Mohamed Harkat

Original author: Sophie Harkat
Source: Harkat Email List
URL: [link]
Date: November 23, 2005

Hello Everyone,

I did something yesterday I never expected to do...that is shake the hand of Anne McLellan !! I was invited to a special VIP evening with all the leaders and MP's...that was a result of two days of intense lobbying from CAF and many other muslim organizations talking with all the MP's on various issues including immigration, national security, racial profiling and others. Security Certificate was high on their lists.

What I thought was suppose to be a small exclusive cocktail with Paul Martin became a room filled with MP's and all the other leaders. This guy beside me who knew my name/cause pointed out to me that Anne McLellan was standing by very closely and encouraged me to approach her...I was already thinking it but was taking deep breaths just looking at her !!! What I did not know is that a "plan" was in action with another person he knew that was standing beside Anne. Anne read my name tag on my shirt and figured who I was already and was avoiding me completely !! but this nice guy beside Anne took her by the shoulders and said...have you met Sophie !!! We then shook hands and she said she was "REALLY REALLY happy to meet me"...I was like really !! I just said....I just thought it was important for us to meet...I am Mohamed's wife...and she replied...I know who you are...very very happy to meet you. She then turned from shades of red...to purple to then blue before the turned her back on me and exited the room in a rush...not staying for the speeches or for the actual event !!!

As far as I know, I don't believe any of us have ever come close to meeting Anne...even in her Edmonton chapter !! I felt SOOOOO good after she turned around and left. I felt she saw a very small part of the problem and had to face it for once !...but it took out lots out of me to even come close to that woman !! Many people and reporters who saw that hand shake said I was the "bigger" person ! :-)

I then went over to Jack Layton....who gave me a big hug ! and Gilles Duceppe who took my two hands in his and rubbed my hands by saying he was proud of the work we were doing ! Jack and Gilles spoke beautifully on the issue...they were great actually !

I did not bother to approach Paul or Harper who mentioned NOTHING on civil liberties, justice or rights during their speeches...it was all about trade and money !!!

Just thought I would keep you posted !...on my one hand shake I will never forget !!! Thanks to Maria Al-Masani....It was a very productive evening for the SC issue !!

Sophie

Original author: Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: November 12, 2005 Algerian letter provides first glimpse of evidence against Ottawa man accused of ties to al-Qaeda

A letter from the Algerian government points, for the first time, to the evidence that Canada may be relying upon to support its contention that Mohamed Harkat made al-Qaeda contacts in Afghanistan in the early 1990s. That letter, prepared by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and filed in Federal Court, says Mr. Harkat travelled to Afghanistan in 1991 and participated in the "Afghan resistance." Algerian authorities became aware of that activity in February 1992, the letter says, when a report about Mr. Harkat was received. He then became became subject to an internal "watch card" in Algeria. The Foreign Ministry letter, dated July 17, 2005, was delivered to Canada's ambassador in response to his request for information about Mr. Harkat's judicial status in Algeria. Mr. Harkat, an Algerian refugee and former Ottawa pizza delivery man, stands accused by the federal government of being an al-Qaeda terrorist. Yet most of the evidence against him remains secret. The federal government has not even made public the specific year that it alleges Mr. Harkat was in Afghanistan. Mr. Harkat was arrested in December 2002, on the strength of a government-issued security certificate that was upheld as reasonable by Federal Court Judge Eleanor Dawson in March of this year.

[ Read the rest ... ]

Original author: Nelly Elayoubi
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: November 9, 2005

Granting Mohamad Harkat bail wouldn't mean freedom -- it would be nothing more than transferring him from one jail to another, his defence lawyer argued yesterday.

In his reply to the Crown's closing submissions, Matt Webber reiterated the stringent terms of conditions of what he calls a most "vigorous" bail package for his client.

"I'm not asking you to free him. Move him from one prison to another -- from the OCDC (Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre) to Sophie Harkat's (his wife) home."

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Original author: Nelly Elayoubi
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: November 5, 2005

Mohamed Harkat is no more believable today than he was the day a Federal Court Justice ruled the feds have reasonable grounds to deport him, the Crown said yesterday, warning the terror suspect will say anything to get out of jail.

James Mathison made reference to Justice Eleanor Dawson's ruling that Harkat lied about his past under oath and that the government has reasonable grounds to deport him to his native Algeria.

Those lies included denials that he knowingly supported or assisted Islamic extremists and had associated with Abu Zubayda -- a known recruiter for an al-Qaida training camp -- Mathison said.

Harkat was arrested at his Vanier apartment in December 2002 on a security certificate issued by the feds and has been held at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre since. He is currently before the Federal Court seeking bail with house arrest.

