Original author: CBC News staff
Source: CBC.CA CBC News
URL: [link]
Date: February 8, 2005


MONTREAL - Suspected terrorist Adil Charkaoui testified in his own defence Monday at a bail hearing in federal court.

It's the first time since his detention that Charkaoui has taken the stand

Charkaoui has been held on a ministerial security certificate for almost three years, which means neither he nor his lawyers have seen the evidence against him.

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Original author: Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen Date: February 07, 2005 Government seeks way to deport terror suspects held on security certificates

A federal official has conceded that the government does not have the legal right to indefinitely detain foreign-born terrorist suspects who cannot be deported. But Alex Swann, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, said the government intends to aggressively pursue the deportation of terror suspects through the controversial security certificate process. And the question of when that pursuit formally ends is something that may have to be decided by the Supreme Court. "As long as we're working through the security certificate process with the aim of removal, that (detention) continues to be an option," Mr. Swann said. "When a deportation is unsuccessful, I don't know when that time comes," Mr. Swann said. Mr. Swann maintained the question of when the government must end its pursuit of a terrorist suspect's deportation remains hypothetical. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which sets out the security certificate process, allows the government to detain foreign-born terror suspects on the strength of secret evidence until they can be deported.

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Original author: N/A
Source: The Montreal Gazette, editorial
URL: N/A
Date: February 8, 2005

Adil Charkaoui has been held in jail for almost two years, and hardly anyone knows why. Some people in the Canadian security establishment know, and two cabinet ministers who signed a "security certificate" know, but nobody else does. There's got to be a better way.

Charkaoui, 31, is an immigrant from Morocco. The government wants to deport him back to that country - he is not a Canadian citizen - and he's fighting deportation.

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Original author: Sue Montgomery
Source: The Montreal Gazette
URL: [link]
Date: February 07, 2005


The government claims it's a necessary trade-off to protect Canada and its citizens, but a growing number of legal, human rights and refugee advocates decry the security certificate as discriminating against non-citizens.

There are now six men, five of them Muslim, being held without charge, with little or no knowledge of the evidence against them and risk deportation to their countries, where some face torture. They have no chance to appeal.

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Original author: Matthew Behrens, Campaign to Stop Secret
Trials in Canada
Source: TASC Email List
Date: February 1, 2005

Hey folks

In addition to the good news on the deportation decision with respect to Mohammad Mahjoub, we just got great news from the NDP, which at its weekend federal council passed the following resolution, Special thanks for the courageous work of Alexa McDonough,. who has shown great leadership on this issue (even stepping forward as a bail surety for one of the secrtety trial five!)

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Original author: Canadian Press (CP) Source: The Toronto Star URL: [link] Date: January 14, 2005 Immigration minister resigns amid controversy, promises to fight

OTTAWA - Judy Sgro, who was already on political life support, succumbed today to a fresh allegation of wrongdoing and resigned as federal immigration minister. But she said she was only stepping down to allow her to prove she's innocent and fight to clear her name. She became the first casualty in Prime Minister Paul Martin's seven-month-old minority government, which limped back to power in June on promises of being squeaky clean after the sponsorship scandal. Sgro's departure came after allegations made by a Toronto pizzeria owner, reported in today's Toronto Star, that she promised him asylum in return for providing food and workers for her re-election campaign last June. Harjit Singh, who is fighting deportation to India, claims in a sworn Federal Court affidavit that when word of their arrangement leaked out, she ordered his deportation to "save her job."

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Original author: Alexandre Deslongchamps Source: Bloomberg.com URL: [link] Date: January 14,2005

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's Immigration Minister Judy Sgro resigned the post, saying she wants to clear her name after an illegal immigrant alleged she had offered him asylum in exchange for help in her election campaign. Sgro, who will be replaced by Joe Volpe, was already under investigation for speeding up a Canadian citizenship application to a Romanian stripper who helped her campaign.

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Linda Leibovitz of The Campaign to Stop Secret Trials and Deportations, Edmonton Chapter reports back on their recent action (January 11th) in front of MacLellan's constituency office:
Click to enlarge

"It was very cold yesterday but several tough activists met outside Ms. McLellan's constituency office. We protested from four to five thirty and as the demonstrators went into the office to send a personal message to Anne (which made more work for the staff who do very little) they closed early. Good speakers and free hot chocolate from the local coffee shop who know us very well. A very lovely Muslim family."

Original author: Sue Montgomery Source: The Montreal Gazette URL: N/A Date: January 12, 2005 lawyer: Charkaoui should be freed after evidence destroyed

MONTREAL - Since Canada's spy agency destroyed what could be key evidence in the case against Adil Charkaoui, the security certificate keeping the Montrealer detained without charge should be quashed, his lawyer argued yesterday. Dominique Larochelle said the destruction of notes and transcripts of interviews the Canadian Security Intelligence Service conducted with Mr. Charkaoui in 2002 is a violation that could prejudice her client.

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Original author: Sarah Holland
Source: Alberta-Arab News
URL: N/A
Date: January 5, 2005

Edmonton - As the world marked International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, human rights groups across Canada were fighting for the release of five Muslim men who are languishing in prison and could be deported based on evidence unknown either to them or their lawyers.

Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah, Hassan Almrei, Mohamed Harkat and Adil Charkaoui have collectively spent more than 164 months in detention. They are lonely, confused and scared because they could face torture if sent home.

At a rally in front of the RCMP K Division Headquarters during the evening rush hour, supporters donned prisoner and lawyer costumes, and introduced the five men individually. The "defence lawyer" wore a blindfold and gag. Supporters also walked up and down 109th Street wearing sandwich signs and carrying banners that read, "No one is illegal" and "Stop secret trials and deportations."


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