Terror suspect Harkat freed on bail

This is from the Globe and Mail. It certainly seems as if the Border Agency was just out to harass Harkat. They knew for some time that his mother-in-law no longer resided at the house where Harkat stayed with his wife. All of a sudden just before the trial they arrest Harkat while in his shower! Talk about being caught with your pants down. At least the judge didn't go along with the Border Agency.


Terror suspect Harkat freed on bail
OMAR EL AKKAD
Globe and Mail Update
February 1, 2008 at 12:53 PM EST
OTTAWA — Accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat has been released from jail, just days after Canadian Border Services Agency officials arrested and accused him of violating his strict bail conditions.
Federal Court Justice Eleanor R. Dawson allowed Mr. Harkat to return home in a ruling on Friday, saying she is “satisfied that the making of this interim order will not pose a danger to national security or to the safety of any person.”
However Mr. Harkat must remain in his Ottawa home at all times, and is only allowed to leave for medical emergencies or to attend court.
Mr. Harkat must be accompanied in the house by either his wife or his mother-in-law, Justice Dawson ruled.
“Until further order of this Court, Mr. Harkat is not to be left alone in the residence. At all times, one of Sophie Harkat or Pierrette Brunette must also be inside the residence.”
Mr. Harkat has never been charged with a crime, but he did spend four years in prison under a Canadian law that branded him a suspected al-Qaeda agent. That jail stint came to an end in June 2006, when he was released under house arrest. As part of his bail conditions, he was allowed about 12 hours a week outside the house. He was also constantly monitored – two closed-circuit cameras keep an eye on the house.
For almost two years, Mr. Harkat lived under the bail conditions without incident. However last Wednesday, CBSA agents arrested the terror suspect while he was taking a shower in his Ottawa home, alleging he breached his bail conditions.
The breach of bail accusation stemmed from Mr. Harkat's mother-in-law – one of his guardians and the owner of the Ottawa house where he and his wife Sophie live – no longer spending the night in the home because of a dispute with her own partner. Mr. Harkat's lawyers argued in court on Thursday that the allegation isn't sufficient to constitute a breach of bail conditions.
Mr. Harkat was scheduled to appear in court on Monday to argue for more leniency in his bail conditions. It appears that court appearance will now go ahead.
Mr. Harkat's court saga this week comes as the House of Commons resumes debate on Bill C-3 – designed to replace immigration security legislation the Supreme Court struck down last year – with just a few weeks to go before the old legislation essentially expires.
Last year, the Supreme Court said secret hearings in which the accused do not have access to evidence against them is a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and gave the government one year to fix the law. Mr. Harkat was one of five men who brought the case before the Supreme Court last year.