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.
Showing posts with label Security certificates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Security certificates. Show all posts
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Charkaoui witness recants.
This is from the CBC.
It's strange that the police always believe bad guys when they are caught and making a deal. Ressam probably just reeled off the names of anyone he knew hoping that would get him a reduced sentence.
Charkaoui witness recants, reporter tells court
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 | 1:30 PM ET
CBC News
A Montreal reporter said in Federal Court on Wednesday that one of the main witnesses against Adil Charkaoui has withdrawn his allegations against the accused al-Qaeda sleeper agent.
Journal de Montreal's Fabrice de Pierrebourg was subpoenaed to appear at the court hearing launched by Charkaoui, who is trying to have his strict bail conditions quashed.
Adil Charkaoui was released under strict bail conditions that allow police to enter his home without a warrant.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press) Last year, de Pierrebourg noticed one of the main witnesses against Charkaoui, convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam, had withdrawn accusations against another Montrealer being held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The reporter wrote to Ressam to ask whether he held to his accusations against Charkaoui, including that he met him at an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.
That allegation was one of the main reasons Charkaoui was arrested on a federal security certificate. He was jailed for 21 months under the terms of the security certificate, but released on strict bail conditions in February 2005.
Ressam, an Algerian-born Montrealer, was arrested in 1999 while trying to cross the B.C.-Washington border with a bomb intended for Los Angeles International Airport. In exchange for a lighter sentence, Ressam agreed to co-operate with authorities, providing information on other suspected terrorists.
Continue Article
In a return letter to de Pierrebourg, written in Arabic, Ressam retracted all his allegations against Charkaoui. He said he was psychologically unbalanced when he was interrogated by Canadian security agents.
Charkaoui's lawyers are hoping that letter is enough to get the judge to lift the strict bail conditions he has been living under since February 2005.
He must be supervised at work and accompanied by one of his parents all other times. He cannot use the internet and police are permitted to enter his home at any time without a warrant.
His lawyers were also expected to argue that the leak of a classified report, published in Montreal's La Presse in June 2007, violates his charter rights and constitutes an abuse of procedures.
The report cited a Canadian Security Intelligence Service document that alleges Charkaoui followed two al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, and in 2000 talked about plans to fly a plane into a building in Europe with another man, Hisham Tahir.
Charkaoui admits knowing Tahir, but denies being part of any terrorist plot. He's accused the federal government of leading a smear campaign against him by leaking classified information even his lawyers haven't seen.
Charkaoui's lawyer, Johanne Doyon, has said the publication of the document violates federal law.
Charkaoui, a 33-year-old French teacher, has called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to launch an inquiry to investigate how CSIS handled the security certificates, and also wants the police to intervene.
The country's top court has already struck down the security certificates in a groundbreaking decision released in February 2007 that determined they violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But the court suspended the ruling for 12 months, to allow the government enough time to rewrite security laws, effectively meaning the security certificates are valid until further notice.
It's strange that the police always believe bad guys when they are caught and making a deal. Ressam probably just reeled off the names of anyone he knew hoping that would get him a reduced sentence.
Charkaoui witness recants, reporter tells court
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 | 1:30 PM ET
CBC News
A Montreal reporter said in Federal Court on Wednesday that one of the main witnesses against Adil Charkaoui has withdrawn his allegations against the accused al-Qaeda sleeper agent.
Journal de Montreal's Fabrice de Pierrebourg was subpoenaed to appear at the court hearing launched by Charkaoui, who is trying to have his strict bail conditions quashed.
Adil Charkaoui was released under strict bail conditions that allow police to enter his home without a warrant.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press) Last year, de Pierrebourg noticed one of the main witnesses against Charkaoui, convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam, had withdrawn accusations against another Montrealer being held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The reporter wrote to Ressam to ask whether he held to his accusations against Charkaoui, including that he met him at an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.
That allegation was one of the main reasons Charkaoui was arrested on a federal security certificate. He was jailed for 21 months under the terms of the security certificate, but released on strict bail conditions in February 2005.
Ressam, an Algerian-born Montrealer, was arrested in 1999 while trying to cross the B.C.-Washington border with a bomb intended for Los Angeles International Airport. In exchange for a lighter sentence, Ressam agreed to co-operate with authorities, providing information on other suspected terrorists.
