The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has just taken charge of the criminal investigation already initiated by the Montreal police into the speech given by the controversial imam Adil Charkaoui during a recent demonstration in Montreal, in which he spoke of exterminating the ” enemies of the people of Gaza.
It is the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Team (ISEN) which will continue the work already begun by the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) to determine whether there has been incitement to hatred or other criminal offense. A sign of the importance given to the file, it was the federal police force itself which asked to take matters into its own hands.
“The file of the speech given by Adil Charkaoui during a demonstration was transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, at his request,” confirmed to The Press the SPVM communications department Thursday morning. The RCMP also confirmed the information that it is now responsible for the file.
Filmed speech
Mr. Charkaoui was filmed while he addressed the crowd during the demonstration in support of the Palestinian people on October 28.
“Allah, take care of these Zionist aggressors. Allah, take care of the enemies of the people of Gaza. Allah, identify them all, then exterminate them. And don’t spare any of them! “, he said in Arabic.
Prime Minister François Legault reacted by referring to “incitement to hatred and violence”. “And I count on the police to do their job,” he added. It’s not me telling them how to do their job, but inciting violence is not allowed. »
Adil Charkaoui then defended himself from having called for hatred and violence against Jews. It was in fact a call to God and he never uttered the word “Jew”, he explained in a video broadcast live on a social network. He also said he was quoting the Koran during his speech.
Furthermore, several reliable sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the matter confirmed to The Press that contrary to information which has recently circulated, Mr. Charkaoui does not hold a firearms license. The imam did take a photo of himself with a hunting rifle before posting the image on social networks, but this is not an offense in the eyes of the authorities, because it is permitted to accompany a license holder while hunting.
Numerous disputes
Adil Charkaoui was imprisoned under a security certificate in the early 2000s because Canadian authorities suspected him of being a sleeper agent of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. He was released because the Canadian government did not want to reveal in court the source of the information obtained about him. He has never been charged with a crime related to these suspicions and has been suing the Canadian government for damages for 13 years. The case is still pending before the Superior Court of Quebec.
Several disciples of the imam also left for Syria with the aim of joining jihadist groups in the context of the civil war which was tearing the country apart.
With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud, The Press