You can download and read Justice Noël's March 6th decision HERE.

-- New photos of Mohamed now online.

by Cristin Schmitz Source: The Lawyers Weekly URL: [link] Date: March 13, 2009 Privilege can be pierced for ‘flagrant denial’ of fairness

[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat, who has been detained under an immigration security certificate, stands with his “public counsel”, Mathew Webber. Harkat’s special advocates were denied access to the employment records of a former CSIS intelligence officer who investigated Harkat.] A novel Federal Court ruling restricts the ability of special advocates, during security certificate reviews, to test the veracity of confidential information supplied by covert informants of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). On Feb. 27, the Federal Court publicly released two “expurgated” rulings on disclosure made secretly by Justice Simon Noel last November and December in the case of Mohamed Harkat of Ottawa, who has been detained under an immigration security certificate since 2002 without knowing the full evidentiary basis for the government’s allegation that he is an al-Qaeda sleeper agent. Harkat’s “public counsel,” Ottawa criminal lawyers Mathew Webber of Webber Schroeder and Norm Boxall of Bayne Sellar Boxall, told The Lawyers Weekly they are “very disappointed” by the Federal Court’s restrictive view of the special advocates’ (SAs) cross-examination role under the new security certificate regime enacted last year by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). The scope of disclosure to SAs is substantially narrower than he had expected, Webber explained. “While I consider the system imperfect, I had always taken some comfort in my hope or belief that my very qualified SAs were getting access, and now it appears clear that they are quite clearly not.”

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Source: The Canadian Press
URL: [link]
Date: March 11, 2009


OTTAWA — Canada's spy agency has released new details of its case against accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat, including fresh claims that he had contact with notorious al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Zubaydah.

But defence lawyers say the new material, filed in Federal Court by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, only underscores their frustration with a legal process that remains largely veiled in secrecy.

"They have not yet provided anywhere near full disclosure," lawyer Matt Webber said Tuesday.

"So much of this is secret that you're always making submissions in a vacuum."

CSIS has long contended that Algerian-born Harkat had dealings with Zubaydah, a one-time aide to Osama bin-Laden who was captured by U.S. forces and is now detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Any information obtained from Zubaydah is suspect as court evidence, however, because it's been widely reported that he was tortured by his American captors.

CSIS has insisted for years it had independent corroboration of a link between Harkat and Zubaydah, but until now had never made any details public.

In its latest court filing, the security service summarizes a conversation in March 1997 in which Harkat allegedly told an unidentified "associate" in Ottawa that he "knew Abu Zubaydah personally."

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by Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: March 10, 2009 EXCLUSIVE: Harkat knew al-Qaeda lieutenant, files say

[PHOTO: Secret hearings into the case of Mohamed Harkat began in 2008. The Ottawa man, who was arrested in 2002, has always denied he has any connection to terrorism.] OTTAWA — Terror suspect Mohamed Harkat admitted in a March 1997 conversation that he knew al-Qaeda lieutenant Abu Zubaydah personally and did not fear being contacted by him at home, according to new court documents. A summary of that conversation — between Harkat and an unidentified Ottawa man — has been filed with the Federal Court. Prepared by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the summary is one of 13 added to the public record in the security certificate case. It’s not clear whether the summaries are based on wiretaps, obtained under authority of the CSIS Act, or on informants’ accounts of conversations. Harkat in previous testimony has denied any association with Zubaydah, who remains a prisoner in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The federal government contends Harkat is an al-Qaeda sleeper agent, who poses a threat to national security. The government’s case against him has been conducted largely in secret. The new summaries offer never-before-seen detail of the evidentiary basis for the allegations against the Algerian-born Harkat, who claimed refugee status in Canada in October 1995. Eleven of the summaries are from conversations in which Harkat was a participant, while two others are between third parties. The March 1997 conversation between Harkat and an Ottawa acquaintance concerned Abu Messab Al Shehre, a Saudi who had been arrested upon his arrival in Canada four months earlier.

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par La Presse Canadienne Source: Le Devoir URL: [link] Date: 06 mars 2009 Un juge de la Cour fédérale du Canada a assoupli les conditions de libération d'un homme soupçonné d'être un collaborateur d'Al-Qaeda, Mohamed Harkat.

