Original author: Michelle Shephard
Source: The Toronto Star online
URL: [link] (subscribers only)
Date: October 28, 2004
CSIS notes contradicted by his testimony Ottawa resident
is facing deportation
OTTAWA - An Algerian refugee claimant admits he lied to Canadian security officials but denies any connections to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.
Mohamed Harkat, who is facing deportation, yesterday told a federal court about his life in Algeria where he fled political persecution in 1990, his work in Pakistan for a relief organization, and finally his arrival in Canada in 1995.
The 36-year-old Ottawa resident was arrested Dec. 10, 2002, after two federal ministers signed a national security certificate based on information gathered by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that alleges he is connected to prominent terrorist figures and is a threat to Canada's security.
Lawyer Matthew Webber began and ended his questioning by asking Harkat if he had ever aided Islamic extremists, travelled to Afghanistan, knew bin Laden or associated with Abu Zabaydah, who is believed to be a high-ranking Al Qaeda agent now in U.S. custody.
Harkat responded, "No, sir" to each question.
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Harkat admits he lied but denies Al Qaeda link
posted on October 28, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLinkInformant likely tortured, Harkat defence tells hearing
posted on October 28, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Michelle Shephard
Source: The Toronto Star online
URL: N/A
Date: Ocober. 27, 2004
Harkat lawyer questions interrogation methods
Senior Al Qaeda figure described him
OTTAWA-The interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects in American custody are under scrutiny in the case of an Algerian refugee the Canadian government is attempting to deport, alleging he's a member of Al Qaeda. Lawyers for Mohamed Harkat argued at a federal court hearing yesterday that statements given by a high-profile prisoner concerning the 36-year-old Ottawa resident may have been gleaned under torture and should not be considered credible.
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OTTAWA-The interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects in American custody are under scrutiny in the case of an Algerian refugee the Canadian government is attempting to deport, alleging he's a member of Al Qaeda. Lawyers for Mohamed Harkat argued at a federal court hearing yesterday that statements given by a high-profile prisoner concerning the 36-year-old Ottawa resident may have been gleaned under torture and should not be considered credible.
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Torture of al-Qaida boss taints Harkat ID: Lawyer
posted on October 27, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Andrew Seymour
Source: The Ottawa Sun online
URL: [link]
Date: October 27, 2004
No weight should be given to the identification of an Ottawa man by a top al-Qaida lieutenant since the evidence was likely gained through torture, lawyers for Mohamed Harkat argued yesterday. On the second day of Harkat's security certificate hearing, lawyers Paul Copeland and Matthew Webber argued it was likely Abu Zubaydah was tortured prior to identifying Harkat as the proprietor of a Pakistani guest house for mujahadeen traveling to Chechnya in the mid-1990s.
"Based on everything we've seen, various media reports, the human rights report, our view is that we will be able to establish on a balance of probabilities for the judge that Abu Zubaydah was mistreated and tortured," Copeland said outside of court, adding Zubaydah's information is dubious at best.
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Source: The Ottawa Sun online
URL: [link]
Date: October 27, 2004
No weight should be given to the identification of an Ottawa man by a top al-Qaida lieutenant since the evidence was likely gained through torture, lawyers for Mohamed Harkat argued yesterday. On the second day of Harkat's security certificate hearing, lawyers Paul Copeland and Matthew Webber argued it was likely Abu Zubaydah was tortured prior to identifying Harkat as the proprietor of a Pakistani guest house for mujahadeen traveling to Chechnya in the mid-1990s.
"Based on everything we've seen, various media reports, the human rights report, our view is that we will be able to establish on a balance of probabilities for the judge that Abu Zubaydah was mistreated and tortured," Copeland said outside of court, adding Zubaydah's information is dubious at best.
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Harkat denies he ever helped Islamic extremists
posted on October 27, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Jim Bronskill
Source: The Ottawa Citizen, CP
URL: [link]
Date: October 27, 2004
OTTAWA -- An Ottawa man accused of terrorist links denied Wednesday that he ever assisted Islamic extremists.
Mohamed Harkat told the Federal Court of Canada he has never had dealings with members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaida network.
