifications of this two-track policy – that is, the need for police to go public with their version of the facts if someone lives, but the licence police have to conceal the facts if that person dies. If you’re a cop and you wound someone without cause, you just might figure you have an incentive to finish the job. Killing the guy would keep the story from getting out and ruining your career.

Police will say such a scenario is appallingly cynical, but it’s precisely the sort of suspicion this policy of secrecy invites.

Indeed, such a scenario would help explain an otherwise puzzling trend in police shootings: The propensity of police to pump multiple bullets into people when a single bullet might do the job – that is, stop whatever threat the person might pose.

Could Bennis have been such a case? The coroner says two bullets struck his torso, hitting a lung, the spleen, the stomach, a kidney and the heart. But coroner Rafael Ayllon’s skimpy, twopage report doesn’t say which bullet did what damage. Nor does it say which bullet struck first. So you can’t tell if two shots were “necessary.”

A pathologist’s sketch is more insightful. It shows that the two bullets’ trajectories were downward through the torso, which suggests that Bennis was not standing erect. That does not make him seem too threatening.

Granted, it’s possible that – whether crouching, kneeling or prone – he was still dangerous. But the secrecy blanketing the case allows no such conclusion.

Note, too, that we haven’t seen Bennis’s knife. Nor have we seen photos of the officer’s injuries.

Quebec law requires an outside police force to probe cases in which people die or are seriously injured at the hands of police, but that is hardly reassuring. Police culture worships solidarity. In the Bennis case, the Quebec City police investigated and found nothing to warrant a criminal charge against the officer. (It is only when an officer is charged that the circumstances are made public.)

Ontario’s system is imperfect but better. Its civilian-led Special Investigations Unit has probed such cases since 1990. All of its 54 part- and full-time investigators are civilians, half of them former police officers. But even that watchdog needs watching: Responding to complaints that the unit had a pro-cop bias, Ontario’s ombudsman is now examining its record. Excellent.

All police-review systems are fallible. What you need are checks and balances. And Quebec has a glaring lack of them.

A final note: After I wrote about the Bennis case last year, a constable at the local police station sent a private response. She said the officer involved had been more substantially wounded than had been made public and subsequently suffered from nightmares and flashbacks.

Please understand: My criticism is not of the individual officer, whose conduct is impossible to evaluate. It is with the system that makes evaluation impossible.



Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Nineteen Doctors Speak Out in Favor of Justice for Mohamed Anas Bennis



The following from the Justice for Anas coalition:

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS DEMAND JUSTICE FOR ANAS BENNIS!

Medical Doctors from the Cote-des-Neiges neighborhood call upon Public Security Minister to uncover mystery surrounding death of young man killed by Montreal police

Montreal, July 17th 2007

Physicians from the Cote-des-Neiges community have called upon Minister of Public Security and Justice Jacques Dupuis to release all information surrounding the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, a 25 year-old Canadian of Moroccan heritage, shot by Montreal police on December 1st 2005 in Cote-des-Neiges, just minutes from his home.

In an open letter to Quebec Minister of Public Security and Justice Jacques Dupuis (see below), the group of nineteen medical doctors working in the Cote-des-Neiges neighborhood demanded that all the evidence and reports surrounding the death of Anas Bennis be released to the family and the public while calling for a public inquiry into the events leading to Anas’ death.

The open letter declares : “The lack of transparency and suppression of information in this case does not inspire confidence and can only increase the sense of stigmatization felt by local Muslims and other minority groups. We also believe that the Bennis family is entitled to an open and complete investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of their son and brother.”

The police claim that Anas had attacked them with a kitchen knife, but over a year later, they have failed to produce either the knife, the security video which filmed the events leading to Anas' death, or proof of the injuries that the officer supposedly sustained. Despite their efforts, the Bennis family has not been able to see this evidence or to receive copies of the prosecutor's report or the police report regarding Anas' death.

As Minister of Public Security and Minister of Justice, Jacques Dupuis has the power to release the police and prosecutor's reports to the Bennis family and to the public. The Bennis family and their supporters have made numerous attempts to meet with Mr. Dupuis about this case, but so far the Minister has ignored them.

The three demands of the Coalition Justice for Anas, created to support the Bennis family in December 2006, have already been endorsed by over 35 community organizations, including several groups in Cote-des-Neiges. Their voices are joined by those of health care providers in the neighborhood today, reinforcing the call for:
  1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
  2. a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
  3. an end to police brutality and impunity.


Here is the letter, signed by 19 doctors who work in Cote-des-Neiges, a mixed class and heavily immigrant neighbourhood in Montreal:

M. Jacques P. Dupuis
Ministre de la Securité publique
10, rue Saint-Antoine Est
Bureau 11.39
Montréal (Québec)
H2Y 1E

Montreal, July 17 2007

As family physicians and residents in family medicine working in the Côte-des-Neiges community, we wish to express our concern about the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis. This young man was shot twice by a Montreal police officer on December 1, 2005 near the corner of Kent and Côte-des-Neiges in circumstances that remain obscure. The crown prosecutor declined to lay charges against the policeman and denied the Bennis family a written copy of his report. Furthermore, Quebec Minister of Public Security, Jacques Dupuis, has refused to make the police report public.

As health professionals working in a multi-ethnic community, we are aware of the negative consequences for mental as well as physical health of `racial profiling` and stereotyping of visible minorities. In the post-911 world of security certificates and ‘extraordinary renditions’ such as in the case of Maher Arar, the Arab and Muslim communities have been a particular target of police and security agency activity. We do not know whether islamophobia and racial profiling played a role in the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, but given official refusal to release information, this possibility
cannot be excluded.

The lack of transparency and suppression of information in this case does not inspire confidence and can only increase the sense of stigmatization felt by local Muslims and other minority groups. We also believe that the Bennis family is entitled to an open and complete investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of their son and brother.

We therefore call for the release of all reports and evidence pertaining to the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis and for the Minister of Public Security to authorize an independent public inquiry into the events surrounding his death, and this with the least possible delay.


Sincerely,
Dr. Armand Aalamian Dr. Pierre Dongier Dr. Tarek Loubani Dr. Joey Podavin
Dr. Catherine Beauce Dr. Marion Dove Dr. Robert Mahood Dr. H. Rousseau
Dr. Marie Beauregard Dr. Bertha Fuchsman Dr. Jesse McLaren Dr. H. Shenker
Dr. Nazila Bettache Dr. Vania Jimenez Dr. Marie Munoz Dr. Jean Zigby
Dr. Yen Bui Dr. Saideh Khadir Dr. Maria Perrone


Monsieur Jacques P. Dupuis
Ministre de la Sécurité publique
10, rue Saint-Antoine Est, bureau 11.39
Montréal (Québec)
H2Y 1E2

Montréal, le 17 Juillet 2007

En tant que médecins et résidents en pratique familiale travaillant dans la communauté de
Côte-des-Neiges, nous aimerions manifester notre inquiétude au sujet de la mort de Mohamed Anas Bennis. Ce jeune homme a été atteint de deux balles tirées par un officier de police le 1er décembre 2005, près de l'intersection Kent et Côte-des-Neiges, dans des circonstances qui demeurent obscures. L'avocat de la Couronne a refusé de porter une accusation contre l'officier de police qui a tiré ou de remettre à la famille Bennis une copie du rapport. D'autre part, le ministre de la Sécurité publique du Québec, monsieur Jacques Dupuis, a refusé de rendre public le rapport de police.

