Copyright © CBC 2011
CBC: Harkat deportation process underway
posted on January 23, 2011 | in Category Misc | PermaLink
Source: CBC News
URL: [link]
Date: January 21, 2011
The Canadian government has begun the process of formally deporting an Ottawa man declared a threat to Canadian security, but his lawyers don't expect him to be leaving the country any time soon.
Mohamed Harkat's lawyer, Matthew Webber, said on Friday he had received a notice of intention to seek Public Safety Minister Vic Toews's opinion about whether to deport Harkat under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Under Section 115 of the act, the minister can decide not to allow an individual to remain in Canada with refugee status if the minister believes the individual constitutes a danger to the public or to the security of the country.
The notice starts a process rolling, but is not a formal deportation order.
"While they may be serving the paperwork, we fully expect and are confident the Canadian government respects due process," said lawyer Matthew Webber.
"[Harkat's] not going anywhere or being deported until we finish appealing the matter."
Co-counsel Norm Boxall said he hopes the government will stay the deportation order so Harkat's legal appeal can continue.
Harkat was arrested eight years ago under a security certificate on suspicion of being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent. In December, a federal court ruled he was a security threat who maintained ties to Osama bin Laden's terror network.
Harkat, 42, denies any involvement in terrorism.
With files from The Canadian Press
Harkat braces for deportation papers
posted on January 21, 2011 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by The Canadian Press
Source: Global News
URL: [link]
Date: January 21, 2011
[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat, a former pizza delivery man who is alleged to be an al-Qaeda operative, leaves a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Oct. 24, 2007. Lawyers for Mohamed Harkat say their client will appeal a court decision that concluded he remains a security threat.]
OTTAWA - An Ottawa man declared a threat to Canadian security expects to be served with formal deportation papers Friday, but his lawyers don't expect him to be leaving the country any time soon.
Mohamed Harkat's legal team says the former gas station attendant and pizza delivery man will continue his marathon legal fight against the controversial national security certificate system being used to deport him to his native Algeria.
"While they may be serving the paperwork, we fully expect and are confident the Canadian government respects due process," lawyer Matthew Webber told The Canadian Press.
"He's not going anywhere or being deported until we finish appealing the matter."
Co-counsel Norm Boxall said he hopes the government will stay the deportation order so Harkat's legal appeal can continue.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: Global News
URL: [link]
Date: January 21, 2011
[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat, a former pizza delivery man who is alleged to be an al-Qaeda operative, leaves a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Oct. 24, 2007. Lawyers for Mohamed Harkat say their client will appeal a court decision that concluded he remains a security threat.]
OTTAWA - An Ottawa man declared a threat to Canadian security expects to be served with formal deportation papers Friday, but his lawyers don't expect him to be leaving the country any time soon.
Mohamed Harkat's legal team says the former gas station attendant and pizza delivery man will continue his marathon legal fight against the controversial national security certificate system being used to deport him to his native Algeria.
"While they may be serving the paperwork, we fully expect and are confident the Canadian government respects due process," lawyer Matthew Webber told The Canadian Press.
"He's not going anywhere or being deported until we finish appealing the matter."
Co-counsel Norm Boxall said he hopes the government will stay the deportation order so Harkat's legal appeal can continue.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Terrorist tag exit order for Harkat
posted on January 21, 2011 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Jamie Long, QMI Agency
Source: The Toronto Sun
URL: [link]
Date: January 21, 2011
OTTAWA - Accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat will be handed his deportation papers Friday by Canada Border Services after fighting more than eight years to stay in Canada.
The automatic deportation order is a result of federal court judge Simon Noel's decision that Harkat, 42, was operating a safehouse for Islamic extremists in Pakistan and having associations with a known jihadist and a top al-Qaida operative.
His lawyers have launched an appeal, however, and continue to build their case.
They argue the court based its decision on information from secret advocates [sic], which isn't available to the public, amongst other concerns.
Some of the secret information was released by the court Jan. 14, but most of the important information was blacked out, according to Harkat's lawyer Matthew Webber.
Harkat, a former Ottawa gas attendant and pizza delivery man, first entered Canada with an illegal Saudi passport.
But the Algerian refugee has professed it was the only way he could enter the country safely.
Harkat and his lawyers have reiterated a deportation to his native Algeria could mean torture, or perhaps death.
Harkat's security certificate is the first to be upheld since the government revised the law two years ago after certificates against Adil Charkaoui and Hassan Almrei were quashed.
Copyright © 2011 Toronto Sun All Rights Reserved.
NUPGE signs statement against security certificates
posted on January 21, 2011 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by News Release
Source: National Union of Public and General Employees Website
URL: [link]
Date: January 20, 2011
Undemocratic process violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a long list of international conventions.
