The Quebec branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirms it is opening an investigation into Imam Adil Charkaoui’s controversial comments during a pro-Palestinian rally in Montreal on October 28.
• Also read: “The deaths of women, children and babies must stop,” shouts Trudeau
• Also read: Israel-Hamas conflict: Hate crimes in Montreal twice as common as in Toronto
• Also read: Israel-Hamas: UN calls for international investigation into violations of humanitarian law
“I confirm that the Quebec RCMP is currently investigating this incident. It is our EISN (Integrated National Security Team) that is leading the investigation,” the Federal Police Agency told the TVA Nouvelles team on Thursday.
The complaint regarding the speech, described by Prime Minister François Legault as an “incitement to hatred,” was first filed with the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) before being forwarded to the RCMP, according to the latest information.
Imam Adil Charkaoui took to the microphone in late October before a crowd gathered in the metropolis’s city center to support the people of Gaza, who today mourn the deaths of more than 10,000 Palestinians.
“Oh God, deal with the aggressor Zionists. Take responsibility for the enemies of Gaza. Count them one by one and kill them in the long term and do not exclude any of them,” Mr. Charkaoui told thousands of people.
He later described his comments last week as religious statements that supposedly justified “references to God.”