NOTE: The facility in question is the same one that Mohamed Harkat
has been held in since December 2002.
Original author: Lee Greenberg and Jake Rupert
Source: The Ottawa Citizen online
URL: [link] (subscribers only)
Date: October 06, 2004
Lawyer wants inmate freed unless conditions are improved promptly
A lawyer for an Ottawa man facing two murder trials has accused the provincial government of running the Innes Road jail like an "Iraqi prison camp" in an application that requests the accused be released if conditions don't improve.
The application, filed late last month, states that during Wahab Dadshani's two months in segregation at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre, he has been subject to "physical and psychological cruelty."
Mr. Dadshani has been deprived of regular showers, physical activity and meetings with his lawyer, the document states. His health has deteriorated.
"The applicant has been housed in cells that are not fit for human habitation due to infestations of insects and other periodic problems," according to the document.
Mr. Dadshani's lawyer, Susan Mulligan, calls living conditions at the Innes Road facility subhuman.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Innes Road jail likened to Iraqi prison camp
posted on October 07, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLinkSocialist Worker Magazine Interviews Campaign Manager Christian Legeais
posted on October 06, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
The interview focuses on the CBC's attempt to do an in-prison television interview with Mohamed. The CBC has since been granted permission to enter the prison and do the interview. This as a result of letters of protest to Correctional Services spokesperson Bruce O'Neill written by Mohamed's supporters.
HERE is the Socialist Worker story by Ayesha Adhami, September 22, 2004.
Terror suspect (Harkat) attempts novel legal tactic
posted on September 16, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Colin Freeze
Source: The Globe and Mail online
URL: [link]
Date: September 16, 2004
Harkat requests 'friend of court' to dispute secret evidence against him
A terrorism suspect is asking that he be allowed a court-appointed representative who can get behind closed doors and dispute the secret evidence being levied against him. Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian refugee claimant, is asking for an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, so that he can stave off attempts to deport him. He is one of five immigrants currently being detained as a potential al-Qaeda sleeper agent. Ottawa is moving to deport them, and Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, by using a rarely used and highly controversial process.
[ Read the rest ... ]
A terrorism suspect is asking that he be allowed a court-appointed representative who can get behind closed doors and dispute the secret evidence being levied against him. Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian refugee claimant, is asking for an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, so that he can stave off attempts to deport him. He is one of five immigrants currently being detained as a potential al-Qaeda sleeper agent. Ottawa is moving to deport them, and Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, by using a rarely used and highly controversial process.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Why sanctuary is necessary
posted on August 10, 2004 | in Category Canada's Immigration Policy | PermaLink
Original author: Mitchell Goldberg, freelancer
Source: The Montreal Gazette
URL: [link] (subscription required)
Date: August 10, 2004
Ottawa broke promise on appeals.
Churches step in to correct injustice because refugee system is arbitrary
Judy Sgro, minister of Citizenship and Immigration, was right about one thing in her recent call to churches to stop offering sanctuary: Refugees shouldn't be in sanctuary. She was wrong, however, in her diagnosis of the problem, which lies not with the churches that offer sanctuary, but with the flawed refugee-determination system that fails to protect some refugees. When refugees' lives are at risk because the government is not protecting them, some people of conscience feel a moral obligation to fill the gap by providing sanctuary.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Judy Sgro, minister of Citizenship and Immigration, was right about one thing in her recent call to churches to stop offering sanctuary: Refugees shouldn't be in sanctuary. She was wrong, however, in her diagnosis of the problem, which lies not with the churches that offer sanctuary, but with the flawed refugee-determination system that fails to protect some refugees. When refugees' lives are at risk because the government is not protecting them, some people of conscience feel a moral obligation to fill the gap by providing sanctuary.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Harkat review urged
posted on August 10, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Lisa Lisle
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: n/a
Date: August 7, 2004
Harkat review urged
Judge wants new meetings with Feds
A Federal Court judge wants the government to take another look at its top-secret evidence against Mohamed Harkat to determine if it should still be kept under wraps. Justice Eleanor Dawson asked last month to meet with government lawyers "for the purpose of determining if as a result of the effluxion of time any further summary of the information or evidence may be provided to Mr. Harkat." "Some time has passed since the court examined the information on which the security certificate was based in order to consider whether disclosure of all or part of that information would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person," she wrote in her order. A closed hearing was scheduled for yesterday to also consider a request from Harkat's lawyer, Paul Copeland, for additional disclosure, but it was cancelled, giving the government time to consider allowing another lawyer into the hearings.
