Mohamed Harkat says he's 'devastated' by court finding him a terror threat

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

by The Canadian Press
Source: The Winnipeg Free Press
URL: [link]
Date: December 10, 2010

OTTAWA - Mohamed Harkat says he's been "devastated" by a Federal Court ruling that calls him a security threat.

The Algerian-born Harkat says the decision's made him physically ill.

His tearful wife, Sophie, called the ruling a "punch in the guts" to her and her husband.

A Federal Court judge ruled Thursday that there are grounds to believe the Harkat is a security threat.

Judge Simon Noel said he believes Harkat maintained ties to Osama bin Laden's terror network after coming to Canada.

The decision could pave the way for Harkat's deportation to his native country.

Harkat's lawyers say much of the evidence Noel consulted remains secret and has never been tested through cross-examination.

Harkat said he was shaken by the ruling.

"I can't sleep. I'm not thinking straight. I have pain in my stomach."

He said he told the truth in his testimony.

"You go to the court and you explain yourself exactly what happened," he said.

"You're coming for this country to have life, to build yourself . . and all of a sudden you know you're attacked."

He said he was completely open in court.

"There is only two things, he is going to believe me (and) quash certificate or, on other things, he believe another party, the government and find me. . . . somebody has to pay the price. I pay the price."

© 2010 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved.

Harkat to fight security certificate ruling

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

Source: CBC.ca URL: [link] Date: December 10, 2010 Wife calls Federal Court ruling 'load of bull'

[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat wipes away tears on Friday. A Federal Court ruled this week there are reasonable grounds to believe the Algerian-born Ottawa resident remains a threat to national security.] Mohamed Harkat and his family say they will fight "to the end" a Federal Court ruling that there are reasonable grounds to believe he remains a threat to national security. Mohamed Harkat wipes away tears on Friday. A Federal Court ruled this week there are reasonable grounds to believe the Algerian-born Ottawa resident remains a threat to national security.Mohamed Harkat wipes away tears on Friday. A Federal Court ruled this week there are reasonable grounds to believe the Algerian-born Ottawa resident remains a threat to national security. (CBC) Thursday's ruling by Justice Simon Noel opens the door for the deportation of Harkat, who was arrested after Canada's spy agency, CSIS, alleged he was a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda. On Friday, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said he was frustrated by the court process, suggesting it needs streamlining. He said he would like to remove terrorists as quickly as possible from Canada. During a news conference earlier Friday with supporters and his wife Sophie, Harkat insisted his life is in danger if he is returned to his native country of Algeria now that the court has "put a stamp on my face [that] says 'terror.'" Harkat, who has been living in Ottawa under virtual house arrest since 2002 due to a security certificate, again declared his innocence and said he feels "sick inside" after the ruling.

[ Read the rest ... ]


Les avocats de Mohamed Harkat iront en appel

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

Source: Radio-Canada URL: [link] Date: 10 décembre 2010 à 12h15 [PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat pleure, sous les yeux de sa femme, Sophie Harkat] Les avocats de Mohamed Harkat ont confirmé vendredi qu'ils en appelleront du jugement de la Cour fédérale, qui a confirmé jeudi la validité du certificat de sécurité dont il fait l'objet, en raison de ses liens avec des terroristes et des extrémistes islamistes reconnus. L'un de ses avocats, Norm Boxall, a soutenu que la décision n'était pas fondée sur des preuves, mais sur des informations secrètes qui ne peuvent être testées, notamment des insinuations et des ouï-dire. Les avocats de Mohamed Harkat ont 15 jours pour contester des aspects précis du jugement du juge Simon Noël. Ce dernier devra décider si les arguments invoqués sont suffisants pour autoriser l'appel. La femme de Mohamed Harkat, Sophie Harkat, avait auparavant pris la parole. Elle a affirmé, en larmes, que le jugement avait été un choc. Elle s'est dite atterrée et dégoûtée par cette décision, qu'elle n'attendait aucunement. Elle soutient que la cause de son mari est motivée par des considérations politiques, et qu'elle se battra jusqu'au bout pour obtenir gain de cause. =========================================== Nous n'accepterons jamais cela. Ce n'est pas la vérité. — Sophie Harkat ===========================================

Jusqu'à nouvel ordre, Mohamed Harkat demeure en résidence surveillée à Ottawa. Il doit porter un bracelet électronique qui permet à la police de le suivre à la trace. Une manifestation d'appui à Mohamed Harkat a lieu vendredi midi, à Montréal. Elle se déroule en présence d'Adil Charkaoui, dont le certificat de sécurité a été invalidé par un tribunal l'an dernier. TOUS DROITS RÉSERVÉS © CBC/RADIO-CANADA 2010


Harkat ‘still poses a danger to Canada,’ judge rules

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

by Tonda MacCharles
Source: The Toronto Star
URL: [link]
Date: December 9, 2010

[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat, middle, and his wife Sophie, right, wait outside Federal Court in Ottawa, in June, 2009. A federal court ruled Thursday there are reasonable grounds to declare Harkat a security threat, paving the way for his possible deportation.]

