Source: CBC News
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Date: April 20, 2005


OTTAWA - Thirty people demonstrated in support of Mohamed Harkat Wednesday in downtown Ottawa, urging the government not to deport the Algerian man who has been held for over two years on a security certificate.

Security certificates allow the government to detain suspected terrorists indefinitely without charge.

Harkat is an Algerian refugee arrested in December 2002 after CSIS accused him of being an al-Qaeda "sleeper." The security agency alleges that Harkat is an Islamic extremist who trained under Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in Afghanistan.In March, a Federal Court judge upheld the use of a security certificate against Mohamed Harkat.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is currently assessing whether it will order Harkat deported.

If Harkat is sent back to Algeria, his wife, Sophie Harkat, says he will be tortured, especially after being considered a terrorist suspect by the Canadian government.

"We're here to remind the government that they are signatories to the UN [Convention] Against Torture.â?¦ They can't deport people back to torture," she said.

Harkat has until the end of the week to make a case to Citizenship and Immigration Canada that he faces harm if he is returned to Algeria.

The demonstrators were joined at the rally by Monia Mazigh, the wife of Maher Arar, a Syrian-Canadian man who was deported by the U.S. to Syria, where he says he was tortured.

"I don't think that security certificates are justified," said Mazigh.

"There is no reason that they exist. Everybody should be treated fairly. We have strong laws. We have criminal code. We have all the necessary tools. We cannot simply solve the matter by sending them to torture. This is unacceptable."

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