[ Read the rest ... ]
A Federal Court judge wants the government to take another look at its top-secret evidence against Mohamed Harkat to determine if it should still be kept under wraps. Justice Eleanor Dawson asked last month to meet with government lawyers "for the purpose of determining if as a result of the effluxion of time any further summary of the information or evidence may be provided to Mr. Harkat." "Some time has passed since the court examined the information on which the security certificate was based in order to consider whether disclosure of all or part of that information would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person," she wrote in her order. A closed hearing was scheduled for yesterday to also consider a request from Harkat's lawyer, Paul Copeland, for additional disclosure, but it was cancelled, giving the government time to consider allowing another lawyer into the hearings.
[ Read the rest ... ]
An Interview With Mohamed Harkat (July 2004)
posted on August 08, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
More news:
Lisa Lisle has been following Mohamed's story from Day One. Read her interview with Mohamed Harkat, originally published in the Ottawa Sun and reprint... HERE
Lisa Lisle has been following Mohamed's story from Day One. Read her interview with Mohamed Harkat, originally published in the Ottawa Sun and reprint... HERE
Wife's lonely vigil is her obsession
posted on August 04, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Lisa Lisle
Source: The Ottawa Sun Online
URL: [link]
Date: July 31, 2004
Wife's lonely vigil is her obsession
Passing through the gates at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre for one of her cherished 20-minute visits with her husband, Sophie Harkat thinks about his 36th birthday next week. But instead of making plans for a party or a simple family gathering, Sophie Harkat sees it as yet another special occasion stolen from them by the Canadian government, which has accused her husband of having ties to terrorism. "I thought my second wedding anniversary was bad," she said of the month following Mohamed's arrest. "It's sad to say, but you kind of get used to it." And as time drags on, Sophie is left wondering when they'll be able to celebrate again. Next Friday, Mohamed's birthday will be like every other twice-weekly visit -- 20 minutes and no gifts from home. "As soon as it's finished, that's it," she said of the strict visitation rules. But the one-time government worker's life has changed in so many other ways since her husband's arrest.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Passing through the gates at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre for one of her cherished 20-minute visits with her husband, Sophie Harkat thinks about his 36th birthday next week. But instead of making plans for a party or a simple family gathering, Sophie Harkat sees it as yet another special occasion stolen from them by the Canadian government, which has accused her husband of having ties to terrorism. "I thought my second wedding anniversary was bad," she said of the month following Mohamed's arrest. "It's sad to say, but you kind of get used to it." And as time drags on, Sophie is left wondering when they'll be able to celebrate again. Next Friday, Mohamed's birthday will be like every other twice-weekly visit -- 20 minutes and no gifts from home. "As soon as it's finished, that's it," she said of the strict visitation rules. But the one-time government worker's life has changed in so many other ways since her husband's arrest.
[ Read the rest ... ]
In troubled homeland, 'it's over' for Harkat
posted on August 04, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Derek Puddicombe
Source: TheOttawa Sun Online
URL: [link]
Date: July 31, 2004
Mohamed Harkat says deportation to Algeria would be a death sentence. "If they send me back to Algeria, it's really a dangerous situation," he told the Sun. "In Algeria, it's over."
After making his way to Canada with dreams of a better life, Harkat was arrested in 2002 under a rarely used section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act -- the first step in the deportation process.
Now, the 35-year-old is afraid that he'll be forced to return to Algeria, a country that has a long history of violence. Where, over the years, thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: TheOttawa Sun Online
URL: [link]
Date: July 31, 2004
Mohamed Harkat says deportation to Algeria would be a death sentence. "If they send me back to Algeria, it's really a dangerous situation," he told the Sun. "In Algeria, it's over."
After making his way to Canada with dreams of a better life, Harkat was arrested in 2002 under a rarely used section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act -- the first step in the deportation process.
Now, the 35-year-old is afraid that he'll be forced to return to Algeria, a country that has a long history of violence. Where, over the years, thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Ottawa jail in lockdown
posted on July 20, 2004 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Original author: Nelly Elayoubi
Source: The Ottawa Sun
Date: July 18, 2004
Detention centre inmates confined to cells since Thursday in contraband search
INMATES at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre were being searched one-by-one yesterday during an internal investigation which has had the facility in lockdown since Thursday. The lockdown started at about 6 p.m. after a specific incident with one inmate, said Ministry of Public Safety and Security spokesman Bruce O'Neill.
[ Read the rest ... ]
INMATES at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre were being searched one-by-one yesterday during an internal investigation which has had the facility in lockdown since Thursday. The lockdown started at about 6 p.m. after a specific incident with one inmate, said Ministry of Public Safety and Security spokesman Bruce O'Neill.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Report on the July 4-5 Protest Operation Awareness Security Certificates
posted on July 07, 2004 | in Category Security Certificates | PermaLink
Thank you to YayaCanada (Corinne) for attending the recent protest on Parliament Hill and reporting about it on her Web site. 'Photos too!
Read her report: [link]
Read her report: [link]
