Two Toronto-area men have been charged with hate crimes after waving Hezbollah flags at a protest in late September.
Toronto police said Ahmad Sheikhani, 34, of Oakville and Hamad Khalid Menshed, 34, of Mississauga, were both charged with public incitement of hatred.
The two men, police allege, attended a demonstration in downtown Toronto on Sept. 28, days after a major escalation in the conflict between Lebanon and Israel. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, the Shia Islamist political party in Lebanon, was assassinated on Sept. 27 in an Israeli airstrike.
When the two were at the protest, officers “cautioned them about how the flags represented Hezbollah and the threats such flags cause to the public peace,” Toronto police said in a news release announcing the charges on Thursday.
Hezbollah is considered a terrorist entity by the Canadian government.
The accused continued to wave the flags, police say, and were subsequently arrested.
Public incitement of hatred is a charge laid against one who “incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace,” according to the Criminal Code.
Both are expected to appear in court on Nov. 14.
“Our expanded Hate Crime Unit continues to investigate every reported instance of hate, including the presence of flags that promote terrorist organizations, as identified by Public Safety Canada,” said Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw in the news release.
Just days ago, Toronto police announced arrests related to an anti-Israel protest on Sept. 11. Ghassan Abulawi, 29, is charged with obstructing a peace officer. Police also laid charges against two suspects related to the protest which occurred outside Meridian Hall.
Deijaumar Clarke, 32, of Toronto is wanted for assaulting a peace officer after allegedly spitting on an officer and Ghadir Mokahal, 25, of Toronto, is wanted for striking a peace officer. The two officers sustained “minor injuries” from being struck and spat upon, police say. A third suspect has yet to be identified.
At that same protest, police arrested three others. Kerry Gauer, 45 and Laura Favacho, 27, both of Toronto, were arrested for allegedly assaulting a peace officer, while Adham Diabas, 25, of Brampton is alleged to have thrown a water bottle at police, hitting an officer in the face. Diabas is charged with assault with a weapon and assaulting a peace officer.
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