“When I wrote about it, they claimed I was harassing the police” says Yves Engler
~ Daniel Adediran ~
Yves Engler, a prominent pro-Palestinian Canadian journalist and author was released on bail from detention in Montreal jail on 25 February 2025. Engler’s arrest was connected to a harassment case brought against him by right-wing Twitter personality Dahlia Kurtz, who has called for the deportation of Canadians who oppose the genocide in Gaza.
Engler never messaged Kurtz privately or come near her, nor does he follow Kurtz on any social media platforms. Nevertheless, Kurtz brought charges against him aided by the legal firm Neil Oberman, a conservative Canadian politician who has specialised in ‘lawfare’ prosecutions against pro-Palestinian activists. The conditions of Engler’s bail after his initial arrest included no longer making contact with Kurtz. More significantly, however, the Crown tried to bar Engler from discussing the case in public. After taking to his social media platforms and personal website to talk about the details of his impending arrest, Canadian police slapped on extra charges, including obstruction of justice.
“I think the key issue is I had to go to jail for five days to win the right to (publicly) criticise charges brought against me”, he told Middle East Eye. “The police, and then the crown, wanted to restrict my right to write about my case. When I wrote about it, they claimed I was harassing the police. I was in jail for five days over a technical condition. When I went on Thursday morning, they could have processed and let me go.”
After a large grassroots campaign to have Engler released and the charges dropped, including over 4,000 emails to the Montreal police inspector and posts by PEN Canada and PEN America highlighting the case, Engler was released, with the Judge invalidating the second and more egregious of the bail conditions.
Meanwhile in the UK, hundreds have signed a petition calling for the BBC to restore a documentary on Gaza that has been pulled after complaints from pro-Israel activists.