"No, sir," the soft-spoken Harkat replied to his lawyer when asked about the allegations.
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Source: The Ottawa Citizen, CP
URL: [link]
Date: October 27, 2004
OTTAWA -- An Ottawa man accused of terrorist links denied Wednesday that he ever assisted Islamic extremists.
Mohamed Harkat told the Federal Court of Canada he has never had dealings with members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaida network.
"No, sir," the soft-spoken Harkat replied to his lawyer when asked about the allegations.
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Harkat's lawyers blast CSIS credibility
posted on October 27, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Michelle Shephard
Source: The Toronto Star online
URL: [link] (subscribers only)
Date: Oct. 26, 2004
Lawyer seeks uncensored intelligence report
But terror suspect can't question witnesses
OTTAWA - With no witnesses to cross-examine or theories to deconstruct, the lawyers representing an accused terrorist are attempting to discredit the way Canada handles security investigations. On the first day of a federal court hearing probing the government's decision to deport 36-year-old Algerian refugee Mohamed Harkat on allegations that he is an Al Qaeda sleeper agent, lawyer Paul Copeland argued that evidence compiled by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service could not be trusted.
[ Read the rest ... ]
OTTAWA - With no witnesses to cross-examine or theories to deconstruct, the lawyers representing an accused terrorist are attempting to discredit the way Canada handles security investigations. On the first day of a federal court hearing probing the government's decision to deport 36-year-old Algerian refugee Mohamed Harkat on allegations that he is an Al Qaeda sleeper agent, lawyer Paul Copeland argued that evidence compiled by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service could not be trusted.
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Accused's lawyers slam CSIS
posted on October 27, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Andrew Seymour
Source: The Ottawa Sun online
URL: [link]
Date: October 26, 2004
Spies ill-informed, judge told
LAWYERS FOR an Ottawa man with alleged terror ties questioned the competence and credibility of Canada's national security intelligence agency yesterday. On the first day of Mohamed Harkat's security certificate hearing, lawyer Paul Copeland argued in front of Federal Judge Eleanor Dawson that members of CSIS are sometimes ill-informed and don't understand the communities they are collecting intelligence on. "I think the competence of CSIS and the ability to do their job and to prepare reports that are actually fair is significantly limited," Copeland told reporters outside court. "I can give you chapter and verse of cases I've been involved in where people who have testified haven't known what they are talking about," he said. Copeland presented three government Security Intelligence Review Committee reports that were critical of the agency, including one pertaining to the case involving Maher Arar.
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LAWYERS FOR an Ottawa man with alleged terror ties questioned the competence and credibility of Canada's national security intelligence agency yesterday. On the first day of Mohamed Harkat's security certificate hearing, lawyer Paul Copeland argued in front of Federal Judge Eleanor Dawson that members of CSIS are sometimes ill-informed and don't understand the communities they are collecting intelligence on. "I think the competence of CSIS and the ability to do their job and to prepare reports that are actually fair is significantly limited," Copeland told reporters outside court. "I can give you chapter and verse of cases I've been involved in where people who have testified haven't known what they are talking about," he said. Copeland presented three government Security Intelligence Review Committee reports that were critical of the agency, including one pertaining to the case involving Maher Arar.
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Terror suspect's lawyer says CSIS work 'sometimes shoddy'
posted on October 27, 2004 | in Category CSIS | PermaLink
Original author: Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: N/A
Date: October 26, 2004
'Significant incompetence' has flawed security agency's record in past
The lawyer for accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat attacked the competence and judgment of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service on the first day of what he called the "Kafkaesque" trial of his client.
"The quality of their work is sometimes unbelievably shoddy," Paul Copeland charged yesterday outside a Federal Court hearing. "From my viewing of CSIS over the 20 years it has existed, it shows, at times, some significant incompetence."
