Algerian Mohamed Harkat came to Canada in 1995. He moved to Ottawa where he worked as a gas station attendant and a pizza delivery man. It was in Ottawa that he met and soon married French-Canadian Sophie (Lamarche) Harkat who has led the fight to demand justice and a fair shake for her husband.

In 1997, he was given refugee status after successfully claiming government persecution if he were to return to Algeria.

On December 10, 2002 - ironically, Human Rights Day - his Canadian-made nightmare began. He was arrested by RCMP police outside his Ottawa apartment. He was imprisoned for the next 4 1/2 years, detained under a "Security Certificate."

The CSIS spy agency alleges that Harkat has been, is, or will be involved with terrorism. He denies any involvement with any terrorist organizations.

Security Certificates

Harkat is one of Canada's Secret Trial Five. They are five Muslim men living in Canada whose lives have been torn apart by allegations that they are connected to Islamic terrorist groups, accusations only and not actual criminal charges. As such they are not permitted to answer to them in a fair and independent trial because, unlike a criminal trial, the evidence in a security certificate case remains secret "for reasons of national security". Their names are Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah, Hassan Almrei, Mohamed Harkat and Adil Charkaoui.

Another man, Manickavasagam Suresh, was arrested in 1995 under a security certificate and was incarcerated for 2 1/2 years. He is now released on bail and lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

Security certificates are a measure of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). They were described by Amnesty International as "fundamentally flawed and unfair". Those arrested under its power are imprisoned indefinitely without charges on secret evidence; if a Federal judge finds the secret evidence "reasonable" - not factual, not truthful, not untainted by political motivations or by statements elicited through torture - but merely reasonable - they immediately face deportation to their countries of origin, even if there is a substantial risk of torture or death.

In June 2006, after a hard-fought battle in the courts and a grassroots activist campaign, Harkat was released from prison in exchange for $100,000 bail and a promise to abide by a long list of conditions, including electronic monitoring and 24-hour supervision. Remember that Harkat has neither been charged with or convicted of any crime.

Supreme Court justices

In February 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that security certificates were indeed unconstitutional. This decision came after a lengthy public campaign by Harkat's supporters and many other human rights and immigrant rights activists who long opposed the security certificate as a discriminatory and unjust measure.

Strangely, the Supreme Court suspended the effect of its decision until February 23 2008.

Rather than discarding the security certificate legislation, the Harper government waited until the end of October 2007 to introduce a reform: Bill C-3.

The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee believes that Bill C-3 is nothing more than window dressing. The worst parts of the process remain: secret trials, indefinite detention without charge, draconian house arrest, deportations to torture, and two-tiered justice in Canada. Furthermore, a similar legal "fix" in the UK has shown that special advocates only provide a veneer of legality to what is esssentially an illegal and unjust process.

Harkat has spoken out against the new and improved security certificate law: "Without any doubt, this new legislation will continue to violate my rights as well as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms", Harkat told reporters at a press conference. "This is the worst kind of injustice."

ADDENDUM, FEB 19, 2008 - Bill C-3 has passed in The House of Commons and The Senate and is now law.

Presently (Dec 2007) only one of the Secret Trial Five prisoners, Hassan Almrei, still remains in detention after six years. The other four men remain in many ways prisoners in their own homes, their wives delegated to the role of jailer.

The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee urgently call upon parliament to immediately repeal sections 34 and 77 to 85 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as well as all secret proceedings contained in the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), including the revisions to section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act.

We further call upon the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Immigration for:

A withdrawal of the currently issued illegal certificates without delay;

The immediate and unconditional release of the detainees currently in jail and under house arrest, or their fair trial if any evidence actually exists against them;

An end to all deportation proceedings against all currently held under security certificates;

The cessation of any and all practices of deporting, or seeking to deport, people to countries where they will be imprisoned or tortured or face death, and

The closing of the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre.

The Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day and The Minister of Immigration Diane Finley are the ministers now responsible for signing security certificates. Prime-Minister Stephen Harper is ultimately responsible for continuing to allow this undemocratic process. Their contact info is HERE.