En tant que professionnels de la santé travaillant au sein d'une communauté multi-ethnique, nous sommes conscients des conséquences négatives que le "profilage racial" et que l'utilisation de stéréotypes relativement aux "minorités visibles" peuvent avoir sur la santé mentale mais aussi sur la santé physique des personnes concernées. Dans le monde d'après le 11 septembre 2001, celui des "certificats de sécurité" et des ‘extraditions extraordinaires’ (transfert de prisonniers pour les soumettre à des interrogatoires sous la torture), utilisés par exemple dans le cas de Maher Arar, les communautés arabes et musulmanes sont devenues des cibles prioritaires de la police et des agences de renseignement. Nous ne savons pas si l'islamophobie ou le "profilage racial" ont contribué à la mort de Mohamed Anas Bennis, mais devant le refus manifesté par les autorités de fournir des informations à se sujet, nous croyons qu'une telle possibilité ne peut être rejetée.

Nous croyons que le manque de transparence et le refus de dévoiler des informations dans ce cas n'inspirent pas confiance et ne peuvent qu'accroître le sentiment d'être persécutés qu'éprouvent les musulmans et les autres groupes minoritaires de ce quartier. Nous croyons également que la famille Bennis a le droit de s'attendre à ce qu'une enquête ouverte et complète fasse la lumière sur les circonstances qui ont conduit à la mort de la personne qui était leur fils ou leur frère.

Nous demandons, par conséquent, la divulgation de tous les rapports et de toutes les preuves relatifs à la mort de Mohamed Anas Bennis, et que le ministre de la Sécurité publique autorise une enquête publique sur les événements liés à la mort de ce jeune homme et que cela soit réalisé dans les délais les plus brefs.

Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de nos sentiments les meilleurs.

Dr. Armand Aalamian
Dr. Pierre Dongier
Dr. Tarek Loubani
Dr. Joey Podavin
Dr. Catherine Beauce
Dr. Marion Dove
Dr. Robert Mahood
Dr. H. Rousseau
Dr. Marie Beauregard
Dr. Bertha Fuchsman
Dr. Jesse McLaren
Dr. H. Shenker
Dr. Nazila Bettache
Dr. Vania Jimenez
Dr. Marie Munoz
Dr. Jean Zigby
Dr. Yen Bui
Dr. Saideh Khadir
Dr. Maria Perrone



Saturday, June 16, 2007

[Montreal] June 18th: Solidarity Picket: Justice For Anas!



This Monday, if you're in montreal and available please come to this picket demanding justice for Mohamed Anas Bennis:

June 18th: Solidarity Picket: Justice For Anas!

FOR ACCESS TO ALL INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEATH OF MOHAMED ANAS BENNIS, A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE EVENTS OF DECEMBER 1ST 2005, AND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND IMPUNITY!

OVER A YEAR OF SILENCE AND SECRECY - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

**************************************************************
Monday June 18th, from 10:30am to 1pm
Quebec Minister of Public Security,
1 Notre Dame East, Montreal
(metro: Champ-de-Mars)
***************************************************************

* Come support the Bennis family in their struggle for justice!
* Speak out against the secrecy and contempt that has surrounded this case and protest police impunity!
* Protest against the fact that Montreal police will now be patrolling the metro system armed with taser guns!


On December 1st, 2005 -- more than one year ago -- police officer Bernier from Station 25 shot and killed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan heritage. Anas was killed outside a neighborhood mosque at the corner of Côte-des-Neiges and Kent, just minutes from his home.

The police claim that Anas had attacked them with a kitchen knife, but over a year later they have failed to produce either the knife, the security video which filmed the events leading to Anas' death, or proof of the injuries that officer Bernier supposedly sustained. Despite their efforts, the Bennis family has not been able to see this evidence or to receive copies of the prosecutor's report or the police report regarding Anas' death.

As Minister of Public Security and newly appointed Minister of Justice, Jacques Dupuis has the power to release the police and prosecutor's reports to the Bennis family and to the public.

Join us in demanding an end to this cover-up, and in reiterating our demand for JUSTICE!

Also on this day, June 18th 2007, Montreal police officers will begin patrolling the metro armed with tasers, guns which produce an electrical shock. Tasers have already caused at least 200 deaths in Canada and the United States. How many people must die before the government stops protecting violent cops?

***********************************************************

WE DEMAND:

1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
2. a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
3. an end to police brutality and impunity.


---------------------------------
La Coalition Justice pour Anas
tel: 514-342-2111
email: justicepouranas@gmail.com
web: http://www.justicepouranas.ca



Wednesday, May 02, 2007

[Montreal] Thursday May 3rd: Confront the Public Security Commission with Unanswered Questions in the Case of Mohamed Anas Bennis



The following from the Justice For Anas Coalition in Montreal:

On December 1st, 2005 -- more than one year ago -- police officer Bernier from Station 25 shot and killed Mohamed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan heritage. Anas was killed outside a neighborhood mosque at the corner of Côte-des-Neiges and Kent, just minutes from his home. The police claim that Anas inexplicably attacked them with a kitchen knife. However, Anas' family and friends find this hard to believe. They are frustrated by the attitude of the authorities who refuse to make the evidence available, including a videotape that captured the incident.

Indeed, this entire case has been marked by evasiveness, inconsistent versions of what occurred, and a refusal to answer the most basic of questions, and this from all levels of government.

On Thursday May 3rd people have an opportunity to ask some of these questions to members of the Montreal's Public Security Commission, which will be meeting at Montreal City Hall. This is the body of politicians and police officials who pretend to be accountable for what the police do.

The Justice For Anas Coalition invites all supporters to come to this assembly to demand answers to our questions, and support the Bennis family in its ongoing quest for justice.

Representatives of the Coalition will be there to ask questions, but supporters can also do so. If you are not sure of what to ask, we have some suggestions below.

Please note that in order to be allowed to ask a question one must be there to sign in at 6:30pm - the assembly opens at 7pm, and can last an hour or more.

Where:

>>>>>> Montreal City Hall
>>>>>> 275 Notre Dame East
>>>>>> (corner Gosford, Champ de Mars metro)

When:

>>>>>> Thursday, May 3rd
>>>>>> To ask a question show up by 6:30 pm!


Some questions that you can ask:

* On December 1st 2005 Mohamed Anas Bennis was shot and killed on the corner of Kent and Cote-des-Neiges by police officer Bernier of Station 25. On December 5th 2005 the police officer charged with investigating this killing announced that there was a security video of the shooting, shot by the cameras at the Bell building on Kent and Cote-des-Neiges. Does the commission know why this security video has never been made public, and has the commission made any efforts to locate it? If not, why not?

* On December 1st 2005 Mohamed Anas Bennis was shot and killed on the corner of Kent and Cote-des-Neiges by police officer Bernier of Station 25. The police claimed that Anas was attacking Bernier with a kitchen knife. If this is so, then why was this knife never shown to the public or to members of the Bennis family? Have members of the commission made any efforts to locate this knife? If not, why not?

* On December 1st 2005 Mohamed Anas Bennis was shot and killed on the corner of Kent and Cote-des-Neiges by police officer Bernier of Station 25. The police claim that Anas Bennis was attacking them with a knife and was shot in self-defense. If this is so, why did the autopsy show that the bullets entered Mr Bennis' body from the top down and from two different angles? Have members of the commission looked into the inconsistency? If not, why not?

* On December 1st 2005 Mohamed Anas Bennis was shot and killed on the corner of Kent and Cote-des-Neiges by police officer Bernier of Station 25. Almost one year later it was announced that charges would not be brought against officer Bernier. We would like to know if officer Bernier is still employed at Station 25, and if so in what capacity?

* Over the past twenty years more than thirty people have died at the hands of police in Montreal. What if anything does the commission plan to do to make sure that these police killings do not continue?

* Racial profiling is a widespread problem across Canada, and people from many different Montreal communities feel unfairly singled out by the police. Does the Montreal police force keep statistics on the race or ethnicity of people questioned, detained, ticketed, or charged by Montreal police officers?



La Coalition Justice pour Anas
tél: 514-342-2111
courriel: justicepouranas@gmail.com
web: http://www.justicepouranas.ca



Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Phone Jacques Dupuis and Tell Him To STOP Covering Up Murder



The following from the Justice For Anas Coalition, the Montreal group organizing around the police murder of Mohamed Anas Bennis a year and a half ago.

