Forums de l'ASSÉ

MANIFESTATION pour Mohammed Hanas Bennis, victime de profilage raciale
samedi le 7 janvier a 10h30
a partir de Place des Arts.

Mohammed Hanas Bennis (25 ans) etait la mort du feu, abattu par un
policier de la ville de Montréal le 01 décembre 2005.

Le comité de coordination et de suivi de cette affaire vous invite à
participer massivement à une manifestation pacifique qui aura lieu samedi
le 7 Janvier 2006 à 10h30 à partir de la place des arts (metro places des
arts, sortie Ste-Catherine). Venez en grand nombre!

(désolée, cette partie en anglais seulement)

LETTER FROM THE MUSLIM COUNCIL OF MONTREAL
RE SHOOTING OF MOHAMED ANNAS BENNIS

Montreal, December 21st 2005


Mr Jean Charest
Prime Minister of Quebec
770, rue Sherbrooke Ouest 4e étage
Montréal Qc H3A 1G1


Re: The death of Mohamed Annas Bennis, who was shot dead by an SPVM police
officer on December 1st 2005.

Dear Mayor Tremblay,

I am bringing to your attention the case of Mohamed Annas Bennis who was
shot dead by an SPVM police officer on December 15, 2005. After three
weeks of his death, neither his relatives nor the Muslim community have
any clear information relating to his death.

Mr. Bennis, who was returning from morning prayers when the incident took
place, was shot in the shoulder and heart and was pronounced dead on
arrival at the Jewish General Hospital. Montreal police says he was
carrying a knife and attempted to stab an officer who was present at the
scene of an earlier unrelated arrest.

Based on the testimony of those who knew Bennis, he was a pious Muslim
with an impeccable reputation, and the police allegations against him are
completely incompatible with his personality and character. In light of
this, MCM and many members of the community are concerned that Bennis may
have been an unfortunate victim of racial profiling or raw racism and, as
a result, paid for it with his life.

Please note that I believe that the vast majority of police officers in
this city are dedicated to making the streets of Montreal safe and perform
an outstanding service. However, if the information transmitted by the
Police is not true, the action of the officer is proven to be excessive,
or there is no quick, impartial and transparent investigation of this
incident this would tarnish the reputation of all police officers and
would be really unfortunate.

Montreal's Muslim community, and other Montreal communities who suffered
racial profiling in the past, are eager to know what really happened as
they are very concerned about this incident and, as a consequence, feel
less safe on the street's of Montreal.


Furthermore, due to the anger and rage over this incident, if this problem
is not addressed soon it would sour the relations between the police and
above communities, and it would become instrumental in damaging the social
fabric of our city.

Therefore, I recommend the following steps to be acted upon immediately:

1. The Provincial government must reiterate its commitment to a zero
tolerance policy towards racism and racial profiling of any kind within
the police force or any other government institution.
2. The Provincial government must assure the Muslim community that the
investigation into Bennis' death will be transparent, independent and done
in a timely fashion without any stalling.
3. That those who have committed any wrong doing will be held fully
accountable for their actions.

The above assurances could be given through a public announcement or by a
direct letter to the Muslim Council of Montreal, which in turn will
announce to the Muslim community and other effected communities. This will
also stop a series of planned protests that may become instrumental in
deteriorating the situation further.

If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.

Thank you for your understanding, and hoping the above request will meet
with your full support, I remain,

Sincerely

Salam Elmenyawi
President, Muslim Council of Montreal - MCM


CC :
- Mr. Jacques P. Dupuis, Minister of Public Security of Québec.
- Mr. Yvon Marcoux, Minster of Justice of Québec.
- Mme Lise Thériault, Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities of
Québec.
- Mr. Mario Dumont, Leader of the Party ADQ.
- Mr. André Boisclair, Leader of the Party Québécois.

Petite correction pour la lettre : si elle est addressée au bureau de Jean Charest, ça serait intéressant que la première ligne soit "Dear Mr. Charest" ...

selon la tivi, ce gars là aurait poignardé une police sans raison alors que la police était en train d'arrêter des vendeurs de drogue..

mais inquietez vous pas, par souci de transparence, c'est un autre service de police qui assurera l'enquête.

N'empêche que, même si il semblait avoir un comportement normal et pieux, ca ne prouve pas le fait qu'il fut abattu seulement à cause de sa couleur de peau...mais bon, je n'était pas là alors....

Je peux toutefois vous en citer des personnes qui semblait normales
mais qu'un jour, elles ont fait un geste incohérent

Conclusion logique : c'est d'la marde, mais on ne saura probablement jamais le fin mot de l'histoire ...