OTTAWA — Algerian-born Mohammed Harkat and his Canadian wife Sophie wept when they got word in his lawyers’ office that a judge has upheld CSIS claims he is a terrorist “sleeper agent.”

“He and his wife are devastated,” said lawyer Norm Boxall. They “never dreamed it possible.”

Despite eight years of legal battles, four of which Harkat spent in jail followed by strict house arrest, the man whom a Federal Court judge concluded was a member of the Osama bin Laden “network” thought a Canadian court would free him.

“To them, they know the truth,” said Boxall.

Harkat and his legal team are determined to appeal the ruling to the Federal Court of Appeal, said lawyer Matt Webber.

Harkat will argue that a judicial process that heard secret evidence against him and denied him access to the “special advocates” who were permitted to view evidence summaries behind closed doors is fundamentally unfair and unconstitutional.

[ Read the rest ... ]

Mohamed Harkat jugé complice de réseaux terroristes

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

Source: Radio-Canada.ca avecOttawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: 9 décembre 2010


La Cour fédérale juge qu'Ottawa a de bonnes raisons de croire que Mohamed Harkat constitue une menace pour la sécurité nationale, en raison de ses liens avec des terroristes et des extrémistes islamiques. Elle confirme du coup que le certificat de sécurité dont il est l'objet est valide.

Le juge Simon Noël estime en outre dans un second jugement que le nouveau système de certificat de sécurité adopté par Ottawa en 2008, après que le précédent système eut été déclaré illégal par la Cour suprême, respecte la Constitution.

Ces jugements constituent une victoire attendue pour le gouvernement fédéral. L'an dernier, la justice canadienne avait invalidé les certificats de sécurité dont faisaient l'objet deux hommes suspectés d'appartenir à des réseaux terroristes, Adil Charkaoui et Hassan Almrei. Les deux hommes réclament maintenant plusieurs millions de dollars au gouvernement fédéral.

La Cour fédérale juge que les ministres de la Sécurité publique et de l'Immigration du Canada ont « des motifs raisonnables de croire que Mohamed Harkat s'est livré au terrorisme, constitue un danger pour la sécurité du Canada et est membre du réseau de Ben Laden en raison de son travail antérieur » avec certains membres du groupe.

La Cour souligne notamment que l'homme de 42 ans a été associé au groupe du Saoudien Ibn Khattab lors de son passage à Peshawar, au Pakistan, ainsi qu'à « des terroristes et des extrémistes islamiques tels qu'Ahmed Said Khadr [NDRL: père d'Omar Khadr] et Abu Messab Al Shehre »

En exploitant une maison d'accueil pour Ibn Khattab au Pakistan, précise le tribunal, Mohamed Harkat a démontré une « appartenance active » à un groupe terroriste.

Le tribunal affirme en outre qu'une fois arrivé au Canada, « Mohamed Harkat a maintenu des contacts, a assisté des extrémistes islamiques, et a utilisé certaines méthodologies typiques d'un "agent dormant". »

[ Read the rest ... ]

Ottawa's Harkat a terrorist, faces deportation, court rules

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: December 9, 2010


OTTAWA - Mohamed Harkat planned to hold a press conference Friday morning to respond to a Federal Court decision that brands him a member of the Osama bin Laden terrorist network and a threat to national security.

In a 186-page judgment released Thursday, Judge Simon Noël endorsed the government's view of Harkat as an active and dangerous member of the extremist network allied with al-Qaeda.

Harkat, 42, now faces the prospect of being deported to his native Algeria where, he contends, he will be tortured or killed.

Defence lawyer Matt Webber vowed to fight any attempt to send Harkat back to the country from which he fled in 1990.

"He was completely devastated," Webber said of Harkat's reaction to Thursday's Federal Court judgment.

That judgment, Webber charged, relies heavily on evidence heard in secret and unavailable to Harkat's defence team. "So we come out of this," he said, "still feeling as if we were deprived of the ability to meaningfully respond to the allegations."

Harkat, a former pizza delivery man and gas station attendant, has lived in Ottawa since September 1995.

A federal immigration officer must now assess whether Harkat faces a significant risk of torture if deported to Algeria, and whether that is outweighed by the danger he poses to Canada.

[ Read the rest ... ]

Harkat: a long battle lost

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

by Dr Dawg
Source: Dawg's Blog
URL: [link]
Date: December 9, 2010

It’s always been a tough slog for Mohamed Harkat.