Reminder: the picket is happening tomorrow from 10am til 1pm, at 10 St Antoine East (in front of the Palais de l'Injustice).

If you can't make it, they are asking people to phone Jacques Dupuis, Minister of "Public Security". This guy is a fucker, the turd who refused to even release the police or coroner's reports to the victim's family, but people seem to think it'll be more effective if we are "polite" when calling... so i guess that's what we should do.

******************************
CALL, FAX, OR EMAIL JACQUES P. DUPUIS, QUEBEC MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY,
AND DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE POLICE KILLING OF MOHAMMED ANAS BENNIS!
*****************************


On Wednesday, April 11th, the Justice For Anas Coalition and their supporters will be holding a demonstration outside the Montreal offices of Jacques P. Dupuis, the Quebec Minister of Public Security. They will be demanding that Minister Dupuis intervene to release all the evidence and reports surrounding the police killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis on December 1st, 2005, and that a public inquiry be launched into the matter.

We are encouraging you to come out to the demo between 10am-1pm at 10 St-Antoine east (metro Place d’Armes) and lend your support for one hour or more.

HOWEVER, if you can’t make it to the demo, we are asking that you take 5 minutes out of your day on Wednesday to call, fax, or email Minister Dupuis’ office to support the demands of the Justice For Anas Coalition (contact info and a model letter are included below).

Our demands are:

  1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
  2. full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
  3. an end to police brutality and impunity.

We feel that Minister Dupuis’ duty and responsibility to meet the first 2 demands.

Some basic questions to ask on the phone:

  • If Mohamed Anas Bennis really did attack officer Bernier of Station 25 with a kitchen knife as the Montreal Police say he did, why has the evidence of this knife not been shown to the Bennis family or to the public? If Bernier really did sustain injuries, why was this evidence not revealed?
  • Why was the video captured of the event by the security cameras on the Bell building not released to the public?
  • Why has there not been an independent and public inquiry into this incident?

(Further background info can be found at www.justicepouranas.ca)

Please cc’ all your email correspondence with Dupuis’ office to justicepouranas@gmail.com.


*******

You can reach Jacques P. Dupuis office in Montreal by
Phone: 514 873-3500
Fax : 514 873-6597
Email : ministre@msp.gouv.qc.ca
*******


On the phone, be polite and patient, but also persistent. Make sure that you get your message across in a clear and effective way.

(Model letter)

M. Jacques P. Dupuis
Ministre de la Securité publique
10, rue Saint-Antoine Est
Bureau 11.39
Montreal (Quebec)
H2Y 1E2

M. Dupuis,

I am writing to you to bring to your attention the case of Mohammed Anas Bennis. On December 1st, 2005 -- more than 16 months ago -- police officer Bernier from Montreal Police Station 25 shot and killed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan heritage. Anas was killed outside a neighborhood mosque at the corner of Côte-des-Neiges and Kent, just minutes from his home.

The police claim that Anas inexplicably attacked them with a kitchen knife. However, Anas' family and friends find this hard to believe. They are frustrated by the attitude of the authorities who refuse to make the evidence available, including a videotape that captured the incident.

There has never been any public inquiry, but Quebec City police undertook a closed investigation. On November 4th, 2006, the crown prosecutor decided that no criminal charges would be laid against the police officers, yet he has refused to provide a written copy of his report to the Bennis family. Likewise, the police report remains secret, because you intervened to make sure it would be suppressed.

No satisfactory explanation for Anas' death by police has been offered to the Bennis family. The mystery and secrecy surrounding this case reinforces the belief that Anas Bennis was killed by police in a case of racial and religious profiling. As the Quebec Minister of Public Security, we feel that it is your responsibility to bring to light many details surrounding Anas' death. 16 months is far too long to wait for justice in this matter.

Finally, I am writing to you to in support the 3 demands of the Justice For Anas Coalition, which are;

1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
2. a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
3. an end to police brutality and impunity.

As Minister of Public Security, I feel that it is your duty to take action into the first two demands.

I thank you for your attention into this matter, and I expect a swift response and prompt action to be taken to bring long-overdue justice and closure to the Bennis family.

Sincerely,


(your name, address)

cc. Justice For Anas Coalition
justicepouranas@gmail.com



Friday, April 06, 2007

[Montreal] Picket Next Wednesday for Mohamed Anas Bennis




If you're in Montreal next Wednesday, drop by this picket being organized by the Justice For Anas Coalition in front of the palais de justice. It looks like it's best to come by as close t the beginning as possible, as there is a press conference at 10:30.

Mohamed Anas Bennis was the young Muslim man who was murdered by police on December 1st 2005. The ridiculous police story - that Anas had jumped out of some bushes and tried to attack them with a knife - is contradicted by many facts (i.e. they never produced a knife; there are no bushes where the incident occurred, the autopsy showed bullets entering Anas' body from the top down which implies he was kneeling, sitting or crouching when he was killed; and must damningly of all: security videos shot from across the street were confiscated but never released to the public.)

According to initial news reports, the police were in the area on a multi-agency raid on an "Algerian fraud ring" which "had possible ties to terrorism". This has lead many observers to suggest that Mohamed Anas Bennis - who "looked Muslim" and was shot outside of a prayer room (completely unconnected to the police raid) - might, like Jean Charles de Menezes and Rigoberto Alpizar, have been killed by a trigger happy cop whose head had been filled with stories of suicide bombers and scary immigrants.

There is a PDF flier for this event online here (print on legal paper, double-sided, short edge binding, if you want it in French and English).

Solidarity Picket : JUSTICE FOR ANAS!

FOR ACCESS TO ALL INFORMATION REGARDING MOHAMED ANAS BENNIS' DEATH, A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE EVENTS OF DECEMBER 1ST 2005, AND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND IMPUNITY.

OVER A YEAR OF SILENCE AND SECRECY, THAT'S ENOUGH!

********************************************************
Wednesday April 11th, 10 am - 1pm
Quebec Ministry of Public Security,
10, Saint-Antoine East, Montreal
(Metro: Champ-de-Mars)
**Press Conference at 10:30 am : Be there to show your solidarity!**
********************************************************

Come support the Bennis family in their struggle for justice in Anas' death.
Speak out against the secrecy and contempt surrounding this case and protest police impunity!
Child-friendly picket.

On December 1st 2005, on the corner of Kent and Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal police officer Bernier from Station 25 shot and killed Mohamed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan heritage, while in the presence of three other police officers from the same Station. More than one year later, the events of that morning remain shrouded in mystery.

For over a year, the Bennis family has been trying to understand what happened to Anas that morning. But instead of answers, they are met with secrecy, documents that are devoid of content, incomprehensible delays and explicit contempt.The police and the Crown prosecutor continue to deny the family access to the evidence and information related to Anas' death. "We feel like we are being lied to, that they are hiding things from us," says Khadija Bennis, Anas' twin sister and a member of the Justice For Anas Coalition.

The minister of Public Security Jacques Dupuis has endorsed the contemptuous attitude of the police by intervening to suppress both the police and the crown reports.

Join us to remind him that despite the black outs and cover ups, we continue to demand JUSTICE!

WE DEMAND...
  1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
  2. a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
  3. an end to police brutality and impunity.

