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Montreal police could face G20 lawsuit
Montreal civil rights lawyer Julius Grey has called the treatment of G20 prisoners in Toronto “torture” and sent a warning letter to the Montreal Police Service with the intent to sue the force for collaborating in a “flagrant abuse of power.”
As those charged with crimes at the summit prepare to make another court appearance on August 23 in Toronto, Grey severely criticized the way the police operation was handled and how the prisoners, the vast majority of whom were let go without charge, were treated. About 100 Quebecers are among those charged.
He went so far as to compare the conditions the prisoners faced in detention to the U.S. military detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“To not let people go to the toilet, to strip search them constantly, to keep them without alerting their loved ones, that’s the definition of torture,” Grey said.
“We must realize, this isn’t Guantanamo, it’s not Pakistan, not Afghanistan, not Gaza; it’s Toronto,” he added.
Grey has no jurisdiction to act in Ontario, but said he has sent a legal warning to the Montreal force, which had many officers participate in the security operation during the June summit. Some officers were also present at the detention facility on Eastern Ave.
“They should have been involved to say, ‘My duty is to tell you that you have to release these people,’” Grey said.
Grey said Montreal officers can’t escape responsibility simply because they weren’t in charge: “We consider them collaborators even under the Toronto Police command.”
For the moment, Grey is representing 21-year-old twin sisters Maryse and Jacynthe Poisson, who were arrested at the University of Toronto along with dozens of other Quebecers.
They claim to have been detained for more than 60 hours, and complain of being given very little food, repeated strip searches and sleep deprivation. Jacynthe, who is near-sighted, was even left without her glasses, it’s claimed.
There is a “serious possibility” the claim will lead to a class-action lawsuit, Grey affirmed.
Montreal Police did not comment on the letter Thursday night. A spokesperson for the Toronto Police said if there are complaints about police actions, they should be directed to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.
In early August, a $45-million class-action suit was filed in the Ontario Superior Court against the Toronto Police Services Board and the Attorney General of Canada on behalf of those deemed wrongfully arrested or held by police, but not charged. The lawsuit suggests about 800 people meet that criteria.
Several arrestees gathered yesterday with Grey to announce they have formed a group and are demanding, among other things, a public inquiry into the arrests.
Louis-Philippe de Grandpré, a 22-year-old political science student, is charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, like many others.
He said he wasn’t sure about the word “torture” to describe the conditions, but said there was psychological violence in the inability to sleep and not enough food.
“After 20 hours without sleep, while I was freezing, they interrogated me. I was not able to function at all,” he said, adding that he still wakes up with nightmares.
About 1,000 Quebecers made the trip to Toronto to protest at the summit.
Bail ruling reserved
A Superior Court judge has reserved his decision on whether to revoke bail of Alex Hundert and Leah Henderson for their alleged roles in the demonstrations against the G20 in Toronto. The Crown is seeking to have the pair returned to jail after they were released on bail earlier this summer. A publication ban was in effect at Thursday’s hearing. Justice Todd Ducharme said he will release his ruling Sept. 13.
Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/850283--montreal-police-could-face-g20-lawsuit