Continue Article
In a return letter to de Pierrebourg, written in Arabic, Ressam retracted all his allegations against Charkaoui. He said he was psychologically unbalanced when he was interrogated by Canadian security agents.
Charkaoui's lawyers are hoping that letter is enough to get the judge to lift the strict bail conditions he has been living under since February 2005.
He must be supervised at work and accompanied by one of his parents all other times. He cannot use the internet and police are permitted to enter his home at any time without a warrant.
His lawyers were also expected to argue that the leak of a classified report, published in Montreal's La Presse in June 2007, violates his charter rights and constitutes an abuse of procedures.
The report cited a Canadian Security Intelligence Service document that alleges Charkaoui followed two al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, and in 2000 talked about plans to fly a plane into a building in Europe with another man, Hisham Tahir.
Charkaoui admits knowing Tahir, but denies being part of any terrorist plot. He's accused the federal government of leading a smear campaign against him by leaking classified information even his lawyers haven't seen.
Charkaoui's lawyer, Johanne Doyon, has said the publication of the document violates federal law.
Charkaoui, a 33-year-old French teacher, has called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to launch an inquiry to investigate how CSIS handled the security certificates, and also wants the police to intervene.
The country's top court has already struck down the security certificates in a groundbreaking decision released in February 2007 that determined they violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But the court suspended the ruling for 12 months, to allow the government enough time to rewrite security laws, effectively meaning the security certificates are valid until further notice.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Charkaoui meets CSIS dept. of dirty tricks.
Here we go again. This is the same pattern as happened with Maher Arar. Documents are leaked to the news media that show someone is a terrorist. These are classified documents. This technique seems to be a common underhand method for CSIS to justify itself. There is no way of verifying the truth of the documents. In the case of Arar the inquiry did show that the documents leaked to the press in his case involved confessions obtained through torture in Syria among other things. Although it is a criminal offence to reveal classified documents in this way no one has ever been found guilty of doing so in the Arar case and no doubt the same will be true in this case. The RCMP burned barns. The CSIS burns people's reputations.
Charkaoui denies talking about terrorist plot
Moroccan-born Montrealer demands federal inquiry into his security certificate
Last Updated: Friday, June 22, 2007 | 2:14 PM ET
CBC News
A Moroccan-born Montreal man accused of being a terrorist denies new reports alleging he was part of a plot to hijack a plane and fly it into a building in Europe.
Adil Charkaoui, who has been accused of being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent, said Thursday he has never been involved in a terrorist plot.
( Charkaoui is calling for a federal and police inquiry into allegations against him, and has demanded the outstanding security certificate in his name be revoked. "A line has been crossed," he said on Friday.
The French teacher, 33, was responding to a report in the Montreal newspaper La Presse. It cited a Canadian Security Intelligence Service document that alleges Charkaoui followed two Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, and in 2000 talked about plans to fly a plane into a building in Europe with another man, Hisham Tahir.
The document, called Former Terrorist Training Camps in Afghanistan: Major Sites and Assessment, was the basis for a security certificate issued against Charkaoui in 2003. The certificate brought about his arrest and detention for nearly two years without him being charged with anything.
Charkaoui accused the federal government of leading a smear campaign against him by leaking classified information even his lawyers haven't seen.
While he admits he did know Tahir, who attends the same Montreal mosque and once worked at his pizzeria, Charkaoui insisted in all their conversations they never talked about a plot to crash a plane.
"These are pure lies. And I think the context is really surprising," he said in French. "I cannot trust [federal Public Safety Minister] Stockwell Day."
Charkaoui is asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to launch an inquiry to investigate how CSIS handled the security certificates, and also wants the police to intervene.
On Friday, Harper said he wouldn't comment on Charkaoui's concerns.
"This is a case in front of the courts. The government does not make comments. But it is a serious case," he said in French.
Document 'supposed to be secret': lawyer
Charkaoui's lawyer, Johanne Doyon, said the publication of the document violates federal law.
"This is a document that is supposed to be secret," she said. "We are flabbergasted that there was a CSIS leak. And we wonder what the real objective of this leak actually is."
Charkaoui's lawyers have not been able to access the document despite their lengthy court battle against the security certificate.