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Appeal court to decide if Harkat a security risk
posted on October 26, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Michelle Shephard
Source: The Toronto Star online
URL: [link] (subscribers only)
Date: October 25, 2004
Algerian will testify for the first time
Wife an opponent of secretive process
The change in Sophie Harkat is noticeable as soon as she begins an interview or stands before a microphone and dozens of protestors. Poised and articulate, she's a confident version of the woman who was thrust shakily before television cameras when reporters arrived at her apartment doorstep almost two years earlier. That was Dec. 10, 2002, the day her husband Mohamed was accused of being an Al Qaeda member and arrested on a national security certificate, a little-used provision of the immigration act used to deport a non-Canadian citizen who is considered a threat to the country's security. Since then, Sophie has become a fierce opponent of the largely secretive process and her husband's most vocal advocate, marching in protests, circulating petitions and generating an e-mail program that has overwhelmed government employee inboxes.
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The change in Sophie Harkat is noticeable as soon as she begins an interview or stands before a microphone and dozens of protestors. Poised and articulate, she's a confident version of the woman who was thrust shakily before television cameras when reporters arrived at her apartment doorstep almost two years earlier. That was Dec. 10, 2002, the day her husband Mohamed was accused of being an Al Qaeda member and arrested on a national security certificate, a little-used provision of the immigration act used to deport a non-Canadian citizen who is considered a threat to the country's security. Since then, Sophie has become a fierce opponent of the largely secretive process and her husband's most vocal advocate, marching in protests, circulating petitions and generating an e-mail program that has overwhelmed government employee inboxes.
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Harkat gears up for court
posted on October 25, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Megan Gillis
Source: The Ottawa Sun online
URL: [link]
Date: October 25, 2004
Evidence mystery to legal team
NEARLY TWO years after his arrest, accused al-Qaida sleeper agent Mohamed Harkat is finally getting his day in court. However one of his lawyers, Matt Webber, says Harkat and his legal team are going into the hearing blind since much of the so-called evidence against him hasn't been disclosed for "national security" reasons. "He's upset at having to go into this proceeding blind -- those were his words," Webber said yesterday.
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NEARLY TWO years after his arrest, accused al-Qaida sleeper agent Mohamed Harkat is finally getting his day in court. However one of his lawyers, Matt Webber, says Harkat and his legal team are going into the hearing blind since much of the so-called evidence against him hasn't been disclosed for "national security" reasons. "He's upset at having to go into this proceeding blind -- those were his words," Webber said yesterday.
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Information on Harkat not 'credible'
posted on October 24, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen online
URL: [link]
Date: October 23, 2004
Al-Qaeda suspect was tortured to build case, lawyer to argue
The lawyer for Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat will attempt to establish in Federal Court that an al-Qaeda lieutenant was tortured into giving evidence against his client, who is accused of being part of the terrorist network. Abu Zubaydah, an al-Qaeda operational planner in U.S. custody since March 2002, has been a key source of information for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in building a case against Mr. Harkat. Mr. Harkat, 35, faces deportation to his native Algeria if a Federal Court judge accepts that the security service's case against him is "reasonable." His lawyer, Paul Copeland, wants CSIS to acknowledge that the information they received from Mr. Zubaydah came as the result of his being denied medical treatment for gunshot wounds. Mr. Zubaydah was handed over to U.S. officials after being arrested in a violent raid on a guest house in Faisalabad, Pakistan during which he was shot in the groin and thigh. Both the Washington Post and New York Times have reported that Central Intelligence Agency interrogators selectively denied him painkillers as a means of gaining his co-operation.
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The lawyer for Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat will attempt to establish in Federal Court that an al-Qaeda lieutenant was tortured into giving evidence against his client, who is accused of being part of the terrorist network. Abu Zubaydah, an al-Qaeda operational planner in U.S. custody since March 2002, has been a key source of information for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in building a case against Mr. Harkat. Mr. Harkat, 35, faces deportation to his native Algeria if a Federal Court judge accepts that the security service's case against him is "reasonable." His lawyer, Paul Copeland, wants CSIS to acknowledge that the information they received from Mr. Zubaydah came as the result of his being denied medical treatment for gunshot wounds. Mr. Zubaydah was handed over to U.S. officials after being arrested in a violent raid on a guest house in Faisalabad, Pakistan during which he was shot in the groin and thigh. Both the Washington Post and New York Times have reported that Central Intelligence Agency interrogators selectively denied him painkillers as a means of gaining his co-operation.
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