Ottawa (21 Jan. 2011) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has signed a national statement demanding that the Harper government abolish security certificates and secret trials in Canada.
NUPGE president James Clancy signed the declaration on behalf of the union's 340,000 members across Canada, adding the union's voice to a growing list of individuals and organizations speaking out on the issue. The list includes MPs, authors and activists.
"We, the undersigned, have grave concerns regarding the continued use of sections 9, 76-87 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which allow for the imprisonment in Canada of refugees and permanent residents under the authority of a Security Certificate," the petition says.
It argues that the "new version" of the measure makes only cosmetic changes and the law continues to maintain a veil of secrecy over any information that may be used against the detained.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: National Union of Public and General Employees Website
URL: [link]
Date: January 20, 2011
Undemocratic process violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a long list of international conventions.
Ottawa (21 Jan. 2011) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has signed a national statement demanding that the Harper government abolish security certificates and secret trials in Canada.
NUPGE president James Clancy signed the declaration on behalf of the union's 340,000 members across Canada, adding the union's voice to a growing list of individuals and organizations speaking out on the issue. The list includes MPs, authors and activists.
"We, the undersigned, have grave concerns regarding the continued use of sections 9, 76-87 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which allow for the imprisonment in Canada of refugees and permanent residents under the authority of a Security Certificate," the petition says.
It argues that the "new version" of the measure makes only cosmetic changes and the law continues to maintain a veil of secrecy over any information that may be used against the detained.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Une pétition pour abolir les certificats de sécurité
posted on January 21, 2011 | in Category Security Certificates | PermaLink
Source: Radio-Canada
URL: [link]
Date: 18 janvier 2011
Le comité Justice pour Mohamed Harkat lance une pétition en ligne pour réclamer l'abolition des certificats de sécurité au Canada.
La cour fédérale a confirmé en décembre la validité du certificat de sécurité dont il fait l'objet, en raison de ses liens avec des terroristes et des extrémistes islamistes reconnus, dont le réseau Al-Qaïda.
Les avocats du citoyen d'Ottawa ont décidé de contester le jugement du juge Simon Noël et évoquent maintenant la possibilité de porter l'affaire en Cour suprême.
La femme de Mohamed Harkat, Sophie, ajoute de son côté que le comité tente de mobiliser la population contre les certificats de sécurité. « On trouve que la loi est anticonstitutionnelle et qu'elle doit être abolie complètement. On trouve que des procédures secrètes n'ont pas leur place dans la démocratie au Canada », dit-elle.
Amnistie internationale, Maher Arar, Monia Mazigh et Alexandre Trudeau sont au nombre des 1000 personnes et organismes qui ont signé la pétition jusqu'à présent.
TOUS DROITS RÉSERVÉS © CBC/RADIO-CANADA 2010
URL: [link]
Date: 18 janvier 2011
Le comité Justice pour Mohamed Harkat lance une pétition en ligne pour réclamer l'abolition des certificats de sécurité au Canada.
La cour fédérale a confirmé en décembre la validité du certificat de sécurité dont il fait l'objet, en raison de ses liens avec des terroristes et des extrémistes islamistes reconnus, dont le réseau Al-Qaïda.
Les avocats du citoyen d'Ottawa ont décidé de contester le jugement du juge Simon Noël et évoquent maintenant la possibilité de porter l'affaire en Cour suprême.
La femme de Mohamed Harkat, Sophie, ajoute de son côté que le comité tente de mobiliser la population contre les certificats de sécurité. « On trouve que la loi est anticonstitutionnelle et qu'elle doit être abolie complètement. On trouve que des procédures secrètes n'ont pas leur place dans la démocratie au Canada », dit-elle.
Amnistie internationale, Maher Arar, Monia Mazigh et Alexandre Trudeau sont au nombre des 1000 personnes et organismes qui ont signé la pétition jusqu'à présent.
TOUS DROITS RÉSERVÉS © CBC/RADIO-CANADA 2010
Ottawa man challenges security-certificate system
posted on January 19, 2011 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by The Canadian Press
Source: CTV News Toronto
URL: [link]
Date: January 14, 2011
OTTAWA — Canada's controversial national security-certificate system faces a new constitutional challenge from Mohamed Harkat -- one month after a court declared the Ottawa man a danger to the country.
Lawyers for Harkat, who is accused of links to terrorists, want the Federal Court of Appeal to determine whether the security certificate being used to deport him is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It is one of several questions they're asking Judge Simon Noel, who heard the original case, to approve for examination.
