Harassment charges dropped against pro-Palestinian activists who protested Marc Miller

Pro-Palestinian activist Samar Alkhdour, whose charges were dropped following a protest outside a Liberal byelection campaign office in Verdun, says federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller should apologize.

The lawyer representing pro-Palestinian activists who were charged with criminal harassment and mischief for allegedly harassing federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller says the charges have been dropped.

Attorney Barbara Bedont confirmed that the charges against Samar Alkhdour, Wendy Ing and Mohanned Mansour were withdrawn on Nov. 29.

“The charges were dropped because the prosecutor received video proof that showed the accusations by Marc Miller's staff were false,” Bedont said in a statement.

In early September, the three activists were protesting outside a liberal byelection campaign office in the Verdun borough when they saw Miller and two of his employees in a car and confronted them, yelling messages such as “shame on you!”

“Miller's staff told the police that the car they and Mr. Miller were in was surrounded by protesters who banged on the car, shouted obscenities and damaged the car. This was all untruthful,” Bedont added.

Along with the charges, the activists were given conditions that included a requirement to stay at least 50 metres away from the minister and the two employees.

In an interview, Alkhdour said she was “relieved” but not surprised by the outcome.

“It's a win for the pro-Palestinian movement, and it's a win for every single citizen in this country. It's just insane how someone can just go to the police and file a complaint and get people thrown into jail for, like, total false accusations,” she said adding that apologizing is the least Miller can do.

CTV News contacted the minister’s office but did not hear back in time for publication.

Alkhdour had been trying to bring her daughter to Canada earlier this year, but the 13-year-old died in the Gaza Strip before permission was granted. She has previously told reporters that her daughter suffered from serious medical conditions and died of malnutrition.

She said that after her daughter’s death, she felt “helpless and useless,” so she decided to mobilize and staged site-ins outside Miller's Montreal riding office in protest of the Canadian government's policies on Palestinian refugees.

“Marc Miller had personal knowledge that these accusations were false, yet when he was asked by the media, he hid behind specious arguments,” Bedont noted. “He had a responsibility to set the record straight, and he never did so. He needs to answer for allowing this miscarriage of justice to occur.”

Alkhdour said she plans to continue to protest and called on the minister to resign.