by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: March 9, 2010 8:25 PM


OTTAWA — A U.S. terrorism expert says the threat of al-Qaida "sleeper agents" deploying to Western countries years before launching terror attacks is overblown.

Professor Brian Williams, associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, told Federal Court that alarm bells went off in his head when he read that Canadian officials had accused Mohamed Harkat of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.

"I don't believe in the notion of sleepers in general," Williams testified Tuesday. "It's an over-exaggeration."

Williams has been called as a witness by Harkat's defence team during the public portion of his security certificate case.

The federal government contends Harkat was an al-Qaida sleeper agent who came to Canada in 1995 after working in Peshawar, Pakistan in the early 1990s. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) says Harkat served as a chauffeur for Saudi-born jihadist Ibn Khattab while in Peshawar.

Harkat, who claimed refugee status in Canada in 1995, denies any link to terrorism. The federal government is trying to deport him to his native Algeria as a threat to national security.

Williams told court that the government's written summary of its case against Harkat raised red flags with him because of several "flaws."

[ Read the rest ... ]

par René Hardy
Source: Radio-Canada
URL: [link]
Date: 8 mars 2010

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Voir aussi:
AUDIO: René Hardy s'est rendu en Cour fédérale.

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Un autre expert est venu témoigner en faveur de Mohamed Harkat, lundi, en Cour fédérale à Ottawa. La défense dispose d'une dernière semaine pour démontrer que le résident d'Ottawa soupçonné d'activités terroristes n'a rien à se reprocher.

Le professeur Brian Williams de l'Université Dartmouth au Massachusetts, spécialiste de l'islam radical et du monde arobe-musulman, est venu dire en cour qu'il ne croit pas que Mohamed Harkat est un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda.

Selon M. Williams, le fait d'être jihadiste ne signifie pas nécessairement qu'on est membre du réseau terroriste de Ben Laden. Les autorités canadiennes allèguent que Mohamed Harkat est un agent dormant d'Al-Qaïda, parce qu'il a travaillé dans un refuge pour terroristes au Pakistan.

Le centre était exploité par Ibn Khattab, soupçonné d'être membre d'Al-Qaïda. Le professeur Williams affirme toutefois qu'il n'a pas de liens entre Khattab et Harkat.

D'ici la fin de la semaine, la défense présentera d'autres experts, dont un qui témoignera depuis l'Algérie par vidéoconférence. Les audiences publiques doivent se terminer cette semaine. À la fin du mois, les deux parties doivent présenter leurs plaidoiries.

Le tribunal se penche depuis la fin janvier sur la validité du certificat de sécurité émis contre Mohamed Harkat en décembre 2002. Les autorités canadiennes le soupçonnent d'être un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda, ce que Harkat a toujours nié.

Jusqu'à maintenant, deux certificats ont été invalidés par les tribunaux : ceux de Hassan Almrei et d'Adil Charkaoui.

TOUS DROITS RÉSERVÉS © CBC/RADIO-CANADA 2010

by Aedan Helmer
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: March 8, 2010

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See also this short VIDEO report by Aedan Helmer produced for The Ottawa Sun online edition. Moe's lawyer Norm Boxall is interviewed.

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The defence team for accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat spent Monday picking apart expert testimony delivered on behalf of the Canadian government in January.

Using words like “outlandish,” “staggering” and “inconceivable,” Prof. Brian Williams criticized earlier testimony by Dr. Martin Rudner, the lone expert witness called by lawyers representing the Canadian government, which is seeking to deport Harkat to his native Algeria.

Williams was recognized by the federal court as an expert witness, having taught Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts, and listing counter-terrorism work with the US Army and Central Intelligence Agency on his resume.

Harkat is accused of serving as a chauffeur to Ibn Khattab — a Saudi Arabian national who used guerrilla warfare to resist the Russian military in Afghanistan in the 1980s and in Chechnya in the 1990s. Harkat was in Pakistan in the early 1990s.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Vancouver Sun
URL: [link]
Date: March 8, 2010


OTTAWA — A U.S. historian who specializes in the war on terror has urged the judge in the Mohamed Harkat case to carefully distinguish between jihadists and terrorists.

Professor Brian Williams, associate Professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, told Federal Court that there's an unfortunate tendency to link all Muslim fighters to al-Qaida.

