On Tuesday, a coroner’s inquest found that the death of Soleiman Faqiri at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay in 2016 was indeed a homicide. Faqiri, who had schizophrenia, died after a violent clash with correctional officers amid worsening mental health.
The jury also issued 57 recommendations for the corrections system, largely focused on the delivery of mental-health services and on use of force. It urges the creation an independent "inspectorate" for corrections that could launch its own investigations into issues involving Ontario's correctional and detention centres. And it suggests that an independent-rights adviser and prisoner advocate should be present in all correctional facilities.
Yusuf Faqiri, Soleiman’s brother, has spent the past seven years advocating for his late brother and uncovering the truth about his death. TVO Today details the twists and turns of the ongoing saga in the podcast Unascertained. Faqiri spoke with TVO Today about the inquest, his own healing, and what comes next.
TVO Today: How are you feeling after Tuesday’s decision?
Yusuf Faqiri: There’s a certain relief and peace, but justice still has not been served. We're very grateful for the outcome. There's no longer any doubt left: Soleiman Faqiri was killed by guards in the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario. And just for a second, maybe just for a second, Soleiman was seen and heard after more than seven years of fighting to get to the truth. Yesterday was an important start.
Unascertained | Podcast Trailer
TVO Today: You've had this great family trauma, and you've also had this additional personal trauma of going through all this in the public eye. How have you dealt with that?
Faqiri: The silver lining of this tragedy is that Soleiman's tragic end can serve as a mechanism for transformational change at the correctional system in the treatment of vulnerable Canadians who suffer from mental illness. Then my brother’s death will not be in vain. Obviously, it's been a very difficult fight. Since Soleiman’s tragic death, my family — his death has left a gaping hole in my family. We've never been able to recover, after all these years.
I want people to remember Soli as that son, as that brother, that gifted intellect, as someone who deserved better. His hopes and dreams were dashed on that day when more than a dozen correctional officers beat him to death. And, obviously, it's hard. The last three weeks, I've been going through a profoundly difficult depression, seeing all the facts come out. But we as a family made a decision to go at the expense of our pain for the public to see what happened to Soleiman Faqiri.
The making of the "Unascertained" podcast
TVO Today: Will there be a time where you're able to prioritize your own pain?
Faqiri: I think yesterday was the start in processing everything and moving a little bit forward. I know my brother is at peace a little bit now, knowing that Canadians and Ontarians know what happened to him. For more than seven years, governments upon governments, delays upon delays. No criminal investigation, no criminal charges by the police. It seemed like Soleiman’s life was cheap.
I think, for my family, it's an opportunity to start to move a bit forward, but that will take time, and we might never recover fully. This was someone that was a precious figure in the family. Someone that we go to. Someone that we grew up with. I would kiss Soleiman goodnight, tell him I love you. It was my precious brother; we were 18 months apart. That trauma that my family has gone through will probably never stop.
TVO Today: How will you bring those memories with you as you move forward in your life?
Faqiri: I always want to remind people who my brother was. I've never wanted the illness to be all — Soleiman was much more than his illness, and I want people to remember that this was a young man that had so much potential and so much hope. Soleiman’s life was cut short by a system that's indifferent in its maltreatment of Canadians with mental illness. Soleiman was an intellect, an athlete, an academic, a son, a brother, and more than that, a human being with hopes and dreams.
TVO Today: What's next for you?
Faqiri: Resting. Resting. It's been seven long years. I've spent almost a decade fighting for answers. Maybe spending more time with my own immediate family, with my partner. All these years — I'm hoping to be able to move forward a little bit. But before that: This Friday will be the seven-year anniversary of Soleiman's tragic death. So this Saturday at 6 p.m., we will host the anniversary at Yonge-Dundas Square.
There need to be criminal charges against the guards. Canadians have lost their confidence in the correctional system, and so there need to be criminal charges.
And then the final thing is: I want people to remember that the tragedy that befell my family — there's a Soleiman around all of us. Our friends and neighbours. People with mental illness should not be treated the way Soli was treated. They shouldn't be given to their loved ones in body bags. No one with a mental illness should ever be in jail. They should be treated with respect and dignity. I hope that Soleiman’s story can be a moment of reckoning for us to change the correctional system.
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
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