Demands endorsed by:
  • Action Anti-Raciste/Anti-Racist Action Montréal
  • Association Bélagir
  • Action des chrétiens pour l'abolition de la torture et la peine de mort (ACAT)
  • Action et solidarite pour la Colombie
  • Association facultaire des étudiants en sciences humaines de l'UQÀM
  • Association Vwa Zanset (Voice of the ancestors)
  • Bloquez l'Empire Montréal
  • le Centre de services de justice réparatrice
  • le Centre des travailleurs et travailleurs immigrants/Immigrant Workers Center
  • CKUT radio
  • le Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (COBP)
  • le Conseil des églises pour la justice et la criminologie
  • Haiti Action Montreal
  • Head & Hands/À deux mains
  • Kabataang Montreal
  • La Ligue des Noirs du Québec/The Black Coalition of Quebec
  • Mères Unies contre le Racisme/Mothers United against Racism
  • l'Observatoire canadien pour les droits humains (OCDH)
  • No One Is Illegal/Personne n'est illégal-Montréal
  • NPD Section Québec
  • Philippine Women Centre of Quebec/Centre des femmes Philippines du Québec
  • Projet Genèse/Project Genesis
  • Quebec Public Interest Research Group-McGill
  • Quebec Public Interest Research Group-Concordia
  • Québec Solidaire
  • SIKLAB-Quebec Filipino Migrant Workers Organization
  • Solidarité sans frontières/Solidarity Across Borders
  • South Asian Women's Community Center
  • Tadamon! Montréal
  • 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy
  • United Muslim Students' Association of Montréal (UMSA)



Thursday, March 15, 2007

[Montreal] Justice For Anas Coalition Holds Public Assembly March 21st



The justice For Anas coalition - struggling for justice and answers regarding the 2005 police killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis in Montreal - has organized a Public Assembly for next week, bringing together speakers who will share their knowledge and experiences with racist and violent police in this city.

If you can, be there! as this certainly seems to be an important event:

PUBLIC ASSEMBLY!
organized by the JUSTICE FOR ANAS COALITION

we demand access to all information regarding Mohamed Anas Bennis' death, a Public Inquiry into the events of December 1st 2005, and an end to police brutality and impunity.

Wednesday March 21st 2007, 6:30pm
6767 Côte-Des-Neiges
(metro CDN, bus #165 north)

Voluntary contribution
refreshments will be served

wheelchair accessible
whisper translation (English/French)
on-site childcare available - please call 24 hours in advance (514-342-2111)


  • Khadija Bennis, the sister of Anas Bennis who was killed by Montreal police officer Bernier of Station 25 on December 1st 2005, on the corner of Kent and Côte-Des-Neiges.
  • Huguette Milberg, from Mothers United Against Racism, a group of women struggling against the racial profiling of their children by the Montreal police.
  • Hind Charkaoui, the sister of Adil Charkaoui who was incarcerated for two years based on a Security Certificate, and who is still struggling against the system of Security Certificates and deportation to torture.
  • May Chiu, one of the commissioners from the People’s Commission on Immigration Security Measures.
  • a member of Kabataang, a Philippino youth organization.
  • a documentary film about the case of Anas Bennis

A Killing and a Cover-Up:
The Case of Mohamed Anas Bennis


On December 1st 2005, on the corner of Kent and Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal police officer Bernier from Station 25 shot and killed Mohamed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan heritage, while in the presence of three other police officers from the same Station.

More than one year later, the events of that morning remain shrouded in mystery. Both the police and the Quebec government have refused to hand over evidence and information related to Anas’ death. “We feel like we are being lied to, that they are hiding things from us,” says Khadija Bennis, Anas’ twin sister and a member of the Justice For Anas Coalition.

This veil of secrecy, the government’s callous disregard for Anas’s mourning family and their quest for justice, the incredible police impunity... all this should be familiar by now. Just think: the Security Certificates; the secret trials; the deportations to torture; the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) harassment of refugees and immigrants; the long list of racialized people, both citizens and non-citizens alike, who have been brutalized and even killed by the police without the Canadian State so much as batting an eye, the five hundred Indigenous women who have disappeared without any real investigation ever being carried out... the list just goes on and on.

In a context of criminalization and marginalization of racialized communities across Canada, in a climate of ongoing systematic attacks against the oppressed, and in an era when the rhetoric of a “war on terror” serves as an excuse to give more and more power to the police and other repressive institutions, this Public Assembly is a forum to discuss the impact of racial profiling and police brutality and to explore the different ways that we can resist against police abuse.

WE DEMAND
  • the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
  • a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
  • an end to police brutality and impunity.


Justice For Anas Coalition
tel: 514-342-2111
email: justicepouranas@gmail.com


The flier for this event is available for download

* bilingual version, 2 pages (you can do a two-sided photocopy, cut it down the middle and then have both French and English fliers) - 6.2 M in uncompressed pdf format or in a zipfile 1.6 M
* French version - 3.2 M in uncompressed pdf format or in a zipfile 802 K
* English version - 3 M in uncompressed pdf format or in a zipfile 726 K

One can also download all three pdfs in one zipfile.



Sunday, February 25, 2007

Justice For Mohamed Anas Bennis!




Good news: a coalition has formed to demand answers - and justice, whatever that means - for the police murder of Mohamed Anas Bennis in December 2005.

The Justice For Anas Coalition has a website up, and from what i hear is planning a number of activities in the months to come...

Check it out!



Thursday, December 07, 2006

The Death of Mohamed Anas Bennis: More and More Questions, Still No Answers



Sorry i didn’t post this earlier – i’m no longer in the habit of reading the Mirror. This article by Montreal activist/journalist Stefan Christoff is a welcome mention of Mohamed Anas Bennis in the local media.

Montreal Mirror: Why did Mohamed-Anas Bennis die?
by Stefan Christoff
One year after Montreal police killed the 25-year-old, his family and community are still in the dark
One year ago, Montrealer Mohamed-Anas Bennis, 25, was shot dead by a police officer in Côte-des-Neiges. Circumstances leading to the death remain unclear, while the official police report on the killing, now in the hands of Quebec's Ministry of Public Security, has not been released to date.

According to Pierre Paquet, the lawyer representing the Bennis family, a Montreal policeman fired on Bennis shortly after dawn prayer at the Kent street mosque in NDG at approximately 7 a.m. on Dec. 1. Prior to the shooting, Montreal police had been called in to back up Sûreté du Québec investigators executing a warrant in a fraud case. Bennis was not the subject of the fraud investigation, but apparently stabbed a police officer for an unknown reason, provoking the police shooting.

According to the Montreal police, the shooting was an act of "self-defence". Sameer Zuberi of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), however, views the case as "an illustration of the potential danger that Canadian security and police officials can pose to the Muslim community." The umbrella organization Muslim Council of Montreal is also supporting the family.

"Mohamed was very focused on his personal faith and was someone who people had nothing but good things to say about," says Zuberi. "Now people in the community are standing up and supporting his family due to the tragedy they have experienced."

"Why is this case so secret?" asks Bennis family lawyer Paquet. "I found it alarming that the police officially declared they acted in self-defence against Mohamed-Anas on the very same day of the incident, without any substantial investigation."

While Quebec City police have been assigned to investigate the shooting, Paquet's legal appeals to provincial authorities to release the original police report have failed.
Quebec's Ministry of Public Security refused to disclose the original police report on the  shooting, also deciding last Nov. 4 not to press criminal charges against the police officers involved in the incident.

"Essentially I am looking for what happened on that day," says Paquet. "The problem is that the decision from the Ministry of Public Security can't be appealed, and now the Bennis case is, on the legal side, technically over."

Calls to both the Quebec City police and the Ministry of Public Security for comment on  the case were not returned by press time. But Bennis's father, Mohamed, contacted in Morocco last week, says he only wants to know how and why his son died. "We don't want to keep these things hidden," he says. "We want the truth to be revealed concerning what happened last year."

To mark the anniversary of the police shooting, community and activist groups are coordinating neighbourhood activities in Côte-des-Neiges to build public awareness concerning the case.

"We are organizing a vigil [on Saturday, Dec. 2] at the same place the shooting occurred," says Rachid Najahi, president of Atlas.Mtl, a community newspaper. For more info on the time and place, see www.atlasmedias.com.

