CAMPAIGN TO STOP SECRET TRIALS & DEPORTATIONS
The Edmonton-based Campaign to Stop Secret Trials and Deportations is a new, small group interested in protecting and expanding civil rights, especially among those of racially and politically profiled groups who have been targeted under "Public Security" legislation, through voluntary casework. Please read our backgrounders for cases we are currently providing support to. Our meetings and support events will be listed in the ecawar.org calendar.
Five Muslim men have been held, as of March 2004, a collective total of 134 months in Canadian prisons, much of it in solitary confinement, without charge, without bail, on secret "evidence" which neither they nor their lawyers can see. They are men with wives and children they cannot touch or hug. None has ever been convicted of any criminal offence anywhere in the world. Welcome to Canada's own Guantanamo Bay.
Under the CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) Certificate, Canada's spy agency has largely Muslim men or men of Middle Eastern or Arabic background thrown behind bars, without charges or bail, threatened with deportation to a country where they often face torture or execution. Neither they nor their lawyers are allowed to see the "evidence" against them under the blanket claim of "national security." There is no appeal of the Federal Court ruling delivered by a CSIS-approved judge. The Campaign to Stop Secret Trials and Deportations engages in research and provides support interventions for the families of Canada's "disappeared."
Rights Groups Vow to Challenge New Security Certificate Law
On February 21, in anticipation of the Harper government's issuing of new security certificates against Hassan Almrei, Adil Charkaoui, Mohamed Harkat, Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohammad Mahjoub, various groups active on the question of rights spoke out at a press conference in Montreal. The organizations present put the government on notice that the new security certificate legislation will once again be subject to a public campaign and a constitutional challenge.
"Last year, when the Supreme Court of Canada declared the security certificate to be unconstitutional, we celebrated; I believed I was going to have a chance to clear my name at last," said Adil Charkaoui, who was arrested under a security certificate in Montreal almost five years ago. "Today I feel disappointed, disenchanted, even bitter," said the 34-year old teacher and father of three, "The new legislation not only fails to correct the injustices of the old law, it makes it worse by giving the appearance of legitimacy to a fundamentally unjust process."
"Mr. Charkaoui's case has been marked by leaks of secret information, by the use of evidence obtained under torture, by the destruction of evidence by CSIS, public retractions of information in the file, hidden arrest warrants, and the miraculous recovery of long-lost interviews at strategic moments," said Marie-Ève Lamy, member of the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui. "It 's enough! No new certificate should be issued against Mr. Charkaoui."
"The addition of a special advocate to a process in which the Court's decision can still rely on secret evidence does nothing to ensure justice," stated Me. Johanne Doyon, who brought Charkaoui's constitutional challenge to the Supreme Court and who appeared before the Senate hearings on the new law on behalf of the Quebec Immigration Lawyers' Association (l'AQAADI). "This is a system that has already failed in England. The special advocate is nothing but camouflage," she added.
"You can't tweak security certificates; you can't tweak indefinite detention and deportation to torture," said Mostafa Henaway of the Immigrant Workers Centre. "Justice requires that this system be done away with entirely. As an organization which works every day with immigrant communities, I can tell you that the message of this law and the way it was passed is very clear to immigrants: 'Your fundamental rights will not be respected, your voices will not be listened to in the political process.'"
"The way in which the Senate pushed through the new legislation was a farce," stated Warren Allmand, representing the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, a coalition of over 30 NGOs, unions, faith groups and other civil society organizations. The Senate adopted the bill in less than a week, following just one day of hearings in which more than twenty witnesses -- with the exception of Stockwell Day -- called for the Senate to oppose the law as unjust and unconstitutional.
"From the case of Maher Arar, from my own experience as Solicitor General of Canada, I know that CSIS and the RCMP make serious errors of fact. Without providing the person named in a certificate the opportunity to know the case against him, those errors cannot be discovered and justice will not be done. In my opinion, this is a real travesty of justice," Allmand concluded.
Allmand was joined by the President of the Conseil centrale de Montréal (CSM), Gaétan Chateauneuf, in calling on the government to treat refugees, permanent residents and other non-citizens the same way that citizens are treated in such cases, using criminal law rather than immigration law.
