Ottawa terror suspect Mohamed Harkat has won the right to move from his current home, now poisoned by a failed romance between his landlord and mother-in-law.
At the end of a day of mostly private negotiations between lawyers, Federal Court Justice Simon Noël announced yesterday a deal had been reached to facilitate a long-sought-after move to a new condominium townhouse for Mr. Harkat and his wife, Sophie.
"Nothing comes easy in life and this is just another example," Judge Noël said after hours of negotiations.
The judge announced that the Harkats would move next Tuesday from their basement apartment to a nearby townhouse.
To satisfy national security concerns raised by federal authorities, he said, the Canada Border Services Agency will be allowed to install cameras inside the Harkats' new home. The cameras will be pointed toward the front and back doors.
Sophie Harkat called it a "bittersweet victory" since she did not want cameras installed at their new home.
"I'm happy we're moving, but we've been through enough. I think we've given too much already," she said.
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Harkat gets OK to move to new home
posted on October 10, 2008 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: October 9, 2008
Wife calls agreement a 'bittersweet victory'
Bail conditions to ease for accused terrorist Harkat
posted on October 09, 2008 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Source: The Canadian Press
URL: [link]
Date: October 9, 2008
OTTAWA — Lawyers for accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat say they've worked out an agreement in principle with federal authorities to ease Harkat's bail conditions.
Under the new arrangement, Harkat will finally be able to move out of the basement apartment in his mother-in-law's house where he's been staying, lawyer Norm Boxall said Wednesday.
Justice Simon Noel of Federal Court is expected to issue a formal order to that effect by the end of the week.
Boxall cautioned, however, that the new rules will be temporary in nature and could be revisited at a court hearing next month.
Harkat, a former Ottawa pizza delivery man, is accused by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service of being an al-Qaida agent who must be removed from Canada as a security risk. He denies any link to terrorist activities.
He was arrested in December 2002 and has been fighting deportation ever since.
[ Read the rest ... ]
URL: [link]
Date: October 9, 2008
OTTAWA — Lawyers for accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat say they've worked out an agreement in principle with federal authorities to ease Harkat's bail conditions.
Under the new arrangement, Harkat will finally be able to move out of the basement apartment in his mother-in-law's house where he's been staying, lawyer Norm Boxall said Wednesday.
Justice Simon Noel of Federal Court is expected to issue a formal order to that effect by the end of the week.
Boxall cautioned, however, that the new rules will be temporary in nature and could be revisited at a court hearing next month.
Harkat, a former Ottawa pizza delivery man, is accused by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service of being an al-Qaida agent who must be removed from Canada as a security risk. He denies any link to terrorist activities.
He was arrested in December 2002 and has been fighting deportation ever since.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Ottawa terror suspect's defence to see more secret evidence
posted on October 08, 2008 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Andrew Duffy , Canwest News Service
Source: Canada.com National News
URL: [link]
Date: October 07, 2008
OTTAWA - Ottawa terror suspect Mohamed Harkat learned Tuesday that he will see more of the previously secret evidence that national security agents have collected against him.
Federal Court Justice Simon Noel revealed that Crown prosecutors are preparing a new series of disclosures to be made to Harkat and his defence team. That evidence is also expected to be made public.
Harkat welcomed the development in his security certificate case, which began with his arrest in December, 2002.
"At least this time, I will know the questions I have to answer," he said outside court.
Harkat's lawyer, Norm Boxall, said the disclosure suggests the new security certificate process is working. "Is it moving in the right direction now that there's more disclosure coming? Yes, it is," he said.
During his initial hearing, which concluded in March, 2005 with a finding that he was a national security threat, Harkat knew little of the case against him. No government witnesses were called in public, which meant that Harkat's lawyers were unable to cross-examine any of the witnesses who had supplied evidence against their client.
That secretive process was struck down as unfair last year by the Supreme Court of Canada. The high court said the process was fundamentally unjust because it denied accused terrorists the right to meet the case against them.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: Canada.com National News
URL: [link]
Date: October 07, 2008
OTTAWA - Ottawa terror suspect Mohamed Harkat learned Tuesday that he will see more of the previously secret evidence that national security agents have collected against him.
