Adil Charkaoui arrested for alleged assault, Radio-Canada reports

Well-known Quebec Muslim leaderAdilCharkaouiwas arrested in relation to an alleged assault last weekat a Montreal CEGEP, Radio-Canada reports.

• AdilCharkaouiresumes classes atCollgedeMaisonneuveunder watchful eye
• AdilCharkaouiincensed byCEGEPssuspending Arabic schoolcontracts

CollgedeMaisonneuvesaidearlier this week that one of its security guards was confronted in the school'sgymnasiumby a group of men that includedCharkaoui.

According toRadio-Canada, Charkaouiwas arrested Fridayon suspicion of assault. He was released without being charged, andwith a promise to appear before a court.

Montreal police refused to comment on the case because charges have yet to be laid.

Charkaouiacknowledged to Radio-Canada that he had met with police, but denied the CEGEP's version of events. He is expected to release a statement on Monday.

Witness challenges CEGEP's version

A witness to the Feb. 21altercation at the CEGEP also questioned the school's statements about what transpired.

Farouk Aouni, who organized the soccer game taking place in the gym at the time,denied the CEGEP's claims that its security guard had been surrounded by the players.

The security guardwas "provoking the youth and was calling on them to throw him the ball,"Aounisaid in a news release.

He added that "Mr.Charkaoui was acting as the referee and intervened to calm things down."

Charkaoui was arrested on a security certificate under suspicion of terrorism-related activitiesin 2003. He successfully challengedthe certificate several years later.

He now lives in Montreal and is an outspoken advocate against Islamophobia. He became a Canadian citizen in 2014.

Ongoing tensions

This is not the first time thatCharkaouiand CollgedeMaisonneuve have been in conflict with each other.

Last year, the CEGEPattempted tocancela contract withCharkaoui that saw him rent several classrooms forArabic and Qu'ran studies as part of a school he runs.

The CEGEP took the decision following revelations that at least one of the school's students had joined jihadistsin Syria.

WhentheCEGEPdiscovered it did not have the legal authority to cancel the contract, classes atCharkaoui's school resumedunder the supervision of acollege-appointed observer.