The Supreme Court agreed last winter to hear an appeal from Charkaoui, who wants to contest the security certificate proceedings launched against him by Ottawa on the grounds CSIS tainted evidence used to detain him.
The country's top court has already struck down the security certificates in a groundbreaking decision released in February 2007 that determined they violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But the court suspended the ruling for 12 months, to allow the government enough time to rewrite security laws, effectively meaning the security certificates are valid until further notice.
Charkaoui's Supreme Court of Canada case is expected to be heard sometime next year.
Charkaoui denies talking about terrorist plot
Moroccan-born Montrealer demands federal inquiry into his security certificate
Last Updated: Friday, June 22, 2007 | 2:14 PM ET
CBC News
A Moroccan-born Montreal man accused of being a terrorist denies new reports alleging he was part of a plot to hijack a plane and fly it into a building in Europe.
Adil Charkaoui, who has been accused of being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent, said Thursday he has never been involved in a terrorist plot.
( Charkaoui is calling for a federal and police inquiry into allegations against him, and has demanded the outstanding security certificate in his name be revoked. "A line has been crossed," he said on Friday.
The French teacher, 33, was responding to a report in the Montreal newspaper La Presse. It cited a Canadian Security Intelligence Service document that alleges Charkaoui followed two Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, and in 2000 talked about plans to fly a plane into a building in Europe with another man, Hisham Tahir.
The document, called Former Terrorist Training Camps in Afghanistan: Major Sites and Assessment, was the basis for a security certificate issued against Charkaoui in 2003. The certificate brought about his arrest and detention for nearly two years without him being charged with anything.
Charkaoui accused the federal government of leading a smear campaign against him by leaking classified information even his lawyers haven't seen.
While he admits he did know Tahir, who attends the same Montreal mosque and once worked at his pizzeria, Charkaoui insisted in all their conversations they never talked about a plot to crash a plane.
"These are pure lies. And I think the context is really surprising," he said in French. "I cannot trust [federal Public Safety Minister] Stockwell Day."
Charkaoui is asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to launch an inquiry to investigate how CSIS handled the security certificates, and also wants the police to intervene.
On Friday, Harper said he wouldn't comment on Charkaoui's concerns.
"This is a case in front of the courts. The government does not make comments. But it is a serious case," he said in French.
Document 'supposed to be secret': lawyer
Charkaoui's lawyer, Johanne Doyon, said the publication of the document violates federal law.
"This is a document that is supposed to be secret," she said. "We are flabbergasted that there was a CSIS leak. And we wonder what the real objective of this leak actually is."
Charkaoui's lawyers have not been able to access the document despite their lengthy court battle against the security certificate.
The Supreme Court agreed last winter to hear an appeal from Charkaoui, who wants to contest the security certificate proceedings launched against him by Ottawa on the grounds CSIS tainted evidence used to detain him.
The country's top court has already struck down the security certificates in a groundbreaking decision released in February 2007 that determined they violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But the court suspended the ruling for 12 months, to allow the government enough time to rewrite security laws, effectively meaning the security certificates are valid until further notice.
Charkaoui's Supreme Court of Canada case is expected to be heard sometime next year.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Canada should not risk torture of Afghan prisoners
Not a word about US prisons in Afghanistan! Of course Canadians too have been accused of mistreating prisoners. There is no mention of the Iacobucci Inquiry as a positive step in dealing with issues of torture.
Canada shouldn’t risk torture of Afghan prisoners, panel hears
Maria Babbage, The Canadian Press
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
TORONTO — Canadian soldiers shouldn’t hand over prisoners to Afghan authorities if there are reasonable grounds to believe they may be tortured, an international panel of jurists heard Tuesday.
Instead, the Canadian military should consider building its own detention facilities to ensure prisoners are treated humanely, University of Toronto law professor Kent Roach said, echoing the suggestion of other human rights experts in the wake of the Afghanistan torture allegations.
“Under the (Charter of Rights), it is clear that a Canadian police officer who goes abroad is subject to the Charter, so I would argue the Canadian Forces are really no different,” he told the panel, which is examining the impact of anti-terror policies on human rights around the globe.
It may be expensive, but it may be the price of complying with the Charter.”
Media reports suggest detainees have been kicked in the head, whipped with cables, or electrocuted by Afghan authorities after being turned over. The Conservative government dismissed the allegations Tuesday as the unsubstantiated ramblings of Taliban killers.
