by "Justice for Mohamed Harkat" Source: iPolitics URL: [link] Date: February 29, 2016 [PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat wipes away tears during a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 10, 2012, that marked the 10th anniversary of his arrest and detention on a security certificate.] It’s been a very busy few weeks for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet on the immigration and foreign policy front. They’ve made some bold moves. But their work is not yet finished. Last week, Immigration Minister John McCallum introduced a bill to reverse the previous government’s controversial two-tier citizenship law, which allowed the government to revoke the citizenship of Canadians convicted of terrorism and other offences. McCallum called it “a question of principle.” On February 15, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion asserted the government’s intention to ask for clemency in death penalty cases abroad. Canada, he said, “must end this incoherent double standard. Canada opposes the death penalty and will ask for clemency in each and every case, no exceptions.” On February 18, the government confirmed it was dropping the previous government’s appeal of the decision to grant bail to Omar Khadr. That same day, Immigration Minister John McCallum and Health Minister Jane Philpott announced the reinstatement of health care coverage for refugees. And back in December, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale promised that he would review controversial directives enacted by the Harper government that allow for the sharing of security information with allies even in cases where that might lead to a suspect’s torture. Those directives were opposed by many human rights groups and described as contrary to international law and Canada’s United Nations commitments. Bold moves, but not enough of them. Let’s get back to Mr. Dion’s comment about double standards for a moment. How can we reconcile Mr. Dion’s reasoning on the death penalty with the clear double standard involved in Ottawa’s continued attempts to deport Ottawa-based convention refugee and security certificate detainee Mohamed Harkat back to Algeria — where he faces a very real risk of torture and death?



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by Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: March 4, 2016 The federal government has taken another step toward the deportation of Ottawa’s Mohamed Harkat, filing a confidential report that says the terror suspect should be sent back to Algeria despite facing some risk of torture. The report was prepared by Anne-Marie Charbonneau, manager of the danger assessments section of the Canada Border Services Agency. It recommends to the senior government official who must ultimately decide Harkat’s fate — someone known as the minister’s delegate — that he be deported to Algeria because of his terror-related activities and the danger he poses. If Harkat is not removed, the report warns, he would be free to “resume his contacts with members of the Islamic extremist network.” “Mr. Harkat’s presence constitutes a real threat to the security of Canada and Canadians, as well as the security of other nations and their citizens,” concludes the risk assessment report, portions of which have been viewed by the Citizen. The Harkat case was thrust back into the news this week after the Citizen revealed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s brother, Alexandre, wrote a letter to the Liberal government, asking that deportation proceedings be halted. Harkat has repeatedly expressed his belief that being deported to Algeria would result in his torture or death. Charbonneau concedes that the human rights situation in Algeria remains a concern and that deportees who have been linked to terrorism face increased risks of harm. While noting it’s impossible to say that Harkat faces no risk of torture or other cruel treatment, she concludes that he’s unlikely to face such harm upon deportation. Charbonneau says his risk has been lowered by his high-profile and by the diplomatic assurances received from the Algerian government, which pledged to respect international prohibitions against torture. The report also suggests Harkat’s wife — if she decides to stay in Canada without her husband — will not be financially disadvantaged since he has contributed little to their household income. In an interview, Sophie Harkat said she was outraged by the hypocrisy of that suggestion when her husband has been effectively barred from employment by the government’s unfair labelling of him. “You don’t know how much Mo wants to go back to work: He’s desperate to work, desperate,” said Harkat, noting her husband maintained three jobs — two at gas stations and one at Pizza Pizza — before his arrest. “He’s applied for I don’t know how many jobs and he never gets called back.” A 2013 medical report found that Harkat suffers from post-traumatic stress and depression. Harkat’s defence team will now have the opportunity to make its own submissions to the minister’s delegate, who will have to weigh Harkat’s risk of being tortured in Algeria against the risk he poses to Canadians if he remains in this country. A decision on deportation is expected later this year. That decision, however, can be appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, and there’s every reason to believe that the case could end up in the Supreme Court for a third time. The high court has yet to define the “exceptional circumstances” under which Canada can deport someone to a country where they face the risk of torture. Earlier this week, Alexandre Trudeau appealed to the Liberal government to end the deportation proceedings, saying that Harkat “poses no danger whatsoever to the public or to public safety in Canada.” He is among dozens of high-profile Canadians who have sent letters to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on behalf of the Justice for the Mohamed Harkat Committee, a lobby group trying to bring public pressure to bear to end the government’s 14-year campaign to deport him. Harkat supporters have been encouraged by recent Liberal initiatives, including proposed changes to a law that allowed the government to strip citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism, and Foreign Minster Stéphane Dion’s vow to seek clemency for all Canadians involved in death penalty cases abroad. The Liberal government of then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien first ordered Harkat’s arrest in December 2002 on a security certificate, which allows federal officials to present evidence in secret. Sophie Harkat said she doesn’t have the strength for another Supreme Court challenge and just wants the marathon case to end: “We don’t ask for an apology; we don’t ask for money. We just want it to end.” © 2016 Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.

by Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: March 1, 2016 [PHOTO: Justin and Alexandre Trudeau in 2010. Ottawa Citizen files] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s brother has written to a federal cabinet minister on behalf of Ottawa’s Mohamed Harkat, asking the Liberal government to continue its “sunny ways” by allowing the Algerian-born terror suspect to stay in Canada. Alexandre Trudeau, a Montreal-based filmmaker, said he has a policy of not lobbying the Liberal government in any way, but decided to make an exception in the Harkat case because his involvement in the cause predated his older brother’s entry into politics. In his letter, dated Feb. 27, Trudeau appealed to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to halt the unfair security certificate process and end the government’s attempt to deport Harkat. “I urge you to use your unique position as minister, and the discretion afforded to you under the law, to exempt Mohamed Harkat from deportation and let him stay and live a productive life in Canada,” Alexandre Trudeau wrote, adding: “Make this decision of yours another shining example of your government’s commitment to sunny ways.” The letter marks the first time that Trudeau, 42, has entered the political arena since his brother became prime minister in October. Harkat, 47, is now fighting deportation, and has enlisted the support of dozens of high-profile Canadians in that effort. Green Party leader Elizabeth May, former UN ambassador Stephen Lewis, torture victim Maher Arar, and Omar Khadr lawyer Dennis Edney are among those who have petitioned the government to end its ongoing attempt to deport Harkat. Alexandre Trudeau has been involved in the Harkat case for more than a decade. In 2005, he offered to act as a surety for Harkat during a bail application. Trudeau also wrote and directed a 2006 documentary, Secure Freedom, that examined the human rights abuses that took place in the name of Canadian national security after 9/11. The second son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau has kept a low profile since his brother took office, but he has never been afraid to take unpopular stands. A globetrotting journalist and documentary filmmaker, Alexandre Trudeau has criticized Canada’s intervention in Afghanistan and Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza; he also heaped praise on Cuba’s Fidel Castro as “something of a superman” in a 2006 essay. Trudeau shares a birthday (Dec. 25) with his brother, Justin, and served as a senior adviser on his 2012-13 campaign for the Liberal Party leadership. In his letter to Goodale, Trudeau said security certificates remain a “fundamentally unfair measure” since they preclude the ability of suspects like Harkat to challenge the evidence against them. “I am absolutely convinced that at this moment, he (Harkat) poses no danger whatsoever to the public or to public safety in Canada,” Alexandre Trudeau wrote, “but rather offers a positive commitment to the life he has created here. “Just as importantly, Canadian and international law prohibit complicity in torture, and there is good reason to believe that Mohamed’s deportation to Algeria could lead to his torture.” The law that governs security certificates, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, gives the minister the power to stop a deportation as long as it’s “not contrary to the national interest.” In May 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the government’s revised security certificate regime and affirmed a decision that found Harkat to be an active member of the al-Qaida terrorist network. The case against Harkat was built on 13 wiretapped phone conversations and at least two unnamed informants, one of whom failed a lie-detector test. The case remained dormant for 15 months until, halfway through last year’s federal election campaign, the government launched deportation proceedings. Harkat insists he will be tortured or killed if returned as a terror suspect to Algeria, the country from which he fled in March 1990 during a military crackdown on government opponents. Amnesty International Canada has warned that returning Harkat to Algeria would put him at risk of torture since many terror suspects are held in “incommunicado detention” where they’re routinely denied access to family, lawyers and doctors. In its annual report on conditions in Algeria, Amnesty International condemned the North African country for refusing visits by UN human rights officials investigating torture, enforced disappearances and counter-terrorism measures. © 2016 Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.