Résidant à Ottawa, M. Harkat était détenu à domicile sous de strictes conditions. En vertu de la décision rendue vendredi, il peut désormais être seul à la maison durant la journée.Le juge de la Cour fédérale Simon Noel a affirmé que M. Harkat aura désormais droit à davantage de sorties ainsi qu'à une période quotidienne consacré à l'exercice. Mohamed Harkat, un réfugié algérien arrêté en décembre 2002 en vertu d'un certificat de sécurité, fait face à la déportation. Le Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité affirme que Harkat est un extrémiste islamiste membre du réseau terroriste d'Osama ben Laden. L'ancien livreur de pizza et préposé dans une station-service nie tout lien avec le terrorisme. Copyright © 2000-2009 Cyberpresse Inc., une filiale de Gesca. Tous droits réservés.

by Michelle Shephard
Source: The Toronto Star
URL: [link]
Date: March 7, 2009


[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat, left, with his lawyer Matt Webber, shows reporters in Ottawa March 6, 2009 an electronic tracking device he must wear on his ankle. FRED CHARTRAND/THE CANADIAN PRESS]

Theresa Sullivan had been a dedicated and respected agent for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, working her way up from the age of 23 to become a field officer with top security clearance and a $65,000 salary.

For more than a decade, the Ottawa spy rarely took a sick day and her employment record was unblemished. Then, in December 1996, she met a man the service classified as a "POI," a person of operational interest, and a few years later Sullivan's life began to unravel.

The details of this descent – a broken marriage, a relationship with a man identified only as A.B. and her firing from CSIS – is contained in a 2003 report by the Public Service Labour Relations Board.

While it seemed this sad story had been put to rest six years ago, Sullivan's firing was raised again last week in the high-profile case of terrorism suspect Mohamed Harkat.

The Ottawa man's supporters and lawyers now say the revelation raises questions about the veracity of the government's evidence in his case. And it poses vexing questions of how to bring terrorism suspects to justice when dealing with sensitive or classified evidence.

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by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: March 6, 2009

OTTAWA — Ottawa terror suspect Mohamed Harkat will be allowed to stay home alone during the daytime as part of a new, softened bail package approved by a Federal Court judge.

In a decision released Friday, Judge Simon Noel said the danger posed by Harkat has been lessened by the 10 years during which he's been subject to surveillance by security agencies in Canada.

"It is difficult to imagine," Noel wrote, "what interest an organization falling under the umbrella of the BLN (Bin Laden Network) would have in somebody who has been the subject of ongoing control by Canadian authorities for more than 10 years.

"This court also wonders, for example, who would approach such an individual with such a high media profile?"

Harkat came to Canada from Pakistan in the fall of 1995, and soon fell under surveillance by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

He was arrested in December, 2002 on the strength of a security certificate, which accused him of being a sleeper agent for al-Qaida.

The government wants to deport Harkat to his native Algeria.

Harkat, who denies any connection with terrorism, remained in detention until June, 2006, when he was released on strict bail conditions that forced him to remain inside his house with a surety at all times. The conditions also require him to wear a GPS device that allows authorities to monitor his whereabouts in real time.

Noel said Harkat's wife, Sophie, has proven that she has a "genuine devotion" to her husband and is committed to monitoring his bail. But the terms of that bail, he said, mean that she has had little life outside her house for the past three years.

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By Jim Bronskill, CP
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: March 6, 2009


OTTAWA — A federal judge has loosened the shackles — at least somewhat — on Mohamed Harkat, saying the passage of time has made the suspected al-Qaida collaborator less of a security threat.

The Ottawa man, long detained under strict bail conditions amounting to house arrest, can now be home alone during the day and early evening.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service contends Harkat, a refugee from Algeria, is an Islamic extremist and member of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network.

He was arrested in December 2002 and faces deportation under a national security certificate.

In a ruling Friday, Federal Court Justice Simon Noel said Harkat and wife Sophie must give the Canada Border Services Agency officials who keep watch over him 36-hour notice of any occasion on which Harkat will be home alone.

Sophie Harkat must also telephone the border services agency when she leaves and upon her return to the residence. While unsupervised, Mohamed Harkat must phone the border agency every hour on the hour.

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by Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: February 29, 2009 Advocates' cross-examination request turned down

[PHOTO: A Federal Court judge Friday denied a request by special advocates for Mohamed Harkat to interview covert CSIS sources. Photograph by: Rod MacIvor, The Ottawa Citizen, The Ottawa Citizen Lawyers for Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat will not be allowed to interview the covert intelligence sources who have tied the Algerian refugee to al-Qaeda's terror network. In a decision released Friday, Federal Court Judge Simon Noël said special advocates who act for Harkat in secret hearings cannot question human intelligence sources in the case -- even though they would be testifying in camera. "...at this time, the special advocates have not established that the production of a human source(s) as a witness in these proceedings is necessary to avoid a flagrant denial of procedural fairness," the judge ruled. In a telephone interview, Harkat said the ruling will seriously frustrate his ability to establish his innocence. I want to cry today," he told the Citizen. "Any door that opens to me to clear my name, we find blocked. "I thought special advocates had a high level of security clearance so they could see every bit of evidence against me. But no."

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