Source: Canadian Press URL: [link] Date: Febraury 28, 2009
OTTAWA — A federal judge has ordered Canada's spy agency to hand over a report into a former officer's personal relationship with someone who figured in the investigation of an accused terrorist.
The mysterious relationship, which led to a holiday liaison between the Canadian Security Intelligence Service officer and a "person of interest" to CSIS, could ultimately affect the fate of Mohamed Harkat, an Ottawa man being held on a national security certificate.
CSIS says Harkat, a former pizza delivery man arrested in 2002, is a sleeper agent with ties to al-Qaida. He faces deportation to his native Algeria.
The CSIS officer, a woman known only as T.S., worked for the spy agency from the late 1980s until being dismissed in mid-January 2002, says the court ruling, which was handed down in late November by Federal Court Justice Simon Noel but released Friday.
The person of interest to the spy service started telephoning T.S. at work after she began having "domestic difficulties" in February 1998, the ruling says.
"As the relationship between T.S. and A.B. progressed, gifts and photos were exchanged. The officer began communicating with A.B. from both home and work."
In December 1998, CSIS told T.S. in writing to cease all contact with A.B. but she ignored the instructions, adds the ruling - portions of which are censored for security reasons.
by Unsigned Editorial
Source: The Globe and Mail
URL: [link]
Date: February 23, 2009
The way out of the quandary
Canada should follow Britain's example and seek to deport foreign terror suspects, even to states that use torture, but only after officials at the highest levels - the foreign minister or prime minister - extract assurances of humane treatment from their counterparts in the other countries. It is the only way out of the quandary in which democracies find themselves with foreign suspects, and Britain's highest court endorsed it unanimously last week.
King Abdullah of Jordan gave his assurance to former prime minister Tony Blair in the case of Abu Qatada, an incendiary preacher, and the British Law Lords said that assurance passed legal muster. Mr. Qatada is appealing the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights. (The Law Lords' ruling also permits the deportation of two other terror suspects to Algeria.)
This ruling has a strong message for Canada and other democracies. European law contains an absolute prohibition against deporting to torture. No exceptions are permitted. Canadian law is not as absolute. If it makes sense and is legally possible in Britain, it should make a good escape hatch from the box in which Canada finds itself.
by Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: February 13, 2009
The two lawyers who represent accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat in secret hearings want a third "junior" special advocate appointed to the case. Special advocates Paul Copeland and Paul Cavalluzzo must review a large volume of classified material produced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) during its investigation of Mr. Harkat, an Algerian-born refugee accused of being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent. The work load, the lawyers told Federal Court Judge Simon Noël yesterday, requires the assistance of another special advocate. Judge Noël reserved his decision on the matter.
In September, Judge Noël ruled the federal government had to disclose "drafts, diagrams, recordings and photographs" collected by CSIS during its investigation of Mr. Harkat -- evidence never disclosed to the defence. CSIS said the material involved "thousands" of records.
by Matthew Behrens of The Campaign To Stop Secret Trials In Canada
Source: Homes Not Bombs Blog
URL: [link]
Date: February 11, 2009
(This article is also available on a web page at [link] )
Secret Trial House Arrest Used as Massive Data Mining Project
Secret Canadian Border Services Agency Manual on Security Certificate Detainees Reveals Operational Details Far Exceeding Court-Ordered Conditions
TORONTO, FEBRUARY 11, 2009 – In a stunning confirmation of what secret trials opponents have long suspected, a redacted version of a secret Canadian government manual reveals that the draconian conditions of house arrest imposed on those subject to security certificates are being used as a cover for intelligence gathering purposes on the detainees, their families, their supervisors, their friends, and their communities.
There are currently four men under the most severe house arrest conditions in Canadian history, placed there because of the two-tier justice security certificate procedure declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in February 2007. Before their release from prison, they had to agree to court-imposed restrictions that included wearing GPS monitoring bracelets 24/7, agreeing to phone taps and opening of mail, surveillance cameras both outside and, in one case, inside their homes, and unannounced searches and seizures by government agencies.
In addition, trips outside the house could occur only with government permission, no visitors are allowed without prior government approval, and there is no internet or cell phone access. These and a host of other measures are applied against individuals who have never been allowed to see the case against them, who face the lowest standards of any court in Canada, and who are fighting deportation to torture.
by Sophie Harkat
Source: Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee
Date: February 11, 2009
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Yet again, our Special Advocates, Paul Copeland and Paul Cavalluzo are launching another last minute challenge under the ''new'' Security Certificate process. This time, the advocates will be requesting the addition of another junior advocate or security cleared lawyer to help with the work load so they can meet important deadlines for Moe's upcoming trial. This is already the 4th Federal Court challenge since the introduction of the new law.