Roach was among a number of experts appearing at the first of two public hearings in Canada before an independent panel appointed by the International Commission of Jurists. The second session will be held in Ottawa on Wednesday.
The panel’s representatives for the Canadian hearings include Arthur Chaskalson and Robert Goldman.
Chaskalson is a former chief justice of South Africa and leading human rights lawyer who acted as counsel in the 1960s during the Rivonia trial, when Nelson Mandela and several members of the African National Congress were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Robert Goldman is an American professor and former UN expert on counter-terrorism and human rights.
They are expected to meet with Margaret Bloodworth, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s national security adviser, and other government officials Thursday before delivering some of their preliminary conclusions Friday.
Tuesday’s hearing took on a broad range of issues, from the country’s legal stance on torture to the use of special lawyers in the top-secret trials of terror suspects.
The panel also heard that while Canada has made “significant” mistakes trying to root out terrorism, recent steps by the government and courts have helped to restore some faith in the system.
The federal government’s apology and settlement with Maher Arar — who was deported to Syria and tortured but later cleared in a public inquiry — was a “huge psychological step forward,” said Ziyaad Mia of the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association.
The Arar case, and other court decisions striking down legal provisions that allow terror suspects to be detained and deported, shows that Canada has acknowledged some of the errors it has made in trying stop terrorism, he said.
“The tide seems to be turning,” Mia said. “I think there’s a sense that we’ve made some mistakes in haste.”
One of those encouraging signs came in February, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that federal security certificates — which allowed the federal government to deport non-citizens suspected of terrorist activity — were unconstitutional and gave Parliament a year to bring the law in line with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Mia also noted that two provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act — which gave police the ability to make preventative arrests without warrant and gave judges the power to compel witnesses to testify in terrorism cases — were allowed to expire in March.
“I would say the pendulum is shifting back from the extreme reaction of 9-11,” he said. “But there’s still a ways to go.”
© The Canadian Press 2007
Canada shouldn’t risk torture of Afghan prisoners, panel hears
Maria Babbage, The Canadian Press
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
TORONTO — Canadian soldiers shouldn’t hand over prisoners to Afghan authorities if there are reasonable grounds to believe they may be tortured, an international panel of jurists heard Tuesday.
Instead, the Canadian military should consider building its own detention facilities to ensure prisoners are treated humanely, University of Toronto law professor Kent Roach said, echoing the suggestion of other human rights experts in the wake of the Afghanistan torture allegations.
“Under the (Charter of Rights), it is clear that a Canadian police officer who goes abroad is subject to the Charter, so I would argue the Canadian Forces are really no different,” he told the panel, which is examining the impact of anti-terror policies on human rights around the globe.
It may be expensive, but it may be the price of complying with the Charter.”
Media reports suggest detainees have been kicked in the head, whipped with cables, or electrocuted by Afghan authorities after being turned over. The Conservative government dismissed the allegations Tuesday as the unsubstantiated ramblings of Taliban killers.
Roach was among a number of experts appearing at the first of two public hearings in Canada before an independent panel appointed by the International Commission of Jurists. The second session will be held in Ottawa on Wednesday.
The panel’s representatives for the Canadian hearings include Arthur Chaskalson and Robert Goldman.
Chaskalson is a former chief justice of South Africa and leading human rights lawyer who acted as counsel in the 1960s during the Rivonia trial, when Nelson Mandela and several members of the African National Congress were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Robert Goldman is an American professor and former UN expert on counter-terrorism and human rights.
They are expected to meet with Margaret Bloodworth, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s national security adviser, and other government officials Thursday before delivering some of their preliminary conclusions Friday.
Tuesday’s hearing took on a broad range of issues, from the country’s legal stance on torture to the use of special lawyers in the top-secret trials of terror suspects.
The panel also heard that while Canada has made “significant” mistakes trying to root out terrorism, recent steps by the government and courts have helped to restore some faith in the system.
The federal government’s apology and settlement with Maher Arar — who was deported to Syria and tortured but later cleared in a public inquiry — was a “huge psychological step forward,” said Ziyaad Mia of the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association.
The Arar case, and other court decisions striking down legal provisions that allow terror suspects to be detained and deported, shows that Canada has acknowledged some of the errors it has made in trying stop terrorism, he said.