"The consequences of the security certificate are so severe, that the process should, if anything, be more rigorous than criminal law," agreed Sheikh Salam Elmenyawi, President of the Muslim Council of Montreal. "Labelling someone a threat to national security means destroying their reputation and putting their entire family at risk. It can lead to indefinite detention and even deportation to torture or death."
"I invite all members of the press to follow this issue closely in the coming weeks. After pushing this unjust law through in a manner which so thoroughly disregarded democratic process, will the government now try to rush to deport these men?" asked Elmenyawi.
"Behind these legal questions are human lives," said Charkaoui. "For five years my family and I have battled this thing, going all the way up to the Supreme Court, and winning. Now we find ourselves right back at the starting gate, facing going through all of this again! The toll on our lives has already been enormous. For us, it is unbearable," he finished.
In related news, on also February 22, the secret police agency, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) released summaries of the information used to support new "security certificates," coinciding with the issuing of the new security certificates against Hassan Almrei, Adil Charkaoui, Mohamed Harkat, Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohammad Mahjoub.
Mary Foster, a member of Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui stated, "There are no precise charges, just these vague allegations and no evidence, and he is still being put through a process that is unconstitutional, unjust and discriminatory."
In a statement issued later that day, Charkaoui categorically denied allegations made in the CSIS document, noting that the government continues to rely on information "which there are serious grounds to believe was produced under torture."
According to a report in the Montreal Gazette, "The CSIS document states that Charkaoui is a member of the Al-Qa'ida network, that he participated in terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that he associates with Islamic extremists, that he has discussed the planning of terrorist attacks, that he has committed crimes to finance jihad (a religious war against non-Muslims), and that he is a sleeper agent for Al-Qa'ida.
"The document states that in June 2000, Charkaoui had a conversation with two individuals who expressed interest in taking control of a commercial airliner by violent means.
"It says that in July 2002, Charkaoui told CSIS agents that he had once applied for a job in flight information and air traffic control with Air Canada and was once offered a part-time job at Mirabel airport in the baggage section.
"He said he was interested in the jobs because of the prospect of cheaper flight fares for airport employees. CSIS maintains the June 2000 conversation and his job seeking at the Montreal airports are evidence he was involved in the planning of a terrorist air attack.
"The document also claims Charkaoui once watched a video where two people debated jihad, and that he agreed with one speaker who said those who oppose Islam should be killed.
"The CSIS document does not say whether this and many other statements allegedly made by Charkaoui were obtained through wiretap evidence, undercover agents or hearsay."
Mohamed Harkat, responding to the CSIS allegations against him stated on February 23, "I don't have any things to hide. All we've been asking for is a fair trial where everything is open. It's very hard for me to defend myself if somebody puts evidence in front of a judge that I haven't even seen. There is no opportunity to defend myself."
"CSIS alleges that in February 1998, Harkat stated that he had to keep a 'low profile' to gain landed immigrant status in Canada," states a Sun Media news report.
"Low profile for what?" demanded Harkat. "On what basis would I keep a high profile? I came to this country to work and start a family and build my future."
His wife Sophie Harkat called the CSIS document "more allegations, no evidence."
"To me, they really haven't built a case," she said. "Where are the signs here that point to somebody being a terrorist?"
According to the Sun Media item, "CSIS also alleges that Harkat claimed he would be 'ready,' which the agency concluded 'meant that Harkat would be prepared to undertake jihad in support of Islamic terrorism' once his Canadian citizenship was secured.
"He's ready to start his life in Canada," said Sophie Harkat. "That's an interpretation by CSIS that somebody overheard and they filled in the blanks. They're just parts of a discussion -- they don't know who he was even talking to."
Sophie Harkat also questioned the accuracy of the new information -- especially that taken from the 1997 interviews. She said that the transcripts of the interviews do not sound anything like what her husband would say, especially since they are in full sentences, and at that time, her husband did not understand English very well.
Mohamed Harkat said the allegations are "another weight added onto what we're going through."
"It's like a cancer," he said. "It starts killing me from inside and it's growing and now my whole family is suffering."