Local activist group the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality [COPB] has also taken up the case. "The cops that killed an innocent person could still be walking the streets without being brought to justice," says COPB's Kerre King. The COPB rally takes place on Friday, Dec. 1 from 5.7 p.m. at the corner of Kent and Côte-des-Neiges.


-------------------

i did not make it to last Friday’s vigil, having unavoidable personal responsibilities elsewhere. It was freezing rain, about the most inhospitable kind of weather you can get here this time of year, but a couple of dozen people did turn out nevertheless. Mohamed Anas’ father spoke, as did local activists from COBP and Solidarity Across Borders, as well as a comrade from Mexico’s Other Campaign who spoke of repression in that country.

i did manage to get to Saturday’s noontime vigil. There were about fifty people, many from the Muslim community but also some from the anti-authoritarian activist scene. If nothing else i found it... very very sad, being there where the cops had killed this guy a year ago, seeing his father and sister and knowing how this must now be killing them.

Off he goes to mosque, and he never comes back... shot through the heart by police who then put on some cockamamie story about how Anas “just went crazy.” The fact that he was Muslim, and they were on a testosterone-charged raid on a criminal enterprise “with links to terrorism”... this just had nothing to do with it...

As has been amply documented, the State has decided to cover up what happened that morning. I’m not saying the cops shot Anas because they are racist, because they thought he was a terrorist, because of mistaken identity because they were involved in some kind of conspiracy, or anything else for that matter... how can i given that there aren’t enough details known to even explain the most basic elements of what happened?

i mean space aliens could have come down, engineered the whole thing, the flown off the Cloud Cuckoo Land and we wouldn’t have a clue, because everything about that morning has been kept under wraps, nothing plausible has been made public.

One thing i do know for sure, though, is that the cops’ story is inadequate, to the point that you’d have to be crazy not to assume it was a lie. According to the Coroner’s Report, “The two officers [Bernier and Roy of Station 25] were walking on the sidewalk towards the building when Mr Bennis headed southwest in their direction; when he reached the police he stabbed one of the officers in his neck and in his right leg for no known reason.”

Now i was at the spot where this happened, and for the first time had someone point out where the mosque Anas had been praying at was. It completely changes the nature of the cops’ story, because the mosque itself is on the corner of Kent and Cote-des-Neiges, on the southwest corner. If Anas Bennis was walking southwest to intercept the police, then he was walking back towards the mosque, not away from it. This, combined with the fact that he was killed fifty minutes after morning prayers ended, raises serious questions about what else the police are leaving out. What else went on between Anas Bennis and officers Bernier and Roy during those fifty minutes?

It feels obscene to wonder what happened to lead to someone’s death. Especially when you’re doing the wondering in public (i.e. on a blog) and you know the family of the deceased have themselves been denied any answers.

How offensive it is to guess at what led to this young man’s death. How horrible it is to know that his sisters and brothers and parents must be wondering this too, running scenarios through their heads, trying to come to terms with a wall of State secrecy.

The evil genius of the cops in this case is that by suppressing all information they have left us with no idea what questions we should be asking. The pathetic evil of this moment in history is that so few even care to wonder what this means, never mind how to stop it.



Monday, November 27, 2006

December 2nd: A Second Vigil for Mohamed Anas Bennis

The following is a call for a second vigil for Mohamed Anas Bennis, to be held this Satruday December 2nd in Montreal. Translation by yours truly...

Early on the morning of December 1st 2005, on the corner of Kent Street and Côte des Neiges, an incident involving one (or more) Montreal City police officers took a tragic turn, costing the young twenty five year old Mohamed Anas Bennis his life.

One year later, the circumstances which led a police officer to use his firearm to kill Anas with two bullets, one of which in the heart, have still not been explained. Despite an investigation by the Quebec Provincial Police and an investigation by the Coroner’s office, despite an abnormally long procedure, we still do not know what happened. A few days ago a terse statement simply informed us, without giving any further details, that no charges would be laid against the police officer implicated in this incident. We learned that the entire file has been placed under a publication ban by the courts.

Even the lawyer of the family of the deceased, Pierre Paquette, had his request to see the file rejected by the Minister of Public Security.

Such secrecy obviously looks very bad, both to the family of the deceased and to all Montrealers, Quebecois and Canadians who care about the civil rights of this country’s citizens.

Public opinion continues to demand explanations as to this incident, that the truth be told and that justice be done for the late Anas Bennis and his family.

Towards this end, the Justice pour Anas collective is organizing a vigil – a peaceful silent citizen’s demonstration - this Saturday December 2nd, at noon, on the corner of Kent Street and Côte des Neiges, to demand :

  • an end to the secrecy surrounding the investigation

  • justice for the late Anas Bennis and his family
Rachid Najahi Groupe Atlas Media www.atlasmedias.com Tél.: 514-962-8527



The Case of Mohamed Anas Bennis, Eleven Months Later


Mohamed Anas Bennis,
shot dead by Montreal's killer cops
on December 1st 2005


Montreal's Collective Opposed to Police Brutality have released the following document summarizing the past year's bullshit whitewash of the police killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis. This killing, the brazen secrecy and disrespect on the part of the government, and the "mum's the word" complicity of the media are all scandals, and threats to take seriously.

There is a vigil organized by COBP this Friday December 1st at 5pm, and another one organized by the group Justice pour Anas on Saturday December 2nd at noon...

Translation provided by yours truly...

******************************************

Communique from the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality - (514) 859-9065 - cobp@hotmail.com - www.cobp.ath.cx

The Case of Mohamed Anas Bennis, Eleven Months Later:
No charges are to be laid against the killer cops Bernier and Roy, and none of the questions have been answered...


Montreal, November 13th 2006: On November 4th 2006, the government of Quebec released a brief statement to the effect that “no criminal charges will be laid as following the death of Mr Mohamed Annas Bennis” as “a thorough examination of the evidence did not lead us to conclude that a criminal act had occurred.” (1)

More than eleven months after the incident where an officer from the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM – Montreal Police Department) shot Mohamed Anas Bennis twice, once in the heart killing him, a brief review of the facts is in order.

What Happened and What the Police Say Happened

On December 1st 2005, at around 7:20am, on the corner of Kent Street and Côte-Des-Neiges, the twenty-five year old Mohamed Anas Bennis was killed, shot twice by an SPVM officer from Neighbourhood Station 25. Mohamed was killed in the midst of a joint police operation involving the SPVM, the Quebec Provincial Police, the RCMP and even perhaps the FBI. “Operation Glory,” which ended up not to be so glorious after all, targeted a network of alleged Algerian scam artists who were suspected of ties to “international terrorism.” But although he was a young bearded Moroccan on his way home from Mosque wearing a skullcap and djellabah, Mohamed had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.(2)

The next day, the police version of events was published in the Journal de Montreal: Mohamed, described as “unbalanced,” was said to have jumped on a police officer with a kitchen knife, for no reason, stabbing him in the neck and in the leg. The officer then fired the two fatal shots, apparently in “justified self-defense.” (3) This version of events was challenged by Mohamed’s friends and family, who described him as an easy going young man who had never had any problems with the police, or any psychological problems. Furthermore, as his sister pointed out, “The idea of Mohamed Anas walking around with a kitchen knife as he left Mosque on the morning of December 1st, there is no way we’re going to swallow a story like that. We’d do better to believe in Santa Claus!”(4)

The Service de Police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ – Quebec City Police Department) was charged with investigating the case, as according to the “policy of the Public Security Minister of Quebec, that when a death or serious bodily injury which might result in death occurs during a police operation or period of detention” no police force can investigate itself or events in which its own officers caused someone to die.