“The tide seems to be turning,” Mia said. “I think there’s a sense that we’ve made some mistakes in haste.”
One of those encouraging signs came in February, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that federal security certificates — which allowed the federal government to deport non-citizens suspected of terrorist activity — were unconstitutional and gave Parliament a year to bring the law in line with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Mia also noted that two provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act — which gave police the ability to make preventative arrests without warrant and gave judges the power to compel witnesses to testify in terrorism cases — were allowed to expire in March.
“I would say the pendulum is shifting back from the extreme reaction of 9-11,” he said. “But there’s still a ways to go.”
© The Canadian Press 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Charkaoui granted another appeal to Supreme Court
The most obvious problem with these national security cases is that the prosecution can claim almost all evidence as classified so that the defence lawyer cannot even see it. Here it seems it is not only classified it was destroyed and only summaries kept. What a travesty of justice these cases are. Welcome to the new legal regime where one has no right to see the evidence against you and to question it.
Supreme Court will hear Adil Charkaoui's appeal
Last Updated: Thursday, March 15, 2007 | 4:52 PM ET
CBC News
A Montreal man accused of being a terrorist who recently won a landmark ruling on security certificates at the Supreme Court of Canada will now get a chance to take a second case to the country's top court.
The court has agreed to hear an appeal from Moroccan-born Adil Charkaoui, who is contesting the security certificate proceedings brought against him by the federal government on the grounds the Canadian Security Intelligence Service tainted evidence brought against him.
(CBC) The appeal grant comes on the heels of a historic Supreme Court ruling that has left Charkaoui in legal limbo. In February 2007, the country's highest court struck down security certificates, ruling they violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Charkaoui, who was detained under a certificate for two years, was one of three men who won the ruling. The court suspended its judgment for a year to allow time for the federal government to rewrite its security laws, leaving the certificates in place until that point.
Charkaoui's security certificate proceedings are also still pending, with no sign from Ottawa that it will formally withdraw its case against him.
With the appeal granted by the Supreme Court on Thursday, Charkaoui will get another chance to close the case against him.
His lawyers will ask the country's top court to stop the security certificate hearing on the grounds his rights were violated and he was denied due process because of how CSIS handled evidence collected on him.
Records destroyed, summaries kept
Most of the evidence used in the security certificate case was based on notes and recordings of various interviews Charkaoui gave to CSIS investigators four years ago. The evidence was classified and not released to his defence lawyer, Dominique Larochelle.
In 2005, during a bail review hearing, CSIS investigators testified they destroyed records of their interviews with him, but kept summaries, as policy dictates at the security agency. That compromised Charkaoui's rights, Larochelle told CBC. "If the proof is altered, the case is biased."
Charkaoui contends the missing notes and tapes would have helped him mount a defence to establish his innocence and strike down the security certificate.
Charkaoui's supporters say until the Supreme Court ruling is enacted, he could, in theory, still be ordered to leave the country.
Under the certificate, authorities can order him deported, even though that hasn't yet been done.
Larochelle first appealed the proceedings two years ago on the grounds that evidence used against Charkaoui was tainted. Her request was turned down by the Federal Court, and by the Federal Court of Appeal in February 2006.
The proceedings were suspended in March 2005 pending a second unrelated appeal to the federal minister of immigration. Charkaoui is seeking assurance he would be protected if he were to be deported to his native Morocco. The minister has not yet issued a decision.
Charkaoui has repeatedly denied any terrorist activity, even as CSIS produced evidence it alleged proves he was connected to the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group, which is linked to al-Qaeda.
Larochelle is also contesting that evidence, arguing it was introduced after the security certificate was issued against her client.
Charkaoui was granted bail under strict conditions in February 2005.
Supreme Court will hear Adil Charkaoui's appeal
Last Updated: Thursday, March 15, 2007 | 4:52 PM ET
CBC News
A Montreal man accused of being a terrorist who recently won a landmark ruling on security certificates at the Supreme Court of Canada will now get a chance to take a second case to the country's top court.
The court has agreed to hear an appeal from Moroccan-born Adil Charkaoui, who is contesting the security certificate proceedings brought against him by the federal government on the grounds the Canadian Security Intelligence Service tainted evidence brought against him.
