On July 2-3, some 50 family members, friends and supporters attended Adil Charkaoui's public bail hearing at the federal court in Montreal. Charkaoui, a landed immigrant originally from Morocco, was arrested on May 21 under a CSIS "security certificate." Charkaoui has not been criminally charged; he is being accused of "having links" to members of Al-Qaeda and thus deemed a "threat to national security." Charkaoui has denied this allegation and neither he nor his lawyer Johanne Doyon have been provided with any evidence that supports it. Turning commonly accepted judicial practice on its head, Charkaoui is considered guilty until proven innocent.

The issuing of security certificates is a draconian measure under which the Canadian government can arrest, detain and deport landed immigrants with impunity using the pretext that they are "threats to national security." Detention can be indefinite and neither the person detained under the security certificate nor their defence lawyer is allowed to access the evidence. Trials are conducted in secret, often without the defendant or the defence lawyer present. The security certificate is increasingly being used to arrest, detain and deport members of Arab and Muslim communities in Canada.

During the Charkaoui's bail hearing, Judge Simon Noel heard testimony from a CSIS "expert witness" and character witnesses who testified on behalf of Charkaoui. Doyon also informed the court that she had filed a complaint on the unconstitutionality of the hearing with the Supreme Court and introduced lawyer Julius Grey, who was retained by the defence on constitutional matters.

Crown Attorney Daniel Roussy, representing the Solicitor General and the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, requested that the court hear from an "expert witness" from CSIS, but that his identity be kept secret. Doyon objected, stating that the defence had been given no forewarning, therefore was provided no opportunity to prepare. She said that this further placed the defence at a disadvantage in light of the fact that the defence is being deprived of most of the evidence in the case. However, the judge, referring to Article 18 of the CSIS Act, said that the witness would be heard and that only his first name would be provided. The witness said he had been employed by CSIS for 13 years and worked as assistant director in charge of "Islamic Sunnite terrorism." He spoke generally about Al-Qaeda; nothing specific was said about Charkaoui's case.

Defence lawyer Johanne Doyon said that Charkaoui has been charged in particular with "having contact with others who are also suspects" adding that "someone cannot be charged simply because of contacts," as they may take place at a mosque or in shops. In her view, "nothing tangible" has been proven against Charkaoui. Judge Noel was expected to decide on whether or not to release Charkaoui on bail within a week.

In related news, the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui organized a rally on June 29 outside the federal government offices at Complexe Guy-Favreau in downtown Montreal. Speakers included a member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui, Charkaoui's sister Hind, a family friend, a member of No One is Illegal and a representative from the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality.

Raymond Legault of Voices of Conscience introduced the speakers and began by denouncing the use of the "security certificate." He demanded justice and an end to the issuing of such certificates. The representative from the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui decried the fact that rather than protecting the people of Canada, CSIS is in fact attacking people. He referred to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and said that those living in Canada have the right to due process and the security certificate procedure violates this right. Under the pretext of national security, he said, people aren't allowed to know the full evidence against them. Instead they are supposed to place their trust in CSIS, he added. Comparing what is taking place today with a similar process in France and the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II, he said: "CSIS can knock on my door, haul me away, under the pretext of being a threat to national security." "Maybe it is Adil now, but it may be you tomorrow," he concluded.

Raymond Legault added that the use of a security certificate is not a recent phenomenon. He referred to its use in 1982 against Victor Regalado, a political refugee from El Salvador and the fact that though he was innocent, it took more than 14 years to clear his name.

Hind Charkaoui demanded that Canada stop the harassment of Arabs and Muslims and called for the abolition of the security certificate procedure as a way of ending arbitrariness. She spoke of the need to mobilize in support of people being tried without proof.

A member of the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COPB) spoke about how a delegation of non-status Algerians, who tried to meet with Citizenship and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre in Ottawa, were attacked by Ottawa police and the RCMP. This is the treatment being reserved for those who are demanding justice, he said. He recounted how a week later, another delegation which went to meet with Coderre at his federal riding office in Montreal North was met by police. Instead of meeting with the citizenry and being concerned about their demands, he said, ministers are hiding behind a wall of silence, protected by the police. "When one person is arrested, everybody is affected and if we allow them to do this to one, then everybody is in danger," he said.

A friend of the Charkaoui family said that this case had nothing to do with protecting democracy, but everything to do with dictatorship. "We refuse this type of procedure. With such a procedure, anything can be invented against Muslims and Arabs," he said.

A representative from No One is Illegal condemned the Canadian state, saying that it has erected borders to be used by privileged people in certain areas and to oppose and circumvent others. She spoke of the violent dispossession of the First Nations peoples and how the flip side of this was the military response of driving people from their homes. She demanded that the Canadian government stop this violation of human rights.

Raymond Legault added that it isn't just the security certificate that is being opposed, but the whole perspective of a justice system which works against the people. He gave the example of Donald Marshall of the Mi'kmaq nation, pointing out that even when people are given access to the proof, there are still serious problems with the system. He also raised the case of Maher Arrar, a Canadian of Syrian origin who while in transit through the United States was deported to Syria where he has remained imprisoned.