by Kamailoudini Tagba Source: North Africa Post URL: [link] Date: February 25, 2016 Amnesty International lashed out at Algerian authorities in its human rights annual report presented Wednesday because of their persistent refusal to let UN experts investigate human right abuses and because they granted immunity to the authors of the grave crimes and tortures cased during the internal bloody war of 1990s. “The authorities persisted in their refusal to allow visits to Algeria by some UN human rights bodies and experts, including those with mandates on torture, counter-terrorism, enforced disappearances and freedom of association,” the report says. Algerian authorities have maintained state control on human rights and have attacked any one daring to speak against regime. The report takes in account many aspects of human rights namely freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of association, the state of human rights activism, the justice system, women’s rights, impunity and the death penalty. On all those aspects, the Algerian regime is severely slammed for doing nothing to improve its records. The annual report indicates that over the year 2015, the State brutally handled gatherings and protests by activists and people claiming their rights. The report for instance explained that members of the National Committee for the Defense of the Rights of the Unemployed (CNDDC) were handed prison terms of between one and two years. The report also highlights government attempts to restrict freedom of association and determination to muzzle organizations and associations that fail to fall in line with government code of conduct. “Associations seeking legal registration under Law 12-06, including Amnesty International Algeria, were left in limbo by the authorities, who failed to respond to registration applications.” the report says. Commenting on the report, Amnesty International Algeria local Director Hassina Oussedik charged Algerian authorities for closing eyes on heinous and grave crimes committed during Algeria’s darkest history period of 1990s. For her the national reconciliation immunity granted in the new constitution to authors of grave crimes rolls back victims’ right for justice and reparation. “The authorities continued to fail to investigate thousands of enforced disappearances and other serious human rights violations and abuses, bring perpetrators to justice, and provide effective remedies to victims’ families,” the report adds. © 2016 The North Africa Post

by Zoe Chong Source: The Carleton chapter of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) URL: [link] Date: February 26, 2016 “Terrorism.” The word threw Sophie Harkat back into her chair, like a bomb emitting a shockwave through the earpiece of the phone. The impact forced out a scream of disbelief, and her concerned colleagues ran to her. It was a Tuesday afternoon and Sophie was at her shared office in the membership fundraising department at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. She’d just received a call from her husband’s immigration lawyer: He had been arrested. For suspected terrorism. It was three weeks shy of their second wedding anniversary on Dec. 10, 2002, International Human Rights Day, when Mohamed Harkat was arrested under a security certificate—a controversial tool in Canadian immigration law, implemented in 1978, that allows the government to indefinitely detain non-citizens suspected of terrorism. A three-walled prison the government calls it—because the option to go back to your home country is always open, even if that means facing torture and even death. These individuals aren’t charged with a crime and don’t have access to any of the evidence against them. Since 1991, 27 men have been issued a security certificate. Currently, there are three men who have outstanding security certificates. Mohamed Harkat, 47, an Algerian-native who has lived in Canada since 1995 and goes by Moe—a name well suited for the community handyman—has been living in Ottawa under this security certificate for over 13 years. Sophie has been fighting for his life ever since. Moe was granted refugee status in 1997 after successfully claiming government persecution based on his political affiliations if he returned to Algeria, where his family still lives and he’ll likely never be able to see again. CSIS alleged that Moe was an al-Qaeda sleeper agent who attended a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan and ran a guesthouse for terrorists in Pakistan, among other circumstantial evidence the government says is too dangerous to reveal.