(CBC) The appeal grant comes on the heels of a historic Supreme Court ruling that has left Charkaoui in legal limbo. In February 2007, the country's highest court struck down security certificates, ruling they violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Charkaoui, who was detained under a certificate for two years, was one of three men who won the ruling. The court suspended its judgment for a year to allow time for the federal government to rewrite its security laws, leaving the certificates in place until that point.
Charkaoui's security certificate proceedings are also still pending, with no sign from Ottawa that it will formally withdraw its case against him.
With the appeal granted by the Supreme Court on Thursday, Charkaoui will get another chance to close the case against him.
His lawyers will ask the country's top court to stop the security certificate hearing on the grounds his rights were violated and he was denied due process because of how CSIS handled evidence collected on him.
Records destroyed, summaries kept
Most of the evidence used in the security certificate case was based on notes and recordings of various interviews Charkaoui gave to CSIS investigators four years ago. The evidence was classified and not released to his defence lawyer, Dominique Larochelle.
In 2005, during a bail review hearing, CSIS investigators testified they destroyed records of their interviews with him, but kept summaries, as policy dictates at the security agency. That compromised Charkaoui's rights, Larochelle told CBC. "If the proof is altered, the case is biased."
Charkaoui contends the missing notes and tapes would have helped him mount a defence to establish his innocence and strike down the security certificate.
Charkaoui's supporters say until the Supreme Court ruling is enacted, he could, in theory, still be ordered to leave the country.
Under the certificate, authorities can order him deported, even though that hasn't yet been done.
Larochelle first appealed the proceedings two years ago on the grounds that evidence used against Charkaoui was tainted. Her request was turned down by the Federal Court, and by the Federal Court of Appeal in February 2006.
The proceedings were suspended in March 2005 pending a second unrelated appeal to the federal minister of immigration. Charkaoui is seeking assurance he would be protected if he were to be deported to his native Morocco. The minister has not yet issued a decision.
Charkaoui has repeatedly denied any terrorist activity, even as CSIS produced evidence it alleged proves he was connected to the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group, which is linked to al-Qaeda.
Larochelle is also contesting that evidence, arguing it was introduced after the security certificate was issued against her client.
Charkaoui was granted bail under strict conditions in February 2005.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Detainees react to Supreme Court ruling on Security Certificates
Some people have pointed out that the detainees are "free" to leave Canada but this freedom is to go to countries where they face torture or perhaps even death.
Detainee ruling comes after 'years of hell'
Last Updated: Friday, February 23, 2007 | 3:37 PM ET
CBC News
Relatives of the men arrested under the federal government's national security certificates praised a high court ruling Friday ordering a new system, while expressing fear that their legal battles are far from over.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously the certificate system is unconstitutional and has given the federal government one year to rewrite the law.
"It's the happiest day of my life," said Mohamed Harkat, who was interviewed by CBC Newsworld from his home in Ottawa.
He said he was "crying for 3½ years in jail" as he continued asking authorities what evidence they had against him.
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing for the court, said the process of hearing such cases behind closed doors without a lawyer for the accused present is a violation of fundamental justice.
The court suggested Parliament could solve the problem by allowing special security-cleared lawyers to attend the hearings to challenge the evidence and protect the rights of the accused.
Continue Article
Harkat was recently released on bail and remains under house arrest. He can leave his home on three supervised outings for a total of four hours a week, with advance notice.
Appearing at an Ottawa news conference, his wife, Sophie, choked back tears, then laughed and said, "I thought I could do it without crying this year."
"It's been four years of hell for us," she said.
Strict bail conditions, hunger strikes continue
Diana Ralph, a supporter of another detainee, Hassan Almrei of Mississauga, Ont., said the ruling "finally starts to correct this grotesque law," which she said includes the "vicious" threat of deportation.
Ralph said Almrei is on day 78 of a hunger strike in which he has refused solid food at the immigration holding centre in Kingston, Ont.
"We call for their release and the complete end of bail conditions and for a discontinuation of the continuing threat to deport these men to countries where they are likely to face torture," said Kevin Skerritt of the Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee.
With the unanimous ruling, there is at least a year of uncertainty for five men who were detained under the security certificates for alleged links to al-Qaeda.