"Since 9/11, al-Qaida has lost its meaning," he testified Monday, noting that jihad existed long before Osama bin Laden rose to fame.

Williams was called by Harkat's defence team to offer expert opinion about Saudi-born jihadist, Ibn Khattab, whom the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has labelled a terrorist.

Harkat, who claimed refugee status in Canada in 1995, denies any link to terrorism.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Murray Brewster and Jim Bronskill (CP)
Source: The Toronto Star
URL: [link]
Date: March 8, 2010



Spy agency's role in war raises questions given their lack of experience

OTTAWA–Canadian spies have been interrogating captured Taliban fighters in Afghanistan since 2006.

Officers with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have been working with Canadian military police intelligence officers, according to heavily censored witness transcripts filed with the Military Police Complaints Commission.

CSIS acknowledged in 2006 that its members gathered intelligence in Afghanistan, but the spy service's precise role has remained in the shadows until now.

Intelligence expert Wesley Wark says the revelations are disturbing, partly because CSIS would have had no specialized knowledge of how to elicit information from Afghan prisoners at the time.

"I find that stunning," said Wark, a University of Toronto historian who believes when it came to skill in interrogating prisoners of war, CSIS "lacked it in spades" in 2006.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Sophie Harkat
Source: Justice for mohamed Harkat Email List
URL: [link]
Date: March 6, 2010


Dear Friends and Supporters,

PLEASE TELL OTHERS AND FORWARD FAR AND WIDE

It's that time again ! We are back in court this Monday (March 8th, 2010) at 10am at the Supreme Court of Canada building (on Wellington St.)
in the East courtroom.

We start at 10am on Monday, other days at 9:45am, usually break from 11:15am-11:30am, lunch from 12:30-2pm, afternoon break from 3:15-3:30pm and resume at 4:30pm.

We are on all week from March 8th-12th. Come in for an hour or more !
You are free to come in and out as you wish.

This week you'll hear from our BEST experts ! On the stand this week,
Dr. Brian Williams, he is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts teaching Islamic History. In Hassan Almrei's case, Ministers accepted him as an expert on the roles and relationships of the warlords, foreign jihadist, Chechens and terrorists who were operating in the region, as well as the best expert on Algeria, Prof. Joffé and others.

Closing arguments will take place from March 29th-April 1st (same location and time)

We need volunteers to leaflet on March 19th...if you can spare some time between 12:30-2pm please let me know at -email-


IMPORTANT


PUBLIC RALLY-ABOLISH SECURITY CERTIFICATES IN CANADA
(No Secret Trials in Canada)
Saturday, MARCH 27th at 1pm,

HUMAN RIGHTS MONUMENT
(corner of Lisgar and Elgin)

Great speakers lined up !

PLEASE tell others ! Spread the word.


Now that the weather is so nice....no excuses, don't miss it ! ;-P

LAST and important public rally before the closing arguments and before a crucial decision on the reasonableness of Moe's Security Certificate

*7.5 years of waiting and continued injustice
*3.5 years of detention without charge or access to the evidence
*3.5+ years under the toughest bail conditions in Canadian history...life still on hold with inhumane conditions !

Find out more at [link]
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at HarkatUpdates

Support our work . Please write us a cheque or money order. Donations are needed. Please make it payable to "The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee"
and mail it to:

The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee
14 Perkins Street
Ottawa, ON
K1R 7G5

Hope to see you then. Don't forget to tell others and forward far and wide.
Moe and our legal team could really use the support.
Say No to Secret Trials in Canada and join us on March 27th at 1pm, Human Rights Monument !

May Justice Prevail in 2010 !
Thank you for your continued support, solidarity, generosity, kindness and most amazing friendships !
Sophie Harkat

Source: CBC News
URL:
Date: February 23, 2010

CSIS had role in man's mistreatment: report

Agents of Canada's spy agency, who travelled to Egypt and corresponded with Egyptian officials, indirectly led to the mistreatment of a Toronto man by authorities there, according to previously classified information released on Tuesday.

The documents revealed that Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers had visited Egypt regarding the case of Ahmad El Maati, one of three Arab-Canadian men who were abused in Syrian prison cells. El Maati was tortured by Egyptian captors as well.

Former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci headed an inquiry into whether the detentions of El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin resulted from the actions of CSIS, the RCMP and the department of Foreign Affairs.