Federal Court Justice Simon Noel revealed that Crown prosecutors are preparing a new series of disclosures to be made to Harkat and his defence team. That evidence is also expected to be made public.
Harkat welcomed the development in his security certificate case, which began with his arrest in December, 2002.
"At least this time, I will know the questions I have to answer," he said outside court.
Harkat's lawyer, Norm Boxall, said the disclosure suggests the new security certificate process is working. "Is it moving in the right direction now that there's more disclosure coming? Yes, it is," he said.
During his initial hearing, which concluded in March, 2005 with a finding that he was a national security threat, Harkat knew little of the case against him. No government witnesses were called in public, which meant that Harkat's lawyers were unable to cross-examine any of the witnesses who had supplied evidence against their client.
That secretive process was struck down as unfair last year by the Supreme Court of Canada. The high court said the process was fundamentally unjust because it denied accused terrorists the right to meet the case against them.
[ Read the rest ... ]
"War on Terror" has undermined human rights globally: UN conference
posted on October 06, 2008 | in Category War on Terror | PermaLink
by Julio Godoy
Source: Inter Press Service News Agency
URL: [link]
Date: September 08, 2008
RIGHTS: Fighting the 'War on Terror'
by Julio Godoy The "war on terror" in the aftermath of the attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 has undermined human rights globally, according to activists and experts who attended a UN conference in Paris. "Immediately after Sep. 11 we saw a dramatic change in government policies with regard to terrorism, suspected terrorism, and the monitoring of citizens, with the underlying assumption that human rights norms as established in conventions and treaties no longer apply," Joanne Mariner, director of the terrorism and counter-terrorism programme at Human Rights Watch said at the conference in Paris last week. The trend has worsened over the last seven years, Mariner said.
[ Read the rest ... ]
by Julio Godoy The "war on terror" in the aftermath of the attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 has undermined human rights globally, according to activists and experts who attended a UN conference in Paris. "Immediately after Sep. 11 we saw a dramatic change in government policies with regard to terrorism, suspected terrorism, and the monitoring of citizens, with the underlying assumption that human rights norms as established in conventions and treaties no longer apply," Joanne Mariner, director of the terrorism and counter-terrorism programme at Human Rights Watch said at the conference in Paris last week. The trend has worsened over the last seven years, Mariner said.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Contradictory Verdicts in Australia’s Largest Terrorism Trial
posted on October 04, 2008 | in Category International | PermaLink
By Mike Head
Source: The World Socialist Website
URL: [link]
Date: September 27, 2008
Australia’s largest and most protracted terrorist trial ended with distinctly mixed results last week in Melbourne. After a Victorian Supreme Court trial that ran for 115 days, the nine women and three men on the jury took nearly four weeks to reach their verdicts. While they found seven of the twelve defendants guilty of terrorist-related offences, they acquitted four others of all charges and were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on another, who now faces a lengthy re-trial.
Those acquitted walked free after nearly three years in maximum security prison cells; the lawyers for those convicted have indicated that they will almost certainly appeal. No sentencing has yet occurred, but if the convictions were upheld, they could be jailed for between 10 and 50 years.
The trial became a major test case for the so-called “war on terror” and the draconian anti-terrorist legislation introduced by the former Howard government from 2002, with the Labor Party’s support. Most of the 12 Muslim men on trial were arrested in highly-publicised police raids in November 2005, just days after then prime minister John Howard declared there was an imminent terrorist threat and recalled the Senate for an emergency session to push through far-reaching amendments to the anti-terrorism laws.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: The World Socialist Website
URL: [link]
Date: September 27, 2008
Australia’s largest and most protracted terrorist trial ended with distinctly mixed results last week in Melbourne. After a Victorian Supreme Court trial that ran for 115 days, the nine women and three men on the jury took nearly four weeks to reach their verdicts. While they found seven of the twelve defendants guilty of terrorist-related offences, they acquitted four others of all charges and were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on another, who now faces a lengthy re-trial.
Those acquitted walked free after nearly three years in maximum security prison cells; the lawyers for those convicted have indicated that they will almost certainly appeal. No sentencing has yet occurred, but if the convictions were upheld, they could be jailed for between 10 and 50 years.
