Controversial imam Adil Charkaoui will not be charged with inciting hatred because the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) determined that the evidence filed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was insufficient.
This was announced by the DPCP in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
According to the public body, “the evidence does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the words spoken constitute incitement to hatred against an identifiable group within the meaning of the provision of the applicable Criminal Code, considering the interpretation made by the courts.”
The DPCP had begun an investigation targeting Adil Charkaoui following comments made by the imam during a pro-Palestinian rally in Montreal 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 one by one then exterminate them, and exclude none of them! », Said Adil Charkaoui in Arabic, in front of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city center.
On social networks, Adil Charkaoui then defended himself from having called for hatred and violence against Jews. It was actually a call to God, and he never said the word “Jew,” he explained in a live video. He also said he was quoting the Koran during his speech.
With Vincent Larouche, Henri Ouellette-Vézina The Press