by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: January 11, 2011


OTTAWA —_Lawyers for Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat say an Appeal Court must settle a dispute among judges about the legacy of Chechen rebel leader Ibn Khattab.

In appeal documents filed in the Federal Court of Canada, Harkat's lawyers call Judge Simon Noel's conclusions about Khattab "unreasonable and unsafe," given the mixed expert opinion about the Saudi-born jihadist.

Harkat, 42, has been declared a security threat and now faces deportation to his native Algeria, where he says he will be tortured or killed.

Federal lawyers have announced they will not seek stricter release terms for Harkat while the security certificate case moves forward.

Harkat must now wear a GPS ankle bracelet whenever he leaves his Ottawa home.

In upholding the security certificate against Harkat last month, Noel declared Khattab a terrorist who shared ideology, training and money with al-Qaida.

The judge linked Harkat to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network through his association with Khattab.

One year earlier, however, another federal judge, Richard Mosley, dismissed the terrorism case against Toronto's Hassan Almrei, ruling that Khattab "could not reasonably be said to be part of al-Qaida."Hassan admitted he twice travelled to camps in Afghanistan with Khattab in 1994 and 1995.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said Harkat operated a guest house in Peshawar, Pakistan for Khattab during the same time period. Harkat also ran errands for him and worked as his chauffeur, according to CSIS.

"From the perspective of Mr. Harkat, the actual importance of the Khattab conclusion cannot be overstated," Harkat's lawyers argue in appeal documents filed Monday.

They say Khattab represents Harkat's only link to terrorism during his five years in Pakistan.

"Without the conclusion, the case against Mr. Harkat would have been instrumentally weakened and the ultimate conclusion of the court could well have been different," the lawyers argue.

They contend Noel erred by making definitive findings about a matter of history without conclusive evidence.

Some historians believe Khattab was an Islamic terrorist who condoned the killing of Russian civilians, while others argue he was a jihadist warrior who defended Chechen Muslims against Russian aggression.

Khattab was killed in March 2002 by a poisoned letter, which many believe was produced by the Russian intelligence service.

Noel declared Khattab a terrorist by virtue of his alliance with notorious Chechen rebel Shamil Basayev. The Basayev movement was responsible for mass hostage-takings at a hospital, elementary school and theatre during the Chechen independence struggle.

Harkat's lawyers argue Khattab's association with Basayev occurred after 1995, by which time Harkat was already in Canada.

"Consequently," they argue, "while Harkat is alleged to have provided support to Ibn Khattab in Pakistan, he cannot be said to have provided support to terrorism by doing so, as Khattab was not conducting terrorist acts at the time or any prior time."

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