.png)
17 May 2024
Hamilton, Ontario—At Disability Justice Network of Ontario, we have been outspoken supporters of Disabled Prisoners across Ontario. In that light, we must echo the dire call from our friends with the Justice for Soli Campaign and the Faqiri Family regarding the treatment and conditions of Ontario’s Disabled Prisoners.
Disabled Prisoners in Ontario, regardless of which prison jurisdiction one is incarcerated in, are constantly placed in fundamentally grave danger by authorities who actively deny medical and social support for Disabled Prisoners. The inaction of the Ford Government on these issues seven years after the death of Soleiman and six months after the Inquest Report ruling his death a homicide is unacceptable, if unsurprising.
As raised at yesterday’s press conference the government has not implemented any of the 57 recommendations. In fact, they missed the deadline on the first recommendation which was to issue a public statement to acknowledge that jails are not the appropriate environment for Disabled Prisoners. For us, this lack of basic action highlights the need to build alternatives to the system of incarceration and state-sanctioned death which is imposed on Disabled Prisoners every day in Ontario.
Justice for Soli now, Justice for the Faqiri Family, Justice for all Disabled Prisoners.
For more on Justice for Soli, see: https://www.justiceforsoli.com/
For more on Disability Justice Network of Ontario’s Prison Project: https://www.djno.ca/prison-project
-30-
Media Contacts:
Please reach out to the main organizers that this statement responds to and echoes:
Yusuf Faqiri
Justice for Soli
For Disability Justice Network of Ontario:
Brad Evoy
Executive Director, Disability Justice Network of Ontario
Pam Reaño
Prison Project Lead, Disability Justice Network of Ontario
Comments