The trial became a major test case for the so-called “war on terror” and the draconian anti-terrorist legislation introduced by the former Howard government from 2002, with the Labor Party’s support. Most of the 12 Muslim men on trial were arrested in highly-publicised police raids in November 2005, just days after then prime minister John Howard declared there was an imminent terrorist threat and recalled the Senate for an emergency session to push through far-reaching amendments to the anti-terrorism laws.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Sweeping gag orders in new security law unfair to suspects, suit argues
posted on September 27, 2008 | in Category Security Certificates | PermaLink
by Canadian Press
Source: Canadian Press
URL: [link]
Date: September 26, 2006
TORONTO — Gag orders under Canada's revamped security law make it impossible for special lawyers with top-secret clearances to effectively represent foreigners detained as threats to the country's safety, a lawsuit slated to be heard Friday claims.
As a result, the reworked legislation is still unfair to terrorist suspects and needs to be changed or, at the very least clarified, the suit before Federal Court argues.
The constitutional challenge - supported by several special advocates - was filed by suspected Syrian terrorist Hassan Almrei. He has been detained in Toronto without charge or trial for seven years based on secret information.
The law was enacted earlier this year in response to a Supreme Court of Canada condemnation of the old legislation as unfair.
At issue was the secrecy that left detainees, and their lawyers, in the dark regarding the evidence used to detain them as a national security risk.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: Canadian Press
URL: [link]
Date: September 26, 2006
TORONTO — Gag orders under Canada's revamped security law make it impossible for special lawyers with top-secret clearances to effectively represent foreigners detained as threats to the country's safety, a lawsuit slated to be heard Friday claims.
As a result, the reworked legislation is still unfair to terrorist suspects and needs to be changed or, at the very least clarified, the suit before Federal Court argues.
The constitutional challenge - supported by several special advocates - was filed by suspected Syrian terrorist Hassan Almrei. He has been detained in Toronto without charge or trial for seven years based on secret information.
The law was enacted earlier this year in response to a Supreme Court of Canada condemnation of the old legislation as unfair.
At issue was the secrecy that left detainees, and their lawyers, in the dark regarding the evidence used to detain them as a national security risk.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Harkat wins right to see evidence of alleged terror
posted on September 25, 2008 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: September 25, 2008
CSIS says it needs 6 months to gather files
Lawyers representing Ottawa terror suspect Mohamed Harkat in a secret hearing have won the right to see a wide range of documents never before released to his defence team.
In a decision released yesterday, Federal Court Justice Simon Noël ruled the federal government had to disclose "drafts, diagrams, recordings and photographs" that have been collected by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) during their investigation of Mr. Harkat, a former pizza delivery man who is alleged to be an al-Qaeda operative.
Judge Noël's ruling came at the end of an eight-day secret hearing, during which Mr. Harkat was represented by two special advocates.
Mohamed Harkat was working as a pizza delivery man when taken into custody on a security certificate in 2002. He now lives in Ottawa under very strict bail conditions.View Larger
[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat was working as a pizza delivery man when taken into custody on a security certificate in 2002. He now lives in Ottawa under very strict bail conditions.
Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen]
[ Read the rest ... ]
Terror suspect wins right to see spy agency documents
posted on September 25, 2008 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Source: Canadian Press
URL: [link]
Date: September 24, 2008
OTTAWA — Accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat has won the right to see secret material compiled against him by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
But it may be up to six months before his lawyers obtain all the material, prolonging a battle he's been waging for five years to stave off deportation to his native Algeria.
Justice Simon Noel of Federal Court issued an order Wednesday for CSIS to hand over a wide range of material, including written drafts, diagrams, recordings and photographs related to the case.
The disclosure was mandated in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that considerably broadened the security service's obligation to reveal information to those accused of security offences.
[ Read the rest ... ]
URL: [link]
Date: September 24, 2008
OTTAWA — Accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat has won the right to see secret material compiled against him by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
But it may be up to six months before his lawyers obtain all the material, prolonging a battle he's been waging for five years to stave off deportation to his native Algeria.
