No hate speech charges against Adil Charkaoui for comments at pro-Palestinian protest (2024)

It appears a controversial imam will not face hate speech charges in connection with comments he made at a pro-Palestinian protest in Montreal last October, after Quebec’s prosecution service said Thursday that it has concluded crimes were committed during speeches at the event.

The Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales said in a statement that a three-prosecutor panel reviewed evidence gathered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who investigated a complaint alleging that threats and calls to violence were made during speeches at the protests, which were related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

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The DPCP “concludes after a rigorous analysis of the available evidence about the events that took place in Montreal on Oct. 14 and 28, 2023, that it does not reveal the commission of a criminal offence,” it said in the statement.

A speech by Adil Charkaoui, a well-known and controversial imam, at the Oct. 28 protest drew condemnation from politicians and Jewish groups, who saw the comments as an incitement to violence against Jews.

In Arabic, Charkaoui said: “Allah, take care of these Zionist aggressors. Allah, take care of the enemies of the people of Gaza. Allah, identify them all, then exterminate them. And don’t spare any of them.”

However, others, including Arabic language specialists at McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies, said at the time that they saw the comments as specific to those waging war against the people of Gaza and not directed at all Jewish people.

The DPCP, which only referenced the nature of the protests and the dates they took place in its statement, would not confirm whether its analysis was specifically related to the speech by Charkaoui and declined to comment further.

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In the statement, it said the speeches were investigated under a section of the criminal code that forbids public incitement of hatred towards an identifiable group, which includes “any section of the public distinguished by … race, religion, national or ethnic origin,” among others.

“Taking account of the evidentiary requirements to launch a criminal prosecution, the DPCP concludes that the evidence does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the statements made constitute public incitement of hatred towards an identifiable group,” it said. “It is not the role of the DPCP to take a position on the special acceptability of public speech, but rather to determine whether a criminal act has been committed.”

In a post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, Charkaoui linked to a news report about the DPCP’s decision with the Arabic comment “Takbir!” — which refers to the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar,” meaning “God is great,” and can be used as an expression of joy.

In a video posted several hours later, Charkaoui said the speech was intended to denounce “the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

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“This excellent decision was completely foreseeable for everyone who heard my speech,” he said, adding that he has filed a lawsuit against the La Presse newspaper and one of its columnists, who he claims changed his words from “Zionist aggressors” to “Jewish Zionists” when writing about the speech.

Eta Yudin, Quebec vice-president at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said in a written statement that she trusts the DPCP acted with the best intentions and that the RCMP investigation was thorough.

“However, if even such diligent work could not lead to charges against this radical Islamist preacher, it highlights significant deficiencies in the criminal code, which is not currently equipped to protect the public from hate speech like that expressed by this extremist on Oct. 28, 2023,” she said. “We therefore urge the federal government to reconsider the current legal framework and its application, to ensure that no one believes actions like these can go unpunished.”

Charkaoui, who has always denied any links to terrorism, spent six years in detention or under house arrest under a security certificate, used to detain foreign nationals suspected of being national security risks, before all conditions were liftedin 2009.

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