The community mobilizes
Mohamed Anas Bennis’ father, Mohamed Bennis, as well as the Atlas Media Group, set up the Association for Truth Regarding the Death of Anas, which quickly received support from many people and organizations concerned with civil rights. On December 2nd it was reported that the police officer in question was “treated for superficial injuries which did not require hospitalization.” On December 5th, the SPVQ officer in charge of the investigation confirmed that there was a video tape of the incident. On December 6th, the father hired the lawyer Luc Trempe to expose what he referred to as a “bavure policiere.” [A term which means “police error,” but which is used to refer to police killings. - translator] The father traveled to Quebec City and met with Lieutenant-Detective Jocelyn Bélanger, who told him that the investigation was now in the coroner’s hands. On December 8th a source confirmed that on the police radio one could hear police shouting “Show us your hands!” to Mohamed. The police also claim that the video recording is of poor quality and “cannot be used.”(5)

On December 11th 2005, the Atlas Media Group devoted a radio show to the Anas affair, inviting a member of COBP to speak about police brutality. On December 15th, there was a special report on the case in the Atlas Media newspaper, with a circulation of 10,000 copies; other articles would be published in January and November 2006. Mohamed’s father denounced the bavure policiere, suggesting that his son was the victim of racial profiling, killed because of how he looked and the stereotype of Muslim terrorists. The fact that the killer cop was only 25 years old and has only been on the job for four years added to suspicions that Mohamed Anas Bennis was in fact a victim of racial profiling. (6) The family also denounced the investigators’ lack of transparency and the lack of communication from the police authorities. In an interview with La Presse, Mohamed’s brother Mohamed-Labri Bennis said “They refuse to tell us why” Mohamed Anas was killed. Even if the police were telling the truth, he asked “Is this the only way that two police officers with firearms can immobilize a man with a knife?” (7)

On January 7th 2006, a day when the temperature dropped to minus seventeen, roughly 2000 people participated in a demonstration called by the Association for Truth Regarding the Death of Anas. The vast majority of the demonstrators were from the Moroccan, Arab and Muslim communities. In fact, the Imams had put out a call to participate through the Mosques. Chanting “Justice and Dignity, We Want the Truth!” the demonstrators denounced the slow pace of the police investigation and demanded a public inquiry to shed light on the case. Speeches by family and organizers asked people to be patient and have faith in the police and the system. They even thanked the SPVM for having escorted the demonstration, and when someone shouted out “Killer Cops!” he was quickly told to be quiet by the protest marshals... Speeches called for “Montreal police to be better educated about Islam and the Muslim community, as many police officers are ignorant about how Muslims dress and their religious practices,” because without this “members of the police force will be influenced by the islamophobic and stereotyped media propaganda regarding Muslims.” (8)

Representatives of the Muslim Council of Montreal and the Black Coalition of Quebec also took part in the march, as did the former Liberal Minister of Immigration, Denis Coderre. Many people were justifiably shocked that this man, nicknamed “Mr Security Certificate,” had been invited to a demonstration for Mohamed Anas Bennis. Indeed, a campaign had just been launched to “Vote Against Coderre” and “deport him from parliament.” Amongst other things, Coderre had been responsible for signing three security certificates, one of which was for Adil Charkaoui (who was also present at the march). Coderre also oversaw almost 18,000 deportations, lifted the moratorium on deportations to Algeria, and had police brutalize undocumented Algerians in his Ottawa office, amongst other things. (9) Right in the middle of an election campaign and the sponsorship scandal, Coderre’s appearance at the demonstration was nothing but a disgusting attempt to get some political capital out of a man’s death by pretending to denounce police brutality and posing as a “friend” of the community... “Mr Security Certificate” was also invited to speak on the Atlas Media radio show the Sunday following the demonstration.

The cover up and clearing the police
Three days after the march, Katherine Wilton of the Gazette reported that the police “promised yesterday all the facts in the bizarre case will be made public once their work is complete.” She quoted Constable Hugues Lavoie of the SPVQ as saying “We are professionals and we have no interest in hiding anything.” (10)

According to officer Jean-Sébastien Roy of the SPVQ (we do not know if he is related to the officer Roy of the SPVM who was implicated in the incident on December 1st 2005), “our report was finished in March and we sent it to the Crown Prosecutor in Rimouski.” In late September 2006, Mohamed Anas Bennis’ sister Najilaa told the Journal de Montreal that “They are trying to hide something from us. We want to know the truth, whether my brother was a victim or was the one to blame. Yet we have no news. It is not normal.” Prosecutor James Rondeau, who had received the file on April 13th, claimed to “understand the concerns” of the Bennis family, but blamed “a heavy workload before the summer” and “sick leave following surgery on his arm” for the time it was taking. Trying to be reassuring, he explained that “I am not the kind who only does half the job. I spent some time on this file. I even went to Montreal to see where it happened. (...)” He said that it would be known before December 1st whether or not charges would be laid in the case. (11)

And so it was more than eleven months after the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, on November 4th 2006, that the “substitute associate chief of the Attorney General of Rimouski” James Rondeau released his decision in the form of a press release. No criminal charges would be laid against the police officer who killed Mohamed Anas Bennis. Apparently “a thorough examination of the evidence did not lead us to conclude that a criminal act had occurred.” (12) And yet the report of Coroner Rafaël Ayllon, signed on January 31st 2006 in Montreal, left no room for doubt: he concluded that this was a “violent death” caused by a “hemorrhagic and cardiological shock which resulted from one bullet in the thorax and one in the abdomen which struck several vital organs including the heart.” The autopsy conducted by Dr André Bourgault on December 2nd 2005 showed that “Mr Bennis’ death is due to hemorrhagic and cardiogenic shock which resulted from two bullet wounds in the thorax and the abdomen. These wounds perforated several vital organs including the right lung, the stomach, the spleen, the left kidney and the heart, which caused serious hemorrhaging.” The report explained that “There were two wounds in the thoraco-abdominal area caused by two bullets shot from a firearm. The first wound was situated in the second intercostal space and the left clavicle measuring .9 cm in diameter and the second on the posterior surface of the left arm measured .7 cm in diameter.” The external examination confirmed that Mohamed also had cuts on his nose, mouth and forehead and “a superficial third wound (...) on his left hand at the base of the thumb measuring 3.5 cm in length.” (13)

The coroner’s report also revealed the names of the two SPVM officers implicated in the incident, without saying which one fired on Mohamed: officers Bernier and Roy of Neighbourhood Station #25.

This is how the coroner explains the circumstances surrounding Bennis’ death: “In the police report from the SPVM’s Station 25, officers Bernier and Roy were heading towards (...) Kent Street in order to join personnel participating in an operation headed by the Quebec Provincial Police that had been going on since 6:30am. The two officers were walking on the sidewalk towards the building when Mr Bennis headed southwest in their direction; when he reached the police he stabbed one of the officers in his neck and in his right leg for no known reason. The officer fired on him with his revolver and the individual fell to the ground.” Ambulance services took Mohamed to the Jewish General Hospital and “tried to revive him,” but he was in a “critical condition when he arrived,” and “at 8:04am his death was declared by the doctor in charge.” As for the police officer, he was brought to the Montreal General Hospital. (14)

Unanswered Questions
On December 7th 2006, the Bennis family’s lawyer Pierre Pâquet met with Prosecutor James Rondeau at his office. Rondeau read him a legal opinion which stated that “there is no reason to lay charges against the police officer involved,” but he refused to hand a copy of this opinion over to the lawyer! Rondeau also told him that he would have to fill out an Access to Information request in order to receive a copy of the SPVQ’s report. As the victim’s father said, “We have waited almost a year for information, and still we have received nothing official.” He added, “Everything is verbal, nothing is concrete” and “what they have told us is very contradictory.” (15)

In the November 9th 2006 edition of their newspaper, Atlas Montreal denounce “a press release which hardly says anything, which is empty, and almost anonymous as it comes from an information agency and not from the office of any authority.” Noting that the Coroner’s Report “did not say anything that the police press releases in December 2005 were not already saying a year ago,” they asked “What was the point of having fifteen investigators work for twelve months if it was for such meager results?” They also noted that “All of the questions that were being asked last December 2nd remain unanswered, and there are new questions too, such as why was the Bennis family’s lawyer denied access to evidence in this case, forcing him to rely on Access to Information requests to get around this bizarre ‘secrecy’, having to wait eight months to see if this would work.” In conclusion, “Let us speak plainly: what is there to hide in the Anas Bennis affair? Who has an interest in hiding these things, and why?” (16)

