by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: May 15, 2008


OTTAWA - Ottawa terror suspect Mohamed Harkat will not be leaving his unhappy basement apartment anytime soon. A Federal Court judge ruled Thursday that Mr. Harkat cannot move to a new condominium townhouse until he meets the security concerns raised by government officials.

It means that, at least for the immediate future, Mr. Harkat and his wife, Sophie, will continue to live in the basement of a home that belongs mostly to Alois Weidemann, a retired Citizen employee, and the former romantic partner of Ms. Harkat's mother, Pierrette Brunette.

Ms. Brunette moved out of the house last November after the acrimonious collapse of that relationship, leaving Mr. Weidemann with the Harkats in his basement.

"I've been trying to get out of this situation since last fall," Mr. Weidemann said in an interview. "How are things going? Terrible. I want to get on with with my life." Mr. Weidemann, who reluctantly acts as one of Mr. Harkat's sureties, wants to sell his house, but he cannot do that without Ms. Brunette's approval since she owns 10 per cent of the property. Ms. Brunette, however, doesn't want to sell yet because her daughter and son-in-law are still in the house along with her grand piano.Mr. Weidemann said many of his personal freedoms are circumscribed by virtue of his tenants. His phone is tapped and his mail is searched; his movements are tracked by video cameras mounted on his house and by federal agents parked on his street.

Although he blames himself for his predicament - "I shouldn't have been so naive or good natured or whatever," he said - Mr. Weidemann believes the legal system has also been unfair to him.

He agreed in February to continue to act as a surety on the understanding that the Harkats would move out within six weeks. Three months later, there's still no end in sight to his bizarre living arrangements.

"What am I supposed to do? Am I to live with them forever, or what?" Mr. Weidemann said he gets along fine with Mr. Harkat but regularly clashes with Sophie Harkat. Earlier this month, Ms. Harkat told court that the situation in the Heron Gate home is "intolerable" and threatens her mental and physical health. She accused Mr. Weidemann of spying on her family, interfering with her privacy and insulting her mother.

In an interview, Ms. Harkat said she's hopeful that the security issues can soon be resolved. Negotiations with the federal government and condominium corporation continue and Ms. Harkat expects some kind of agreement will be reached.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the home is "OK," she said. "We're all being very patient: we know it's temporary," she said. "We all want to move on with our lives." The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which is responsible for monitoring Mr. Harkat's bail, wants video cameras installed over the front and back doors of the new townhouse; it also wants a parking spot reserved in front of the home for its agents.

The condominium corporation that manages the townhouse complex, however, has so far refused to agree to those conditions.

Mr. Harkat and his wife, Sophie, asked the court to approve their move on an emergency basis - and work out the security details later - because of the poisonous atmosphere in their current home.

In her ruling, Judge Eleanor Dawson said the Harkats cannot move until they have cameras installed and a parking spot secured since both conditions exist at their current address. A move that fails to replicate those conditions, she said, would amount to a substantial change in Mr. Harkat's bail.

"The Court cannot approve a change in residence in circumstances where the CBSA's ability to monitor Mr. Harkat are so diminished," Judge Dawson wrote.

Mr. Harkat worked as a gas station attendant and pizza delivery man in Ottawa before being taken into custody in December 2002. A security certificate accused him of being an al-Qaeda agent who posed an immediate security threat to Canadians; it was upheld as "reasonable" by the Federal Court but the process that led to that decision was later struck down as fundamentally unjust by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Harkat was released from jail in June 2006 because of delays in his deportation to his native Algeria. Under terms of his release, Mr. Harkat must wear an electronic monitoring device at all times. He cannot leave Ottawa and cannot use a cellphone or computer.

His house has security cameras in front and back that record who enters and who leaves. He's allowed three four-hour excursions every week, in addition to daily walks, but he must be in the company of a court-approved surety at all times, inside and outside his house.

Mr. Weidemann said it's ironic that the video camera issue is now delaying the departure of the Harkats from his home. After the Harkats moved in, he said, a federal official asked him if the Canada Border Services Agency could install video cameras.

"I hesitated at first, but I said, 'OK go ahead,' because I'm a good guy. But it doesn't pay being a good guy. I should have told him, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' because now they're coming back with the camera to haunt us."

Mr. Harkat is expected to return to Federal Court later this year for a new hearing that will determine the reasonableness of his security certificate. This time, a special advocate will act for Mr. Harkat during the presentation of the government's evidence, which will take place in a hearing closed to Mr. Harkat, his defence lawyer and the public.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2008