Justice Simon Noel of Federal Court issued an order Wednesday for CSIS to hand over a wide range of material, including written drafts, diagrams, recordings and photographs related to the case.
The disclosure was mandated in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that considerably broadened the security service's obligation to reveal information to those accused of security offences.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Feds ordered to share evidence with defence in Harkat security case
posted on September 25, 2008 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Source: CBC News
URL: [link]
Date: September 24, 2008
All intelligence and information related to the case of an Ottawa man arrested in 2002 on a security certificate must be released by the federal government to his lawyers, a Federal Court judge has ruled.
Canadian Security and Intelligence Service drafts, diagrams, recordings, photographs and other evidence concerning Mohamed Harkat are covered by the ruling released by Judge Simon Noël on Wednesday.
In his order, Noël cited a Supreme Court of Canada decision earlier this year on evidence disclosure requirements in the case of another man living under a security certificate, Adil Charkaoui.
Harkat, an Algerian refugee, has been living under a security certificate since his arrest in December 2002, and the government has been seeking his deportation.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service accused him of being an al-Qaeda "sleeper agent" and alleged that Harkat trained under Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in Afghanistan.
Harkat has denied the allegations.
Harkat spent 3½ years in a detention centre but was subsequently released on strict bail conditions.
Security certificates are a contentious tool the government can use to detain non-citizens pending deportation proceedings. When the detained person faces deportation to a country where there is evidence they will be tortured, their removal from Canada generally cannot proceed, leaving them in the limbo of a possibly indefinite imprisonment, critics argue.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the security certificate process was unconstitutional, and it gave the federal government a year to remedy the law.
Copyright © CBC 2008
URL: [link]
Date: September 24, 2008
All intelligence and information related to the case of an Ottawa man arrested in 2002 on a security certificate must be released by the federal government to his lawyers, a Federal Court judge has ruled.
Canadian Security and Intelligence Service drafts, diagrams, recordings, photographs and other evidence concerning Mohamed Harkat are covered by the ruling released by Judge Simon Noël on Wednesday.
In his order, Noël cited a Supreme Court of Canada decision earlier this year on evidence disclosure requirements in the case of another man living under a security certificate, Adil Charkaoui.
Harkat, an Algerian refugee, has been living under a security certificate since his arrest in December 2002, and the government has been seeking his deportation.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service accused him of being an al-Qaeda "sleeper agent" and alleged that Harkat trained under Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in Afghanistan.
Harkat has denied the allegations.
Harkat spent 3½ years in a detention centre but was subsequently released on strict bail conditions.
Security certificates are a contentious tool the government can use to detain non-citizens pending deportation proceedings. When the detained person faces deportation to a country where there is evidence they will be tortured, their removal from Canada generally cannot proceed, leaving them in the limbo of a possibly indefinite imprisonment, critics argue.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the security certificate process was unconstitutional, and it gave the federal government a year to remedy the law.
Copyright © CBC 2008
Supreme Court of Canada refuses to consider question of deportation to torture
posted on September 18, 2008 | in Category Security Certificates | PermaLink
by Press Release
Source: Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui
URL: [link]
Date: September 18, 2008
SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO CONSIDER QUESTION OF DEPORTATION TO TORTURE
Montreal, 18 September 2008 - The Supreme Court announced today that it will not consider the question of whether it is legal for Canada to deport someone who is recognized to be at risk of torture.
Me. Johanne Doyon, Adil Charkaoui’s lawyer, asked the Supreme Court in April 2007 to consider the constitutionality of the law allowing the Minister of Immigration to balance the alleged risks in national security cases and to deport non-citizens to death and torture.
“I am saddened that the Supreme Court has not taken the opportunity to consider this important question and give the Conservative government a clear directive about the absolute ban on deportation to torture. There is a frightening trend. There are growing numbers of both non-citizens and citizens whom Canada has failed to protect from torture, from Sogi Singh to Maher Arar and more,” said Adil Charkaoui, a Montreal-based teacher and father of three. Charkaoui was first arrested under the much-contested security certificate – a deportation procedure established by Canadian immigration law - in May 2003.
[ Read the rest ... ]