A spokesperson from the Minister of Justice told the Gazette that there would be no other statements beyond this press release. Prosecutor Rondeau from Rimouski could not be reached for comment, perhaps due to his “heavy workload” or another “sick leave”? As to the SPVM, they did not respond to any requests for interviews... the Bennis family’s lawyer Pierre Pâquet stated that “it has been a year that the family has not been told anything (...) So far all I have encountered are closed doors. I have been refused access to anything having to do with the investigation, as if it were all secret. It is very strange, because if it is as simple as they say I don’t see why the family cannot be told what happened.” Even some sources within the SPVM say they are frustrated as the lack of transparency in this investigation, but not for the same reason: they say they are certain the police officer shot to defend himself from an unprovoked attack... (17)

On November 8th 2006, La Presse quoted Montreal Police Brotherhood president Yves Francoeur as also denouncing the “abnormally long procedure” saying that the duration of the inquiry for an incident “as clear as a mountain stream” is “aberrant and sends the wrong message to police officers.” While he insisted he “sympathizes with Anas Bennis’ father’s pain,” Francoeur thinks it is especially hard on “the young police officer who was stabbed and forced to fire and who has to wait all this time. He started having doubts.”

As for Mohamed Anas’ father, he “questions the entire investigation” and has stated that “when a citizen is in a conflict with a police officer, there is another law which is applied. This decision may not sit well with the Arab and Muslim community.” (18)

In an interview with Atlas Montreal, Pierre Pâquet notes that if Mohamed had survived, he would have been charged with armed assault on a police officer, and would have access to any evidence and would have the chance to cross-examine witnesses. “So,” he asks, “why, when he is dead, should these rights which all citizens enjoy cease to apply? Why can’t his family get a hold of the file?” He explains, “There are a few possibilities that I can think of; I have heard 27 different versions of what happened in this case; I have a lot of unanswered questions in my head; but all of this does not measure up to one document, written in black and white, but they tell us we cannot have access to anything written and this is difficult to accept because I have this horrible feeling that the basic rights of the victim and his family (...) have not been respected.” (19)

Atlas Montreal asked these questions : “The public would have liked to know why a copy of the report, sent to the victim’s father and not to the family’s lawyer as it says in the press release (“I was never contacted,” says Pâquet), is dated January 2006 yet was only released to the concerned parties several months later (“a typo” was the official explanation given to the Bennis father). We would have also liked to know why the final report contains no mention of any video recording; why, despite Mr Pâquet’s expressed request, this recording was not safeguarded...” They conclude that “In the final analysis, we have the overwhelming feeling that someone, somewhere, is deeply embarrassed by this case, for reasons which remain to be made clear and which ‘they’ certainly do not want to see made clear...”(20)

The Moroccan newspaper Le Reporter also asks some pertinent questions: “How is it that a young quebecois, known for his easy going personality, came to attack a police officer for no reason? (...) How is it that a young man who weighed only 66 kilos, with no police record, constituted a serious threat to an entire team of police? To immobilize the aggressor, could the police not have fired anywhere but in his heart? The refusal to produce the so-called knife and video recording of the incident make one think that this is an attempt to cover up a police mistake just like what happened in the London subway.” (21)

Finally, one of the main questions (perhaps the most important one) which remain to be answered is that which the father asked back in December 2005: “Anas left the Mosque at 6:30am, and was killed at 7:20am. But nobody has been able to tell me what happened in those fifty minutes. Everything else comes after this. So the truth remains to be seen.” (22)

Mass Media Complicity
On his blog, Kersplebedeb has also criticized the role of the media in this affair: “If the tables were turned – if a cop ended up shot dead by someone claiming self defense, that the cop had a knife and wanted to stab them – you can bet the shooter would have already been tried and found guilty by the media, and certainly would not be walking the streets. But in this case not only was the shooter never identified in the media (so we are left guessing as to whether or not he has a known record of violent or racist behaviour) and the police version of events uncritically repeated, but the Montreal Gazette (to give one example) essentially tried to bury the story (pages A7 and A10).” (23)

He adds that “Again: this is a case where the police version of events was initially the only version presented in the media, and is still the main version. It is a case where protests by the community have been downplayed, and reassurances by the authorities have not been questioned. It is also a case where no reporters have done any real investigating of their own.” He notes that in actual fact “The Gazette tried to downplay this too – reporter Ann Carroll, who later admitted not even attending the march, simply wrote that ‘as many as 200 people rallied’ – while other media reported that ‘hundreds” (CTV) or even ‘a thousand’ (Journal de Montreal) people showed up.. None of them gave it the coverage that it deserved,” as it was “the largest demonstration against a police killing in years (...) and this on the coldest day in winter.” He asks “following the mass protests that surrounded the police killings of young Black men like Anthony Griffin and Marcellus Francois in the late 80s/early 90s, and after the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality and other groups managed to repeatedly call attention to police killings throughout the 90s… why are reporters so keen on not challenging the police and not actually reporting? Why are the papers burying these stories so much more than they did twenty years ago? Why are we no longer told the name of the cop who kills someone – shit, looking through the Gazette archives I note that in many cases we are not even told the name of their dead victims! Is there some new media protocol for how to handle police killings? Now that’s something that someone should report on…” (24)

Another interesting fact: an unofficial, or at least “plainclothes”, spokesperson for the SPVM, “Freezbee”, posted a text on the Centre des Médias Alternatifs du Québec (CMAQ – the Quebec indymedia – translator) on November 5th 2006 in which he quotes (without revealing from where): “The SPVM administration feels it is necessary to make the results of the investigation public in order to maintain a sense of trust between citizens and police. While we remain sympathetic to the family of the deceased, the SPVM is satisfied with the conclusion reached by the Substitute Prosecutor. The Service would also like to note that the police officers concerned have returned to work and are doing well.” It must be pointed out that there is no official statement on the SPVM website, and so this unofficial “statement” from the SPVM on the CMAQ website seems to be another attempt by the SPVM or one of its officers to convince people who denounce this police killing that “the police acted appropriately in this case,” according to one of Freezbee’s comments. (25) It is worth noting that another “Anonymous” made the same kind of comment on Kersplebedeb’s blog, stating that “The reason the Gazette is ignoring this police related death is that it was 100% justified”... (26)

As the people at Atlas Montreal note, what is at stake here is the confidence people have (or do not have) in the police and the government. In effect, “The community is greatly disappointed, and this fragile and vulnerable community may even lose confidence in those that govern and are charged with protecting citizens and safeguarding our rights and freedoms. Never mind the cynicism of this administration which didn’t pass up an opportunity to bill the Bennis father ten dollars for a copy of the Coroner’s Report and two hundred dollars for transporting Anas’ body from the site of the incident to the hospital where he died!” (27) Already last December the stated that if this turned out to be a case of racial profiling “It would be serous, very serious (...) It would mean that, as in other country’s which we will not name, xenophobia is rearing its head and that the violent death of the younger Bennis will not be the first, nor the last, case of racial profiling which we will have to endure and which will bring tragedy to our lives. If it turns out that this is the case and that the dramatic events on Kent Street were the result of cultural differences, then punishment – either administrative or penal – for the police officer concerned will be less important than making sure that no firearm meant to keep the peace is ever again used to sow death and disturb the lives of citizens.” (28)

