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Early in the morning of December 1, 2005, Mohamed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan origin, was on his way home following morning prayers in a nearby mosque in his neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges when he was shot twice by Montreal police officer Yannick Bernier who was working with officer Jonathan Roy. Anas was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital.

The police claim that Anas inexplicably attacked them with a kitchen knife. However, Anas' family and friends find this hard to believe. They are frustrated by the attitude of the authorities who refuse to make the evidence available, including a videotape that captured the incident.

On January 7th, 2006, in the freezing cold, approximately 4500 people participated in a demonstration to demand a public inquiry into Anas' death.

On November 4th, 2006, the crown prosecutor decided that no criminal charges would be laid against the police officers, yet he has refused to provide a written copy of his report to the Bennis family.

In June 2008, Quebec's chief coroner, Louise Nolet, announced that she had ordered a coroner's inquiry into Anas' death. Although this was not a full and independent inquiry as the Justice for Anas Coalition had been demanding since its formation in January 2007, it was nevertheless an important, albeit partial, victory. The decision to order the coroner's inquiry surely came as a result of the public pressure campaign led by the Justice for Anas Coalition, whose three demands have been endorsed by more than 30 organisations.

However, in August 2008, the Montreal Police Brotherhood filed proceedings against Louise Nolet and coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier -- who was to preside over the coroner's inquiry -- with the goal of having the coroner's inquiry cancelled. The Brotherhood alleges that all of the answers to the family's questions have already been made available. Yet, up until now, the family has not received answers to many of their questions: why has the knife that Anas allegedly wielded -- according to the police version of the events -- never been produced or undergone forensic evaluation? Why has the video of the scene never been made public? Why have the police officers Bernier and Roy never had to testify publicly or been cross-examined on their version of the facts? The Brotherhood also preposterously alleges that the coroner's inquiry will only serve to harass officer Bernier.

Meanwhile, the Montreal Police Brotherhood obtained full reports of the Quebec City police investigation and of the Crown Prosecutor's decision, which were, up until now, consistently denied to the public and to the Bennis family by the relevant authorities -- including current Public Security Minister, Jacques Dupuis -- under the pretense of being "confidential". If they were confidential, how is it that the Montreal Police Brotherhood not only obtained them, but actually submitted them as part of their motion to have the coroner's inquest quashed?

The hearings were initially set to begin in January 2009, but were postponed until June 2009, presumably because the Brotherhood had to explain how it obtained the above-mentioned “confidential” documents. The hearings were supposed to resume in January 2010, but were again postponed. They are now set to continue on May 11, 2010.

The actions by the Police Brotherhood simply add more questions for the Bennis family, and reveal the Brotherhood's bad faith and lack of transparency. It is worth noting that this is the same Brotherhood that filed similar proceedings to prevent an inquest into the death of Michel Berniquez (killed during a brutal police intervention in Montreal-North in 2003). On May 5, 2010, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a Superior Court decision that had rendered a judgment in favor of the Brotherhood’s motion; the Court of Appeal has mandated that a public inquiry must proceed. This is also the same Brotherhood whose president, Yves Francoeur, has stated that officer Jean-Loup Lapointe (who killed Fredy Villanueva in August 2008) "did his job properly".

Years later, the Bennis family and the public are hardly any closer to understanding exactly why Anas, who was described as a mild-mannered and sensitive person, was killed by the Montreal police that morning. The Bennis family has been met with disrespect and disdain on the part of government bodies in its multiple attempts to ascertain very basic truths. A troubling veil of secrecy continues to cloud the circumstances surrounding Anas' death. For well over three years now, the Bennis family along with the Justice for Anas Coalition have been demanding a full, public and independent inquiry into Anas' death.

The Justice for Anas Coalition, which came together in 2007 under the leadership of the Bennis family, continues to demand:

1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public;
2. a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis;
3. police accountability, and an end to racial profiling and police impunity.