Senegalese diplomat arrested in Gatineau owed his landlord $45,000, rent board found

The Senegalese Foreign Ministry says the diplomat was “handcuffed and savagely beaten” by Gatineau police.

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A Senegalese diplomat arrested and beaten by Gatineau police last week owed his landlord more than $45,000, according to a Quebec housing court ruling.

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Police intervened when a bailiff showed up at the home of the diplomat, who works as a counselor at the Senegalese embassy in Ottawa.

In June, the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) ordered the diplomat to pay more than $45,000 to his former landlord based on the condition of the furnished and rented bungalow.

“The photos are eloquent. The property is full of roaches. The furniture is worn and scratched. … Everything is dirty. To give another example, the tenant used charcoal in a gas barbecue, ”says the TAL ruling.

In addition to the costs of exterminating the cockroaches, the landlord made $50,000 in repairs because the shower was constantly being used with the stall door open, causing water to seep into the walls and floor.

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The tenant was not present during the TAL hearing.

Senegal accused police of having “savagely beaten” one of its diplomats last week. Gatineau police said they were dealing with “an aggressive person” who injured two police officers.

In a statement dated Thursday and issued last Friday, the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported “a raid of singular violence by the Canadian police on August 2 at the residence of a Senegalese diplomat in the service of the Embassy of Senegal in Ottawa”.

The document says the diplomat was “handcuffed and savagely beaten to the point of having trouble breathing” and was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

On Friday night, Gatineau police said in a statement that their officers were called to assist a sheriff executing a warrant on August 2 around 1:30 p.m. They said the person was “aggressive and refusing to collaborate” and that the police intervened to explain the process, “at which point an officer was hit in the face and wounded.”

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“The agents then decided to proceed with the arrest of the person to end the offense for the safety of those present. The person resisted his arrest and injured a second officer by biting him. The person was then put on the ground to be restrained.”

The sheriff was able to carry out his order while the person was placed in the back of a police car under the supervision of a police officer.

“At no time did the person mention being injured or in pain during questioning,” police said.

Ambulance paramedics intervened around 3 pm and called for help from Gatineau police.

Senegal accuses the police of using “humiliating physical and moral violence (on the diplomat) in front of witnesses and in the presence of his minor children.”

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The country said it had summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Canadian embassy in Dakar and presented Canadian authorities with a letter of protest.

The Senegalese government is calling for an investigation and prosecution, saying it is a “flagrant violation of the 1961 Vienna Treaty on diplomatic relations.”

Gatineau police say they have contacted provincial and federal authorities.

The incident is also being investigated by the Quebec Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI), which examines all police operations in Quebec where deaths or serious injuries occur, after Quebec Minister of Public Safety Geneviève Guilbault told him I would ask

Quebec International Relations Minister Andrée Laforest said the police intervention had raised questions, adding that the person involved, under the 1961 Vienna Treaty, enjoys diplomatic immunity. That immunity prompted the Quebec criminal prosecution office to withdraw the complaint filed against the diplomat by the Gatineau police.

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Global Affairs Canada said it is “extremely concerned about the alleged treatment of a Senegalese diplomat by Gatineau police,” adding that the incident was “simply unacceptable.”

“We are working with the different levels of government involved and look forward to a thorough investigation. Minister (Mélanie) Joly is in contact with her Senegalese counterpart. Canada will continue to cooperate fully with Senegal to remedy this unfortunate situation,” the ministry said in an email to Presse Canadienne on Saturday. “Canada takes its obligations under the Vienna Treaty very seriously.”

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