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Original author: Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] (subscribers only) Date: November 05, 2005 Electronic tracking device never before used in Canada

A lawyer for accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat says he has tabled the most comprehensive bail package in Canadian history -- one that includes a satellite tracking system -- but federal lawyers insist the Ottawa man is still too dangerous to release. Canadian Security Intelligence Service lawyer James Mathieson said he was amazed at the "breadth and scope" of the bail conditions proposed in the case. "When you look at these conditions, at how restrictive they are, it would be very difficult for a person of good will and sincerity to abide by them," he said, adding: "Mr. Harkat has not established he is a person of good will and sincerity." Mr. Mathieson told Judge Francois Lemieux that Mr. Harkat has already lied in Federal Court and would say or do anything to get out of jail. "But he does not mean what he says," Mr. Mathieson charged, "and would drag good, well-meaning people down the garden path to destruction and the loss of significant assets." Mr. Mathieson was referring to the more than 60 people who have offered a total of $135,000 in cash bonds and sureties in support of Mr. Harkat's bail application. To win bail, Mr. Harkat, an Algerian refugee, must establish that he will not be deported from Canada in a reasonable period of time and does not pose a threat to Canadian society.

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Original author: Nelly Elayoubi Source: The Ottawa Sun URL: [link] Date: November 4, 2004

When it comes to obtaining information for the Canadian government, CSIS isn't above using torture, defence lawyers for Mohamed Harkat charged yesterday. A senior Mideast analyst for the spy agency, identified only as P.G., said under cross-examination that he had not been told, nor had he asked other national security agents, whether information he was given for reports was obtained through torture. When pressed on his knowledge of secret CIA detention centres used to detain al-Qaida suspects, or human-rights violations detailed in reports by organizations such as Amnesty International and the UN, P.G. said he had read little or none of the documents. It was enough for Harkat's defence lawyer, Paul Copeland, to suggest CSIS is unconcerned with how it gets its information, even if it means torturing suspects. "I would say that is not true," P.G. responded.

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Original author: Nelly Elayoubi Source: The Ottawa Sun URL: [link] Date: November 3, 2005 Keep him jailed, CSIS official says

IF RELEASED, Mohamed Harkat will be a threat to national security, a CSIS official said yesterday. Testifying at Harkat's bail hearing, a senior Middle East analyst with CSIS, identified only as "P.G." made the assertion in response to the Crown's questioning. James Mathison asked P.G. if the time Harkat has spent in custody is enough to lessen or erase Islamic fundamental ideological beliefs. "It is our belief the length of time is not relevant ... that incarceration does not act as a deterrent, as a neutralizing factor," P.G. answered, noting acts of violence are used to achieve political goals of such fundamentalists.

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Original author: Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: November 3, 2005 Suspect seeks bail pending constitutional appeal; Spy agency objects

A senior analyst with Canada's national security service says Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat continues to pose a terrorist threat, even though he has been jailed for 34 months and his picture has been featured in newspapers across the country. "It is our belief Mr. Harkat would continue to pose a threat to Canada, should he be released," the analyst, identified only by the initials P.G., told a Federal Court hearing into whether Mr. Harkat should be released on bail. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) official noted that public notoriety did nothing to mitigate the threat posed by other al-Qaeda terrorists, including Egyptian-born Canadian Omar Said Khadr.

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Source: YaYaCanada.com Date: November 3, 2004 YayaCanada attended yesterday's hearing in the case of Mohamed Harkat. She wrote a courtroom report detailing the questioning of "PJ" a witness for the government and CSIS agent. Full report here: "Bin Laden is still alive and clearly acting as head of Al Qaeda, says CSIS Translator at Mohamed Harkat Bail Hearing."
by YayaCanada [link]


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Original author: Sophie Harkat
Source: Harkat Email List (Riseup.net)
Date: November 1, 2005

PLEASE FORWARD OR POST

BAIL HEARING FOR MOHAMED HARKAT CONTINUES...

URGENT !!! Please attend court tomorrow Nov. 2nd from 9:30-4:30pm and support Mohamed Harkat and his legal team. Come and encourage our witnesses in the morning and then contest the CSIS agent that The Crown produces tomorrow (CSIS agent "so called expert" to testify later in the morning or early afternoon) Come for a good laugh !!!

WE REALLY WANT TO FILL THE ROOM DURING THE TESTIMONY OF THE CSIS AGENT !!! Please come and attend for an hour or so. You can come in and out as you wish. Seating is limited.

Attend court this week, Nov. 2, 3, 4 from 9:30-4:30. Please note we usually break from 1-2pm. East Courtroom at Supreme Court Building on Wellington.

Hope to see you there in large numbers ! Thank you for your continued support.

For updates...visit our website at [link]

Sincerely, Sophie Harkat