Harkat, a former gas attendant and pizza delivery man, was arrested more than eight years ago under a security certificate on suspicion of being an al Qaeda sleeper agent. He denies any involvement in terrorism.
Harkat, 42, says he's merely a refugee who fled strife-torn Algeria and worked with an aid agency in Pakistan before coming to Canada. He argues he will be tortured if returned to his homeland.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: CTV News Toronto
URL: [link]
Date: January 14, 2011
OTTAWA — Canada's controversial national security-certificate system faces a new constitutional challenge from Mohamed Harkat -- one month after a court declared the Ottawa man a danger to the country.
Lawyers for Harkat, who is accused of links to terrorists, want the Federal Court of Appeal to determine whether the security certificate being used to deport him is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It is one of several questions they're asking Judge Simon Noel, who heard the original case, to approve for examination.
Harkat, a former gas attendant and pizza delivery man, was arrested more than eight years ago under a security certificate on suspicion of being an al Qaeda sleeper agent. He denies any involvement in terrorism.
Harkat, 42, says he's merely a refugee who fled strife-torn Algeria and worked with an aid agency in Pakistan before coming to Canada. He argues he will be tortured if returned to his homeland.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Some Harkat secrets released but many still hidden: Lawyer
posted on January 18, 2011 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by James Long
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: January 14, 2011
Top secret materials in the terrorism case of Mohamed Harkat were released Friday by the federal court but Harkat’s lawyer said key details remain hidden.
The Algerian-born Harkat, 42, is a former Ottawa pizza delivery man who was deemed a threat to national security last month by judge Simon Noel.
He could be deported depending on the strength his lawyers’ appeal to the ruling.
The documents do show that Noel struggled with the secret witnesses’ credibility.
But he ultimately decided testimonies related to the reasonableness of the security certificate was reliable since it was corroborated.
The legal team of Matthew Webber and Norm Boxall both pleaded with the court for the release of those testimonies from the at least two “human sources” during the long, drawn out case but it never happened.
Harkat’s legal team has launched an appeal of the decision, where they cite a series of problems, including how the court dealt with CSIS informants.
The amount of information kept from the public is shocking, said Webber, but at least it will help Harkat’s team in the appeal process.
“There is little here that we don’t already know. Weapons, Afghanistan...it is all just blackout,” he said.
“This weekend we will spend time discussing if this enhances questions for appeal.”
jamie.long AT sunmedia.ca
Copyright © 2011 Ottawa Sun All Rights Reserved.
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: January 14, 2011
Top secret materials in the terrorism case of Mohamed Harkat were released Friday by the federal court but Harkat’s lawyer said key details remain hidden.
The Algerian-born Harkat, 42, is a former Ottawa pizza delivery man who was deemed a threat to national security last month by judge Simon Noel.
He could be deported depending on the strength his lawyers’ appeal to the ruling.
The documents do show that Noel struggled with the secret witnesses’ credibility.
But he ultimately decided testimonies related to the reasonableness of the security certificate was reliable since it was corroborated.
The legal team of Matthew Webber and Norm Boxall both pleaded with the court for the release of those testimonies from the at least two “human sources” during the long, drawn out case but it never happened.
Harkat’s legal team has launched an appeal of the decision, where they cite a series of problems, including how the court dealt with CSIS informants.
The amount of information kept from the public is shocking, said Webber, but at least it will help Harkat’s team in the appeal process.
“There is little here that we don’t already know. Weapons, Afghanistan...it is all just blackout,” he said.
“This weekend we will spend time discussing if this enhances questions for appeal.”
jamie.long AT sunmedia.ca
Copyright © 2011 Ottawa Sun All Rights Reserved.
Judge wrestled with credibility of CSIS informants against Harkat, documents show
posted on January 16, 2011 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Vancouver Sun
URL: [link]
Date: January 14, 2011
OTTAWA — Previously secret documents released in the Mohamed Harkat terrorism case reveal that the judge wrestled in closed court with how to gauge the credibility of spy agency informants.
Harkat, 42, has been declared a security threat and faces deportation to his native Algeria, where he says he will be tortured or killed.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) relied on at least two "human sources" in building its case against Harkat, a former Ottawa pizza delivery man.
One of the sources failed a lie-detector test in 2002, a fact that was not disclosed in court until May 2009.
Judge Simon Noel ultimately decided that the source's information could only be relied upon if corroborated.
Another CSIS source was deemed sincere and reliable after Noel reviewed his file.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: The Vancouver Sun
URL: [link]
Date: January 14, 2011
OTTAWA — Previously secret documents released in the Mohamed Harkat terrorism case reveal that the judge wrestled in closed court with how to gauge the credibility of spy agency informants.