In still further related news on February 22, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson appointed 13 special advocates to "protect the interests and rights" of those who are subject to security certificates. The Justice Department had run a special advocates school last week, to tutor the lawyers in why national-security secrecy claims are made and why they must be upheld, reported the Globe and Mail. The special advocates will be allowed to talk to their clients before they see the secret evidence against them, but not after the special advocates learn the totality of the allegations.
According to the Globe report, much of the reason for this limitation has to do with foreign relations: "Canadian security agencies, which describe themselves as 'net importers' of intelligence from foreign agencies, complain that the information pipeline would be compromised if they divulge sensitive secrets passed along by others. To spill other countries secrets then, is seen as tantamount to jeopardizing national security."
The Globe report describes the 13 specials advocates as comprising "many veterans of Mr. Justice Dennis O'Connor's inquiry into the Maher Arar affair, including Lorne Waldman, Paul Cavalluzzo, Barbara McIsaac, and Ronald Atkey. They had respectively represented Mr. Arar, Judge O'Connor, the government of Canada and served as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court.
"Two defence lawyers in ongoing security certificate case have also been appointed special advocates. Paul Copeland and John Norris who have spent years railing against government secrecy during these cases. [...]
"The other special advocates include Nancy Brooks, Gordon Cameron, Francois Dadour, James Duggan, Anil Kapoor and Ivan Whitehall."
(Source: Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, Montreal Gazette, Sun Media, Ottawa Citizen, Globe and Mail)
Charkaoui Responds to New Certificate
- Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, February 22, 2008 -
Adil Charkaoui categorically denies the allegations made against him in the context of the new security certificate that was issued against him today. As he has consistently requested for the past five years, Mr. Charkaoui asks for a meaningful opportunity to clear his name of precise and defined charges in the context of a fair and open trial.
The new certificate was issued as a result of the Supreme Court decision ruling that the law under which the first certificate was issued was unconstitutional. The Coalition believes that the Harper government has not respected the Supreme Court decision, and that the new law, which entered into force today, remains unconstitutional, unjust and discriminatory. The law and the process which led to its adoption are an insult to democracy.
We note that the new public summary of allegations against Mr. Charkaoui no longer includes information from Abu Zubaydah, which was obtained under torture. However, the Coalition is shocked by the fact that the government continues to rely on other information which there are serious grounds to believe was produced under torture. The government cites a confession by Noureddine Nafiaa, a prisoner in Morocco. Media in Morocco and Radio Canada have reported that Nafiaa says he was tortured and forced, blindfolded, to sign a confession that he never saw. His account of torture is corroborated by several reports by independent human rights organizations of the situation in Morocco. The fact that the government relied on torture-information from Zubaydah until this fact was very publicly exposed, and continues to use information from Noureddine Nafiaa, raises very serious questions about the source of other secret information in the file: was it also obtained under torture?
The Coalition is also very concerned that allegations from Ahmed Ressam remain part of the file. Ahmed Ressam, who identified dozens and dozens of people while imprisoned in the United States, under a deal which lessened his sentence in exchange for information, has publicly retracted his information and is known to have suffered a mental breakdown in prison. Charkaoui and his lawyers have asked to cross-examine Ressam numerous times. This opportunity has always been denied, and it was finally admitted by the government that no sworn testimony existed, and that the information was based on hearsay.
Most preoccupying is the fact that the public summary contains no proof, simply allegations, hearsay, and fragments of alleged conversations and incidents involving Mr. Charkaoui. Under the new security certificate law, as in the last law, Mr. Charkaoui will be denied access to further, secret information in the file, and thus denied the right to know the case against him -- if any case in fact exists. Moreover, it was admitted by CSIS that records of at least some of these interviews were destroyed, meaning that only CSIS summaries -- contextless, containing errors of interpretation or bias -- remain to support the fragments contained in the summary. Mr. Charkaoui is currently waiting for a Supreme Court decision on CSIS investigative practices in his case, including the destruction of evidence and other indications of a biased investigation.
