A pro-Palestinian leader who was arrested at the end of December as part of a stormy demonstration at Carrefour Laval is accused of obstructing a peace officer.
• Read also: “Boxing Day” demonstration at Carrefour Laval: police arrested a pro-Palestine leader
• Read also: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators spoil “Boxing Day” at Carrefour Laval
According to information obtained from the Laval police, Abuhamed, 26, must appear on March 25 to answer for this charge.
“The file is now in the hands of the prosecutor […]. There are charges brought against him for obstructing a peace officer,” said agent Stéphanie Beshara, spokesperson for the Laval police.
The demonstration at Carrefour Laval was organized to disrupt Boxing Day. Abuhamed could be heard chanting slogans, as stores like Zara and H&M were targeted by a boycott campaign over alleged links to Israel.
Demonstrators then moved towards the parking lot of the Laval shopping center. Videos circulating on social media showed Abuhamed being pinned against a vehicle by police.
Instagram (taken from the Montreal 4 Palestine account)
“With what I know, it is my client who is the victim of assault by a police officer,” commented John Philpot, Bara Abuhamed’s lawyer, when contacted Friday.
The latter added that a police ethics complaint had been filed a week ago in connection with the events.
Abuhamed also stood out during a scuffle at Concordia University in November.
Event funded by Ottawa
Our Bureau of Investigation also learned that Abuhamed gave a conference in February as part of Muslim Discovery Week.
The conference, held in English for Hidjab Day, focused on “the strength of Palestine and the hijab.”
website
Muslim Discovery Week is funded by the federal government, according to its website.
Called for comment at the start of the week, the Ministry of Heritage had still not reacted by the end of the day on Friday.
The City of Montreal also lent space at city hall to organize the launch of the event.
According to public relations specialist Guillaume Rivest, the objective was then “to remind people of the need to continue to fight against Islamophobia”. The City, however, indicated that it had no right to review the programming.