Stop Police Brutality and Racism!
As for us, COBP denounced the decision of Prosecutor James Rondeau, the result of eleven months of what we expected: a cover up of a police killing that resulted from racial profiling, plain and simple. Everybody in Montreal should have the right to know if officers Bernier and Roy have in fact returned to work, and if so in what capacity (desk work or on the street) and if they are on the street, in what neighbourhood are they with their guns? It is impossible for us to have any trust in the SPVM which gets away with murder, the SPVQ which covers up the truth or the Quebec Minister of Justice which protects killer cops. The death of Mohamed Anas Bennis is certainly not the first case of its kind in Montreal: we remember Anthony Griffin, Martin Suazo, Richard Barnabé, Jean-Pierre Lizotte, Rohan Wilson and far too many others... We also remember that on February 17th 2006 SPVM chief of police Yvan Delorme released a statement in which he said he was “satisfied” with the decision to not lay any charges against the police who shot a man to death on July 4th 2005. (29)

The attitude of Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood, certainly does nothing to make us trust the police. In an opinion piece he wrote after the January 7th 2006 demonstration he complained that, “We find it difficult to accept that people are trying to make Montreal – a city with hardly any racial tensions, compared to other big cities in North America – look like a banana republic where the police shoot citizens on sight because of their clothing or race.” (30) He also stated in August 2006 that “accusations of racism (...) are unjustified. The Montreal police are not racist.” (31) And yet even Alain Kashama, a football player with the Montreal Alouettes who was arrested last week in Little Burgundy, has said that “Yeah, it’s racism” (which led to their arrests) and that “That’s what happens when Black people drive nice cars...” (32)

It is past time to set up an independent public inquiry into the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, before any more people fall victim to the SPVM. One week after Mohamed’s death, the president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood stated that “banning handguns is an excellent idea” and that “for years the Brotherhood has supported attempts to control firearms and impose longer sentences for criminals who use firearms.” (33) COBP thinks that it would be an excellent idea for the SPVM to lead by example by no longer using firearms and condemning killer cops.

One thing is for sure: the fight against police brutality is far from over! What’s more, this struggle knows no borders, for police everywhere kill people: in Oaxaca in Mexico, in Colombia, everywhere... As they say in Colombia: For the victims of State violence, nor a moment’s silence, but a lifetime of struggle!

NOTES
(1) "Aucune accusation criminelle ne sera déposée à la suite du décès de monsieur Mohamed Annas Bennis": http://communiques.gouv.qc.ca/gouvqc/communiques/GPQF/Novembre 2006/04/c8616.html

(2) For more details, see the January 5th 2006 statement from COBP published on CMAQ, "Affaire Mohamed Anas: Un policier tue un jeune marocain à Côte-Des-Neiges": http://www.cmaq.net/fr/node/23288

(3) Fabrice de Pierrebourg, "Abattu par la police en pleine avenue Kent, il venait de poignarder le policier", Journal de Montréal, 2 décembre 2005.

(4) "L'affaire Anas: Un marocain tué par la police au Canada": http://www.lereporter.ma/IMG/_article_PDF/article_186.pdf

(5) "Le fil des événements", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, janvier 2005-décembre 2006, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page4.pdf

(6) "Mais que s'est-il réellement passé rue Kent ce matin-là?", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, janvier 2005-décembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page5.pdf

(7) Hugo Meunier, "Jeune homme abattu par la police à Montréal, La communauté marocaine se mobilise", La Presse, 29 décembre 2005, http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20051229/CPACTUALITES/512290416/5155/CPACTUALITES

(8) "Communiqué de presse sur la mort de Mohammed Anass Bennis, abattu par un policier à Montréal", Bel Agir, Montréal, 10 décembre 2005: http://www.belagir.ca/fr/images/stories/Communiques/manifestation_report_e.pdf

(9) "Votons contre Coderre! Déportez Denis Coderre, alias 'monsieur certificat de sécurité', du parlement": http://indaily.net/?p=133

(10) Katherine Wilton, "Details of Shooting by Cops to be Held Till After Probe", Montreal Gazette, 10 janvier 2006: http://www.caircan.ca/mw_more.php?id=P2231_0_7_0_C

(11) Fabrice De Pierrebourg, "Enquête/Des questions, La famille gardée dans l'ignorance", Le Journal de Montréal, 25 septembre 2006: http://www.canoe.qc.ca/infos/societe/archives/2006/09/20060925-093710.html

(12) "Aucune accusation criminelle ne sera déposée à la suite du décès de monsieur Mohamed Annas Bennis": http://communiques.gouv.qc.ca/gouvqc/communiques/GPQF/Novembre 2006/04/c8616.html

(13) "Rapport du coroner", copie conforme, Noël Ayllon, Montréal, 31 janvier 2006, publié dans Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page4.pdf

(14) Ibid.

(15) "Family not given a copy of report on son's death", Montreal Gazette, 7 novembre 2006: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=582e28dd-d13a-4718-af48-b2f836fec169&k;=89680

(16) "Affaire Anas Bennis, Un an après...", Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page4.pdf

(17) Paul Cherry, "Police officer cleared after bizarre shooting, Investigation cloaked in secrecy. No criminal charges will be laid against cop after he fatally shot man who stabbed him", Montreal Gazette, 7 novembre 2006: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=81c23a51-28fe-41f1-b472-ea647e71438b

(18) Fabrice de Pierrebourg, "Mort d'Anas Bennis, La thèse de la bavure policière écartée", La Presse, 8 novembre 2006: http://www2.canoe.com/infos/societe/archives/2006/111108-063107.html

(19) "Affaire Anas Bennis, Les questions qui se posent encore, Entretient avec Maitre Pierre Pâquet, avocat de la famille Bennis", Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page5.pdf

(20) Ibid.

(21) "L'affaire Anas: Un marocain tué par la police au Canada": http://www.lereporter.ma/IMG/_article_PDF/article_186.pdf

(22) "Un appel du père de la victime", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page4.pdf

(23)"Kersplebedeb", "Protesting the Police Killing of a Young Mulsim in Montreal", 7 janvier 2006: http://sketchythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/protesting-police-killing-of-young.html

(24) "Kersplebedeb", "The Police Insist: "We are Professionals And We Have No interest In Hiding Anything", 10 janvier 2006: http://sketchythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/police-insist-we-are-professionals-and.html

(25) "Freezbee", "Montréal: Résultat de l'enquête sur une personne arabe abattue par la police" et "réponse", 5 novembre 2006: http://www.cmaq.net/fr/node/25922

(26) "Anonymous", 6 février 2006, 12h20AM: http://sketchythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/lying-with-numbers-at-montreal-gazette.html

(27) "Affaire Anas Bennis, Les questions qui se posent encore", Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page5.pdf

(28) "Mais que s'est-il réellement passé rue Kent ce matin-là?", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, janvier 2005-décembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page5.pdf

(29) « Deux policiers exonérés à la suite de la politique ministérielle du 4 juillet 2005 », SPVM, 17 février 2006 : http://www.spvm.qc.ca/fr/documentation/3_1_2_communiques.asp?noComm=325

(30) Yves Francoeur, « Restons calmes! », Fraternité des policiers de Montréal, 13 janvier 2006 : http://www.fppm.qc.ca/intro/intro.html

(31) « Les accusations de racisme contre les policiers de Montréal : la Fraternité en a ras-le-bol », Fraternité des Policiers de Montréal, 7 août 2006 : http://www.fppm.qc.ca/flute/docs/2006/CommuniquedemissionPhilip.pdf

(32) François Ferland, « Kasnama et Estelle s’en sortent sans accusations », Le Journal de Montréal, 9 novembre 2006.

(33) « Bannir les armes de poing est une excellente idée… », Fraternité des policiers de Montréal, 8 décembre 2005 : http://www.fppm.qc.ca/intro/intro.html


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Collectif Opposé à la Brutalité Policière
Collective Opposed to Police Brutality
(514) 859-9065
cobp@hotmail.com
http://www.cobp.ath.cx/
Montréal, Québec, Canada