The crude profiling employed in the summary is of particular concern: acquaintance with other members of Montreal's Muslim community, his marriage, his pizzeria, certain political opinions and religious beliefs and his university studies are all held against Mr. Charkaoui. The profiling relies on a picture -- a very distorted picture -- of who Mr. Charkaoui is, rather than anything he has done. In a context of racist bias against Muslims and Arabs, innocent facts portrayed in a certain light become evidence against him; misreported and misinterpreted opinions, taken completely out of context, are proof of "terrorism."
Finally, the Coalition notes that the criminal leak of secret information, and Charkaoui's motion for a stay of proceedings based on that leak, are not mentionned in the case summary. In fact, Charkaoui's case has been marked by a leak of secret information, by the use of evidence obtained under torture, by the destruction of evidence by CSIS, public retractions of information in the file, hidden arrest warrants, and the miraculous recovery of long-lost interviews at strategic moments in the case.
The consequences of these proceedings are extremely grave for Mr Charkaoui and his entire family. They already involve a loss of reputation and security which affect his entire family. They could lead to further, indefinite, loss of liberty and invasive surveillance. Under a process that is widely believed to remain unconstitutional, Charkaoui could even be deported from Canada, despite the fact that his life and entire family is established here and that Immigration Canada evaluated in September 2007 that Charkaoui would be at risk of cruel and unusual punishment, torture or death if deported.
More information or interviews: 514-222-0205
Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui
www.adilinfo.org
justiceforadil@riseup.net
514-848-7583
New Allegations, Same Old Secret Trials: An Update Following Friday's Character Assassination
- Matthew Behrens, Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada - February 24, 2008 (excerpts)
New Allegations, Same Old Secret Trials Scare Headlines and Character Assassination a Typical Diversion from the Undemocratic Nature of Security Certificates
In typical government style, a series of rehashed ancient suspicions, new unfounded allegations, and outright lies against secret trial detainees Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohammad Mahjoub, Hassan Almrei, Mohamed Harkat, and Adil Charkaoui were "released" last Friday afternoon. Conveniently, there was little or no opportunity for informed journalists to put things into perspective and get beyond the fear-mongering the allegations are meant to inspire.
In typical government style, a series of rehashed ancient suspicions, new unfounded allegations, and outright lies against secret trial detainees Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohammad Mahjoub, Hassan Almrei, Mohamed Harkat, and Adil Charkaoui were "released" last Friday afternoon. Conveniently, there was little or no opportunity for informed journalists to put things into perspective and get beyond the fear-mongering the allegations are meant to inspire.
In a highly politicized move, the Federal Court of Canada for the first time posted on its home page the so-called "public summaries" of the cases against four of the five Muslim men subject to security certificates. (Why four out of five? In perhaps another sign of the incompetence of the CSIS sponsors of secret trials, one of the summaries is attributed to the wrong guy. As if that weren't bad enough, a summary package hand delivered to another of the detainees had a cover letter addressed to...someone other than himself!). There is no context to these Federal Court postings, no explanation that these are only unproven allegations based on speculation about some possible past, present, or future behaviour, no chance for those whose names are slandered through this process to respond. They are simply there as "official-looking" documents that doom the reputations of those who have yet to have a hearing. And when they do get to court, they will be told that the basis for these allegations is a secret neither they nor their lawyers can challenge.
Back to Square One
In other words, despite all the fancy words some of you have been hearing in the media about increased disclosure, new approaches, and all the rest (along with Stockwell Day's glowing self-assessment that this represents the best law of its kind in the world!), we are back to square one with security certificates: two-tier justice, the lowest standards of any court process in Canada, indefinite detention without charge, secret suspicions, and deportation to torture. For the lack of information available to back up the new allegations, CSIS might as well claim these guys are Martians here to steal our organic tofu supply.
It's important to remember that the allegations that have stirred headlines, especially in the CSIS-friendly National Post, are nothing more than that: allegations, based on secret suspicions and racial and religious profiling. They have served to divert our attention from the real threat to Canada: the anti-democratic security certificate itself, which remains essentially unchanged since it was declared unconstitutional a year ago by the Supreme Court of Canada.
In typical CSIS style, some of the "information" is almost a decade old, leading to new questions: if this stuff has been sitting around all this time, why is it only now being revealed, especially since it would not have imperilled "national security" to have released it in 1999, for example, when one of these cases was first heard? What does this say about the Federal Court judges who may have seen this stuff in the secret file a few years back and refused to disclose it to the detainee?