Imprisoned for four years under a security certificate, and then released under tough bail conditions for another four, he has been fighting deportation to Algeria as a suspected terrorist for nearly a decade.

And now he’s been declared, “on the balance of probabilities,” to be an al-Quaeda sleeper agent. Justice Simon Noël, who has been scathing about the machinations of CSIS in the past, apparently found the shaky testimony of CSIS agents sufficiently compelling to uphold most of the government’s allegations against Harkat.

Much of the evidence against him, however, was examined by the judge in secret. It was not available to the defence in open court, and so no cross-examination was possible. As for CSIS, it destroyed other evidence and withheld exculpatory evidence in the case. The onus was on Harkat to prove his innocence—when he was not even permitted to be aware of the entirety of the government’s case against him.

The behaviour of CSIS, under a judicial microscope as the hearing wore on, certainly led me to believe that Justice Noël would find in Harkat’s favour. But perhaps the judge felt it was time for the government to win one. Maybe he shared similar concerns to those of the foaming former CSIS Director Jim Judd. Certainly from what was publicly available during this long process, considerable doubt remains that Harkat had anything to do with terrorism.

Here’s the judgement. I have not yet had time to digest it. In the meantime, I confess to feeling queasy about both the fairness of the hearing and its outcome.

TV Coverage, Video clips

posted on December 10, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

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CTV News - Lawyer Norm Boxall interviewed

CTV News with Roger Smith

CBC News - The National

CSIS wins three court rulings on terrorism suspect Harkat

posted on December 09, 2010 | in Category CSIS | PermaLink

by Colin Freeze
Source: The Globe and Mail
URL: [link]
Date: December 9, 2010

Csis

Canada’s embattled spy service won three key court rulings Thursday, all centred on a single terrorism suspect: Mohamed Harkat, said a Federal Court judge, is a probable terrorist sleeper agent, one who needs to be banished for the greater good.

The rulings by Mr. Justice Simon Noel amount to a rare and unequivocal victory for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which has suffered many legal setbacks of late. A battery of top defence lawyers had failed to impugn CSIS – a fact made all the more significant given that some of Mr. Harket’s counsel had scrutinized highly secret “human source reports” whose release to outsiders would have been unthinkable not very long ago.

The judge’s rulings could have big implications for Canada’s so-called security-certificate law, a polarizing power that allows federal ministers to jail and deport foreigners on the basis of secret CSIS intelligence.

The rulings uphold three points. First, the security certificate alleging Mr. Harkat is a terrorist threat is reasonable. Second, CSIS’s investigative missteps – and there were some – do not constitute “abuses” significant enough to fundamentally undermine the Harkat case. Third, the government’s security-certificate power remains consistent with Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

[ Read the rest ... ]

Harkat a security threat: Federal court

posted on December 09, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

by Justin Sadler
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: Deember 9, 2010


[PHOTO: Ottawa resident Mohamed Harkat has been either in jail, or house arrest under strict conditions, since being arrested on a national security certificate eight years ago. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday he does pose a security risk to the country.]

A federal court judge has ruled that Ottawa resident Mohamed Harkat does pose a threat to national security, meaning he could be kicked out of the country.

The court ruled there are reasonable grounds to believe Harkat has engaged in terrorism, is a danger to the security of Canada and is a member of the Bin Laden terror network through his past work for the Khattab group and his association with terrorists and Islamist extremists such as Ahmed Said Khadr and Abu Messab Al Shehre.

In its ruling, the court "finds that he was not truthful, honest or transparent.

"The Court concludes that, while in Canada, Mohamed Harkat maintained contacts and assisted Islamist extremists, and used some methodologies typical of a 'sleeper agent'."

The court said that although Harkat's threat has diminished, a danger remains,

When informed of the ruling, Harkat broke down in tears in the office of his Ottawa lawyer. He and wife Sophie are reported to be "devastated" by the ruling, but they are not planning to speak publicly today.

Lawyers for Mohamed Harkat will appeal the decision handed down Thursday in federal court. Asked whether there would be an appeal, Matthew Webber, Harkat’s lawyer, said: “Absolutely, absolutely.”

He said the legal team was working on a formal response and would release further details later.

It was eight years ago this month that Harkat was arrested on a national security certificate.

Harkat, who worked as a gas station attendant and pizza delivery driver, was accused of operating a safehouse for Islamic extremists in Pakistan and having associations with a known jihadist and a top al-Qaida operative, both now deceased.

The Algerian refugee was arrested in December 2002 and held for 3 1/2 years before his release on bail in June 2006. He has remained out of jail under strict conditions ever since.

The ruling means federal officials can now pursue having him deported from Canada to his native Algeria, where Harkat and his defence team have maintained he could face torture.

Copyright © 2010 Ottawa Sun All Rights Reserved.

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