Please come to court for an 1 or 2 hours on Thursday, Feb. 12th, starting at 9:00am at the Supreme Court of Canada building on Wellington Street. Your support is crucial.
Mohamed Harkat was arrested on Dec. 10, 2002 under a Security Certificate and spend 43 months in jail without charge or access to the evidence. He is now living with his wife Sophie under house arrest, the toughest bail conditions in Canadian history since June of 2006.
Hope to see you then. Thanks for your continued support.
Sophie Harkat
Source: The Canadian Press URL: [link] Date: February 5, 2009
OTTAWA — Convicted terrorist Momin Khawaja has already served enough time behind bars, his lawyer told the judge pondering the Ottawa man's sentence.
Lawrence Greenspon argued Thursday that Khawaja should receive no more than 7 1/2 years for the seven offences he was convicted of last October in a groundbreaking terrorism case.
Khawaja, arrested in March 2004, has spent almost five years in jail while his trial and sentencing play out. As the courts usually credit offenders with double such time served, Khawaja should be set free, Greenspon said.
He urged Justice Douglas Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court not to "pander to the collective, frightened will" by handing down an unduly harsh sentence.
The Crown is scheduled to make arguments next Thursday.
Here is Justice Noel's decision in the Harkat case on the issue of who the special advocates may speak to and what they may talk about:
Summary: The Court grants permission to Mr. Cavaluzzo and Mr. Copeland, in their capacity as special advocates in DES-5-08, to communicate with other special advocates (who have obtained the same judicial authorization from their respective designated judge)
appointed in other security certificate proceedings to discuss common issues related to questions of jurisdiction, procedure, and substantive law and orders rendered or orders to be sought. They are not authorized to refer directly or indirectly to any information or evidence which has been provided to them or to which they have been privy in their capacity as special advocates. These communications are only authorized at meetings organized by the support resources group for special advocates. The SAP shall determine the place and time for the meetings [...] A member of SAP with appropriate security clearance shall be present at all meetings to give administrative support to the special advocates.
Harkat-DES-5-08-Jan22-2009.pdf
Les proches d'Harkat craignent de plus en plus sa déportation
par François Pierre Dufault Source: Le Droit URL: [link] Date: 15 décembre 2008
Les proches et les supporteurs de Mohamed Harkat se disent de plus en plus inquiets que le gouvernement canadien signe prochainement son mandat d'expulsion.
Quelques heures avant que le résidant d'Ottawa ne comparaisse aujourd'hui devant la Cour fédérale, pour demander une révision de ses conditions de détention, un juge tiendra une audience à huis clos où d'autres éléments de preuve pourraient être déposés contre lui.
En 2002, Mohamed Harkat a été identifié par le Service canadien du renseignement spécialisé (SCRS) comme un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda.
Le Canadien d'origine algérienne est depuis visé par un certificat de sécurité. Il doit notamment demeurer en résidence surveillée avec son épouse Sophie, porter un émetteur GPS en tout temps et s'assurer que tous ses interlocuteurs sont connus de l'Agence des services frontaliers du Canada.
by Janice Tibbetts
Source: The montreal Gazette, Canwest News Service
URL: [link]
Date: January 26, 2009
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan would not answer questions about the future of the holding centre
[PHOTO: With the pending release with conditions of Syrian national Hassan Almrei, who is being held on a controversial 'security certificate' at the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, the six-bunk prison near Kingston, Ont., will be effectively mothballed.]
OTTAWA — The Canadian government is considering whether to keep open a high-security facility for foreign terror suspects — dubbed Guantanamo North by its critics — now that the centre is about to release its last detainee.
With the pending exit of Hassan Almrei, who is being held on a controversial "security certificate" permitting the government to detain non-Canadians without charge, the six-bunk prison near Kingston, Ont., will be effectively mothballed.
"The Canada Border Services Agency is currently exploring options for the future of the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre," media spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc wrote in an e-mail to Canwest News Service.
LeBlanc added the agency is taking into account that all four detainees who have done time in the facility since its April 2006 opening could still be re-arrested and returned.
Critics say it's a good time for the government to stop spending $2 million a year to operate a facility that has become a dormant symbol of Canada's war on terror.
Click on the photo of Mohamed to see all items related to him. JUNE 2017: Mohamed Harkat once again faces deportation to his native Algeria after the Supreme Court of Canada declared the federal government’s security certificate regime constitutional.
This fight is not over. The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee will re-double its efforts to see that justice is done for Mohamed Harkat and that the odious security certificate system of injustice is abolished once and for all.
