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Anas Death At Five
The idea that the best people to investigate police abuse is the police themselves was dealt a blow in 2008, when Quebec’s chief coroner ordered an inquiry into the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, who was shot and killed by Montreal police officer Yannick Bernier as he returned home from a mosque in Côte-des-Neiges five years ago this Dec. 1.
Bennis’s family and supporters in the Justice for Anas Coalition will be marking the anniversary of his death with a demo on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. at Parc Troie (Queen Mary and Côte-des-Neiges).
The coroner’s inquest was initially blocked by the Police Brotherhood until the Quebec Superior Court ordered it to continue this September.
The plot thickened when Bernier’s partner the day of the shooting, Jonathan Roy, was found guilty this June of five ethics violations in another case in Côte-des-Neiges that coalition spokesperson Samir Shaheen-Hussain describes as having “racial profiling written all over it.”
“The fact that the Brotherhood is going to such great lengths to stop the coroner’s inquiry only suggests they have something to hide, whether it’s racial profiling, Islamophobia or any other reason,” says Shaheen-Hussain.
The inquiry’s next date has yet to be announced. For details, see justicepouranas.org.