In the documents released Tuesday, Iacobucci wrote that CSIS's correspondence with Egyptian authorities, preparation of questions and travel to Egypt for the purpose of obtaining information about El Maati, "likely contributed indirectly" to his mistreatment in Egypt.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Christian Legeais, spokesperson for Comité Justice pour Mohamed Harkat
Source: Comité Justice pour Mohamed Harkat
URL: N/A
Date: 15 février, 2010


À vous tous qui ont assité aux audiences, nous vous remercions de
votre solidarité et surtout de ce que vous avez tranmis dans votre
entourage sur l'iniquité du certificat de sécurité.

Ces audiences sont la partie publique d'un procès secret.

Le contexte est toujours et encore le certificat de sécurité qui
repose sur la violation des droits, sur la propabilité, l'impunité
des services secrets au nom de la sécurité nationale, les
allégations au lieu de faits.

Comme vous le savez, le certificat de sécurité est injuste aux
yeux de tous et inconstitutionel, y compris pour la cour suprême
du Canada. Votre appui est crucial.

Nous vous invitons tous à:

- être présent le 8 mars à la cour fédérale pour manifester votre
appui et solidarité avec Mohamed Harkat, votre opposition au
certificat de sécurité et aux procés secrets au Canada

- informer vos amis, familles, comunautés, députés, réseaux,
médias, institutions sur l'injustice du certificat de sécurité et
de ses conséquences pour Mohamed Harkat, Mahmoud Jaballah,
Mohammad Majhoub: la déportation vers la torture, la disparition
ou la mort.

- tenir des réunions ou rencontres d'information pour rencontrer
le Comité justice pour Mohamed Harkat et vous informer.

-faire un don. info. au www.justiceforharkat.com

Merci,
Christian Legeais,
porte parole Comité Justice pour Mohamed Harkat

by Jim Bronskill
Source: The Canadian Press / Google News
URL: [link]
Date: February 21, 2010


Hassan Almrei. Photo by Steve Russell.

TORONTO — More than nine weeks after Hassan Almrei was freed by a judge who excoriated Canada's spy agency for continuing to pursue him, he has yet to hear anything - let alone the apology he craves - from federal security officials.

Speaking publicly for the first time since an electronic tracking bracelet was sliced off his ankle, Almrei said he wants the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to tell the world he's not a terrorist.

"I'd be very happy if they acknowledged they made mistakes in my case, and they said, 'We were wrong,"' Almrei told The Canadian Press in an interview.

"It's a dream of mine to have them come and say, 'Yes, we were wrong, we were wrong."'

In mid-December, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley struck down a national security certificate against the Syrian-born man arrested eight years earlier on terror suspicions.

The ruling ended Almrei's ordeal and delivered the latest blow to an already wobbly security-certificate law.

[ Read the rest ... ]

By Andy Worthington
Source: Andy Worthington Blog
URL: [link]
Date: February 19, 2010


Since last June, when, in the wake of a significant ruling in the European Court of Human Rights, the Law Lords ruled that imposing control orders breaches Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair trial, the system established in haste and paranoia in early 2005 has been crumbling.

In the last eight months, several former detainees have had their control orders quietly dropped, and other orders have been quashed or revoked by judges. Nevertheless, twelve of the orders, which, on the basis of secret evidence, consign detainees to a life of virtual house arrest, with severe restrictions on their liberty, remain in force.

Those held on control orders -- including British citizens, who, in some cases, have been subjected to a form of “internal exile,” forcibly removed from their homes and made to live in other parts of the country -- have, understandably, learned to be wary of suggestions that the system is on its last legs, and with good reason.

On February 1, Lord Carlile, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, concluded his fifth annual review of control orders (PDF), which failed to endorse calls for the much-criticized system to be replaced by a combination of established surveillance techniques, or trials incorporating intercept evidence.

Instead, Lord Carlile maintained that there was “no better means of dealing with the serious and continuing risk posed by some individuals” than control orders, and claimed that “abandoning the control orders system entirely would have a damaging effect on national security.”

“I have considered whether control orders can or should be replaced by something else, or even renamed,” he continued, adding, “I have been unable to find, or devise, a suitable alternative for the important residue of cases that cannot be dealt with by prosecution.”

[ Read the rest ... ]