Trial over Charter rights violations at OCDC 

Deepan Budlakoti VS Government of Ontario / Ontario Corrections

Monday, May 31, 2021 marked the beginning of an important trial that is currently ongoing concerning conditions at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre.

The trial is open to the public on Zoom and I encourage folks to attend and share the access with people who are interested in human rights. 

Ottawa, ON - The suit filed last year by Deepan Budlakoti, who is detained at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC), begins it’s trial on Monday, May 31st. Mr. Budlakoti has sued the Government of Ontario for violations under sections 2A, 7, 8, and 12 of the Charter surrounding a variety of prison conditions, including : segregation, solitary confinement, health services and privacy, food issues at courthouse and at OCDC, strip searches and duty of care around mental health. There are clearly issues of systemic negligence and Deepan is challenging all of that based on his personal experiences.

More details at the link below: https://cp-ep.org/deepan-charter-challenge.

Background:

Deepan Budlakoti is an Ottawa born stateless man detained at OCDC that is awaiting sentencing for criminal charges dating back to November 2017. Read his most recent op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen related to COVID-19 and the untenable situation that prisoners have been subjected to: Budlakoti: Ontario must do more to fight COVID-19 at the Ottawa-Carleton jail, July 6th 2021.

Please share far and wide with people who may want to follow Deepan’s case. Anyone and everyone interested in prison conditions, abuse in jail, prison abolition, human rights, etc.!

For more information you can contact: 
Daniel Cayley-Daoust, daniel.cayleydaoust@gmail.com, 819-593-4579

For broader comments on jail conditions at OCDC contact: 
Justin Piché, Associate Professor of Criminology, University of Ottawa justin.piche@uottawa.ca, 613-793-1093

(Amicus lawyer for technical details: Leonardo Russomanno, leo@rclpc.ca, 613-296-2551)