Surveillance footage reveals the truth about Soleiman Faqiri's death in prison
After years without answers, Faqiri’s family finally found out how he died — while waiting for help
On Dec. 15, 2016, Soleiman Faqiri died in a jail cell while being restrained by correctional officers at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont. He had schizoaffective disorder and had been arrested 11 days earlier, accused of stabbing a neighbour during a psychotic episode.
The documentary My Brother, Soleiman follows Faqiri's brother, Yusuf, as he fights for justice. It centres around a coroner's inquest, which shows CCTV footage from inside the prison revealing Faqiri's final moments.
Faqiri was the captain of his high school rugby team and later a promising engineering student at the University of Waterloo. "He was one of the most popular people in his class," Yusuf says in the documentary.
In 2005, when Faqiri was 19, he was in a car crash. And soon after, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. "You really don't know schizophrenia, or any mental illness, if you don't have your own flesh and blood to know what the illness does to them," Yusuf says. "He was not the same person.… This is not Soleiman."
Following Faqiri's death, Yusuf led a seven-year fight for answers, spearheading the national campaign Justice for Soli.
In 2023, after three police investigations concluded without any criminal charges, a coroner's inquest revealed guards had breached policy dozens of times the day Faqiri died — and resulted in a damning verdict: his death was a homicide.
CCTV footage shows extent of force
Additional footage obtained from inside the prison shows Faqiri, who — on and off his medication — was communicating less while suffering from psychosis.
Correctional staff alerted the authorities that Faqiri needed help, but their concerns were dismissed. On the day of his death, security footage shows a sergeant strike Faqiri after Faqiri allegedly spat at him. The situation escalates as Faqiri is restrained and pulled down the hallway into a cell.
Guards covered his head with a spit hood — a device to prevent spitting or biting — pepper-sprayed him twice and struck him repeatedly.
My Brother, Soleiman examines the systemic failures that led to Faqiri's preventable death and confronts the harsh realities that people who are mentally ill may experience in Ontario's prison system, highlighting an urgent need for reform.
How to watch My Brother, Soleiman
The documentary airs Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 9 p.m. ET on CBC Television and is streaming now on CBC Gem and the CBC Docs YouTube channel.