One-year grace period
However, Johanne Doyon, counsel for Moroccan detainee Adil Charkaoui, described the judgment as a "nearly total victory" for the challengers and predicted the government wouldn't dare deport any of them during the one-year grace period it will take to revise the law.
Ahmed Jaballah, the son of a Toronto detainee from Egypt who is staging a hunger strike with Almrei, said he's worried that freedom is a long way off for his father, Mahmoud.
"It's a step in the right direction, but I'm still concerned with what will happen to these men."
He said even if the security certificates are quashed after the one-year period, their cases could go back to court and proceedings could continue for years.
Jaballah said his father is on the 81st day of a hunger strike.
Detainees await government reaction
In the House of Commons, Bloc Québécois MP Monique Guay asked the Conservative government if it would "abandon its George Bush approach" and amend the law allowing secret trials of non-citizens.
The government is still reviewing the court decision and will respond in a "timely and decisive fashion," Dave MacKenzie, parliamentary secretary for public safety, told the Commons.
Charkaoui, who was arrested in Montreal 2003 under a security certificate and released on bail in 2005, said he is "anxious" to see whether a government with "former Reformers who want to limit the role of the judiciary" will adopt the court's recommendations.
He said the law under which he was detained but never charged is unfair
Detainee ruling comes after 'years of hell'
Last Updated: Friday, February 23, 2007 | 3:37 PM ET
CBC News
Relatives of the men arrested under the federal government's national security certificates praised a high court ruling Friday ordering a new system, while expressing fear that their legal battles are far from over.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously the certificate system is unconstitutional and has given the federal government one year to rewrite the law.
"It's the happiest day of my life," said Mohamed Harkat, who was interviewed by CBC Newsworld from his home in Ottawa.
He said he was "crying for 3½ years in jail" as he continued asking authorities what evidence they had against him.
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing for the court, said the process of hearing such cases behind closed doors without a lawyer for the accused present is a violation of fundamental justice.
The court suggested Parliament could solve the problem by allowing special security-cleared lawyers to attend the hearings to challenge the evidence and protect the rights of the accused.
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Harkat was recently released on bail and remains under house arrest. He can leave his home on three supervised outings for a total of four hours a week, with advance notice.
Appearing at an Ottawa news conference, his wife, Sophie, choked back tears, then laughed and said, "I thought I could do it without crying this year."
"It's been four years of hell for us," she said.
Strict bail conditions, hunger strikes continue
Diana Ralph, a supporter of another detainee, Hassan Almrei of Mississauga, Ont., said the ruling "finally starts to correct this grotesque law," which she said includes the "vicious" threat of deportation.
Ralph said Almrei is on day 78 of a hunger strike in which he has refused solid food at the immigration holding centre in Kingston, Ont.
"We call for their release and the complete end of bail conditions and for a discontinuation of the continuing threat to deport these men to countries where they are likely to face torture," said Kevin Skerritt of the Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee.
With the unanimous ruling, there is at least a year of uncertainty for five men who were detained under the security certificates for alleged links to al-Qaeda.
One-year grace period
However, Johanne Doyon, counsel for Moroccan detainee Adil Charkaoui, described the judgment as a "nearly total victory" for the challengers and predicted the government wouldn't dare deport any of them during the one-year grace period it will take to revise the law.
Ahmed Jaballah, the son of a Toronto detainee from Egypt who is staging a hunger strike with Almrei, said he's worried that freedom is a long way off for his father, Mahmoud.
"It's a step in the right direction, but I'm still concerned with what will happen to these men."
He said even if the security certificates are quashed after the one-year period, their cases could go back to court and proceedings could continue for years.
Jaballah said his father is on the 81st day of a hunger strike.
Detainees await government reaction
In the House of Commons, Bloc Québécois MP Monique Guay asked the Conservative government if it would "abandon its George Bush approach" and amend the law allowing secret trials of non-citizens.
The government is still reviewing the court decision and will respond in a "timely and decisive fashion," Dave MacKenzie, parliamentary secretary for public safety, told the Commons.
Charkaoui, who was arrested in Montreal 2003 under a security certificate and released on bail in 2005, said he is "anxious" to see whether a government with "former Reformers who want to limit the role of the judiciary" will adopt the court's recommendations.
He said the law under which he was detained but never charged is unfair
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