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Source: CBC News Montreal and The Canadian Press URL: [link] Date: February 26, 2016 [PHOTO: Dany Villanueva was facing deportation over an armed robbery charge.] Dany Villanueva, the brother of a man killed by police in 2008, will be allowed to stay in Canada because of the risks he would face in his native Honduras. Villanueva was facing deportation after pleading guilty to a 2006 armed robbery. This week, he received a letter from a representative of federal immigration minister John McCallum, confirming that his request for a pre-removal risk assessment was accepted, his lawyer Stéphane Handfield said. Federal authorities decided that the risk he faces in Honduras is greater than the danger he poses to Canadian society, Handfield noted. Villanueva is the brother of Fredy Villanueva, who was gunned down by a police officer at a Montreal North park in August 2008. He was charged again with armed robbery in 2008, just weeks prior to Fredy's death, but was acquitted in 2011. Villanueva's lawyer sees this decision as evidence of a "new attitude" in the immigration department since the election of the new Liberal government. "It's like night and day," Handfield said. ©2016 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved.

par La Presse Canadienne Source: La Presse URL: [link] Date: 26 février 2016 Le ministère fédéral de l'Immigration permet à Dany Villanueva de rester au Canada en raison des risques auxquels le jeune homme s'exposerait en rentrant dans son Honduras natal.

Celui qui était menacé d'expulsion en raison de ses antécédents judiciaires a reçu cette semaine une lettre d'un délégué du ministre John McCallum, lui confirmant que sa demande d'Évaluation des risques avant renvoi (ÉRAR) a été acceptée, selon son avocat, Stéphane Handfield. Dany Villanueva est le frère de Fredy Villanueva, qui était tombé sous les balles d'un policier alors qu'il se trouvait dans un parc de Montréal-Nord en août 2008, un drame qui avait fait grand bruit à l'époque. Il était sous le coup d'un ordre d'expulsion du Canada après avoir été condamné pour vol qualifié. Les autorités fédérales ont toutefois déterminé que le risque auquel il s'exposait en rentrant dans son pays d'origine était plus important que le niveau de dangerosité qu'il constituait pour la société canadienne, a expliqué en entrevue téléphonique Me Handfield. L'avocat voit en cette décision la matérialisation d'une « nouvelle attitude » au ministère fédéral de l'Immigration depuis l'élection du nouveau gouvernement libéral. « C'est le jour et la nuit », a-t-il résumé. Tous droits réservés © Société Radio-Canada 2016

by Rose W Source: CKUT News Collective URL: [link] Date: February 5, 2016 CKUT’s Rose W recently talked to Sophie Harkat, whose husband Mohamed Harkat was arrested 13 years ago under a secret trial Security Certificate. Listen:

by ICLMG Source: YouTube.com URL: [link] Date: January 25, 2016 Here is a video the ICLMG has made to call for stronger and more integrated review of Canada's national security agencies and specifically for the implementation of Justice O'Connor's recommendations. Please share widely via email, on social media and link to your website:

by Jim Bronskill (CP) Source: National Newswatch URL: [link] Date: January 19. 2016 OTTAWA — The Trudeau Liberals will review controversial directives enacted by the Harper government that allow for the sharing of information even when it might lead to torture, says the public safety minister. The "troubling set of issues" raised by the foreign information-sharing policy "will be raised in the course of our consultations" on the overall national security direction of the new government, Ralph Goodale said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. The news follows pressure from human-rights and privacy advocates to conduct a wide-ranging examination of security policies introduced by the Conservatives, whisked from office in the October election. The federal policy on foreign information-sharing has been roundly criticized for effectively condoning the torture of people in overseas prisons, contrary to international law and Canada's United Nations commitments. A four-page 2010 framework document, released under the Access to Information Act, says when there is a "substantial risk" that sending information to, or soliciting information from, a foreign agency would result in torture — and it is unclear whether the risk can be managed through assurances or other means — the matter should be referred to the responsible deputy minister or agency head. In deciding what to do, the agency head will consider factors including the threat to Canada's national security and the nature and imminence of the threat; the status of Canada's relationship with — and the human rights record of — the foreign agency; and the rationale for believing that sharing the information would lead to torture. Critics say when there is a serious risk of torture, there should be no sharing — period. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, National Defence and the Communications Security Establishment, Canada's electronic spy agency, are bound by the federal policy on sharing information with foreign agencies. "That's a very troubling set of issues," Goodale said, adding the government intends to develop a response "that reflects what Canadians want." "We'll be listening very carefully for the messages from Canadians on that subject." Goodale said the Liberal government is open to a general rethinking of national security legislation, not just a few changes the party has promised to the omnibus bill known as C-51. The government plans to give Canadians their say before deciding what changes to make. Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press © 2016 National Newswatch Inc.