Harkat, 42, has been declared a security threat and faces deportation to his native Algeria, where he says he will be tortured or killed.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) relied on at least two "human sources" in building its case against Harkat, a former Ottawa pizza delivery man.
One of the sources failed a lie-detector test in 2002, a fact that was not disclosed in court until May 2009.
Judge Simon Noel ultimately decided that the source's information could only be relied upon if corroborated.
Another CSIS source was deemed sincere and reliable after Noel reviewed his file.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Harkat Once Again Challenging Certificates
posted on January 14, 2011 | in Category Security Certificates | PermaLink
by Jason McIntyre
Source: CFRA News
URL: [link]
Date: January 13, 2011
Mohamed Harkat wants the Federal Court of Appeal to review the country's security certificate system.
Investigators used the controversial item in December 2002 to detain the Ottawa resident.
Harkat was suspected of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.
Judge Simon Noel ruled last month that the former pizza delivery man maintained ties to the global terror organization.
He also decided that the certificates were constitutionally valid.
Harkat's lawyers suggest the documents - which can be employed as part of deportation procedures - might not be consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
They argue, among other things, that special advocates fail to ensure the process is constitutional.
The watchdog officials were added following a 2007 Supreme Court declaration.
Harkat denies any terrorism claims.
The 42-year-old has previously stated that a forced return to Algeria will lead to torture.
The federal government will reply to all legal statements before Judge Noel announces whether he'll submit any questions to the appellate court.
© 2010 CTVglobemedia All Rights Reserved.
Source: CFRA News
URL: [link]
Date: January 13, 2011
Mohamed Harkat wants the Federal Court of Appeal to review the country's security certificate system.
Investigators used the controversial item in December 2002 to detain the Ottawa resident.
Harkat was suspected of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.
Judge Simon Noel ruled last month that the former pizza delivery man maintained ties to the global terror organization.
He also decided that the certificates were constitutionally valid.
Harkat's lawyers suggest the documents - which can be employed as part of deportation procedures - might not be consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
They argue, among other things, that special advocates fail to ensure the process is constitutional.
The watchdog officials were added following a 2007 Supreme Court declaration.
Harkat denies any terrorism claims.
The 42-year-old has previously stated that a forced return to Algeria will lead to torture.
The federal government will reply to all legal statements before Judge Noel announces whether he'll submit any questions to the appellate court.
© 2010 CTVglobemedia All Rights Reserved.
Harkat's lawyer says judges need to talk
posted on January 12, 2011 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: January 11, 2011
OTTAWA —_Lawyers for Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat say an Appeal Court must settle a dispute among judges about the legacy of Chechen rebel leader Ibn Khattab.
In appeal documents filed in the Federal Court of Canada, Harkat's lawyers call Judge Simon Noel's conclusions about Khattab "unreasonable and unsafe," given the mixed expert opinion about the Saudi-born jihadist.
Harkat, 42, has been declared a security threat and now faces deportation to his native Algeria, where he says he will be tortured or killed.
Federal lawyers have announced they will not seek stricter release terms for Harkat while the security certificate case moves forward.
Harkat must now wear a GPS ankle bracelet whenever he leaves his Ottawa home.
In upholding the security certificate against Harkat last month, Noel declared Khattab a terrorist who shared ideology, training and money with al-Qaida.
The judge linked Harkat to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network through his association with Khattab.
One year earlier, however, another federal judge, Richard Mosley, dismissed the terrorism case against Toronto's Hassan Almrei, ruling that Khattab "could not reasonably be said to be part of al-Qaida."
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: January 11, 2011
OTTAWA —_Lawyers for Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat say an Appeal Court must settle a dispute among judges about the legacy of Chechen rebel leader Ibn Khattab.
In appeal documents filed in the Federal Court of Canada, Harkat's lawyers call Judge Simon Noel's conclusions about Khattab "unreasonable and unsafe," given the mixed expert opinion about the Saudi-born jihadist.
Harkat, 42, has been declared a security threat and now faces deportation to his native Algeria, where he says he will be tortured or killed.
Federal lawyers have announced they will not seek stricter release terms for Harkat while the security certificate case moves forward.
Harkat must now wear a GPS ankle bracelet whenever he leaves his Ottawa home.
In upholding the security certificate against Harkat last month, Noel declared Khattab a terrorist who shared ideology, training and money with al-Qaida.
The judge linked Harkat to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network through his association with Khattab.
One year earlier, however, another federal judge, Richard Mosley, dismissed the terrorism case against Toronto's Hassan Almrei, ruling that Khattab "could not reasonably be said to be part of al-Qaida."
[ Read the rest ... ]