Some of it is also straight out of a Pink Panther movie. "In December, 1998, he looked over his shoulder on three (3) occasions for no apparent reason, after making a call from a public pay phone," reads one of the "new" pieces of national security disclosure. Note the emphasis on the number 3, repeated twice, as if a cue for eerie theme music.
Much of the "disclosure" is a rehash of testimony and information gleaned from previous security certificate proceedings, proceedings that were declared unconstitutional a year ago. But that does not stop CSIS from using them once again, nor does it do anything to undermine the oft-repeated charge that these hearings turn the court into a police station where interrogation is allowed to proceed under the cover of judicial "respectability." [...]
Torture Prohibited on Paper Only
Meanwhile, Canadian journalists and editorial writers have been cooing about the "big" change: the new secret trials bill says information from torture is not allowed. However, this paper guarantee is belied by the simultaneous release of a report from CSIS' normally accommodating oversight committee, the Security Intelligence Review Committee, that concludes CSIS "uses information obtained by torture," an establishment confirmation of what many in the community have long known. The report finds that CSIS's only concern is whether such information is reliable, and not whether such use of torture information violates CSIS obligations under the Charter of Rights, the Criminal Code and international treaties "that absolutely reject torture."
In addition, the allegations against Charkaoui are still based, in part, on information gleaned from an individual about whom there are substantial grounds to believe were produced under torture.
On February 22, the CBC among other media claimed there is a radical change by the government going public with the "new" information that used to be "secret." This is wholly inaccurate. What has been "released" has always been a publicly available document available through the Federal Court. What IS new is the fact that the Federal Court would put the summaries on its website's home page. This does not represent a new era of disclosure; it merely reveals a new phase of character assassination.
What Happens Next
This week, we should have more information about upcoming court dates for the public portions of the secret trials (for which massive attendance would be extremely important). While we have much to do, now is a good time to remind ourselves of what made the issue part of the national consciousness in the first place: grass roots, democratic community organizing, including the use of nonviolent direct action, all of which are the ultimate guarantors of democratic rights when governments fail to uphold said values.
Individual Things You Can Do
1. Given the draconian conditions of house arrest, it is perhaps no longer sufficient to speak of the Secret Trial Five, but to include the spouses and children of those subject to this process, as their lives are traumatized and kept on hold by the process as well. Letters of support to all of them are encouraged. Contact tasc@web.ca if you would like to write to the men and their families and we can provide you with addresses.
2. Stay in touch. Join upcoming initiatives such as the May 1-9 Caravan Against Canadian Complicity in Torture. Watch as well for a major nonviolent resistance action this fall at the source of secret trials and deportation to torture: CSIS.
3. Support our work. Donations can be made to Homes not Bombs (put secret trials in the memo portion of the cheque) and mailed to PO Box 73620, 509 St. Clair Ave. West, Toronto, ON M6C 1C0.
4. Letters to the editor: correct the misperceptions out there. Contacts for all the main media outlets are available by clicking here.
5. Refuse to be afraid. Get involved, organize a public event or vigil, hold your MP to account, etc. etc.
Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada
PO Box 73620, 509 St. Clair Ave. West
Toronto, ON M6C 1C0
tasc@web.ca
(416) 651-5800
What is a Security Certificate?
A Security Certificate is issued when the Minister of Public Safety (currently Anne McLellan) and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (currently Joe Volpe) sign off on a certificate presented to them by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), an information-gathering department who reports to the RCMP and the government. Although a judicial review of their decision is allowed, the court is not given the power to judge the truth of the allegations: A judge can only decide on whether it is possible the allegations are true, and whether the two Ministers had "reasonable grounds" to sign the certificate, despite there being a lack of evidence presented.
Backgrounders
More information
homesnotbombs.ca
Project Threadbare
Solidarity with Mohamed
Cherfi
justice for adil charkaoui
justice for mohamed harkat
Contact
Linda Leibowitz, weemamma [ at ] telus.net
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me."
- Pastor Martin Niemoller, 1945, Germany