Source: Radio-Canada
URL: [link]
Date: 2 juin, 2010


Dans le cadre de l'audition de l'affaire Mohammed Harkat, la défense a entamé sa plaidoirie finale mardi en Cour fédérale.

L'avocat Matthew Weber s'est surtout attaqué à la crédibilité de la preuve accumulée contre son client. Il a d'abord répliqué aux avocats du gouvernement qui prétendaient lundi que Mohammed Harkat avait menti à plusieurs reprises lors de son témoignage.

L'avocat s'est basé notamment sur un rapport rendu public la semaine dernière qui affirmait que les services secrets canadiens (SCRS) avaient commis des erreurs de fait dans plusieurs dossiers, ce qui a porté préjudices à de multiples personnes, dont Mohammed Harkat. Dans ce dernier cas, le SCRS avait détruit des preuves.

Le juge Noël a cependant fait remarquer à Me Weber que pendant deux jours, en huis clos, en compagnie des deux avocats spéciaux chargés de défendre Mohammed Harkat, il avait pris connaissance de faits confidentiels, dont des interceptions téléphoniques, qui étaient crédibles et qui contredisaient le témoignage de Harkat.

L'avocat a alors critiqué les procédures secrètes qui entourent les certificats de sécurité et qui lui interdisent de confronter ces éléments de preuve.

Le juge Noël s'est donné jusqu'au 31 août pour entendre tout élément de preuve ou tout élément nouveau dans l'affaire. Une décision devrait être rendue à l'automne ou au début de l'hiver.

Mohammed Harkat est soupçonné par le gouvernement canadien d'être un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda. Le procès qui a cours présentement vise à déterminer la validité du certificat de sécurité émis contre lui en 2002. S'il n'a pas gain de cause, Mohammed Harkat sera déporté en Algérie.

TOUS DROITS RÉSERVÉS © CBC/RADIO-CANADA 2010.

by Andrew Duffy
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: June 2, 2010


OTTAWA — Mohamed Harkat's lawyer told a Federal Court judge he cannot rely on the accuracy of 13 intercepted phone conversations summarized by Canada's spy agency.

The summaries potentially offer evidence that the Algerian-born Harkat lied to the court about his links to Islamic extremism.

But Harkat lawyer Matt Webber argued the summaries hold little evidentiary value since the spy agency destroyed the original recordings and translations of the alleged conversations.

"These summaries really have no place in a court of law," Webber said in his final argument Tuesday. "It doesn't deserve to be called evidence."

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) used to routinely destroy material since it considered evidence-gathering the job of the police, not an intelligence agency.

Two years ago, however, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered CSIS to stop destroying original notes and recordings.

In the Harkat case, Webber told Judge Simon Noel, CSIS already suffers from a serious credibility problem. Last year, it was revealed the agency did not disclose for years that one of its key informants in the Harkat case had failed a lie-detector test.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Jim Bronskill (CP)
Source: The Canadian Press
URL: [link]
Date: June 1 2010


OTTAWA - Closed-door evidence from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service about Mohamed Harkat's alleged involvement with extremists must be viewed very skeptically given the spy agency's faulty track record, says a lawyer for the Ottawa man.

Counsel Matt Webber told the federal judge presiding over the Harkat case Tuesday that CSIS's history of "systematic, unlawful conduct" means evidence presented in secret cannot necessarily be trusted.

"I'm saying, be very, very cautious."

Lawyers for Harkat, a former dishwasher and pizza delivery man, are wrapping up arguments in hearings to determine whether the national security certificate filed against him should stand or be tossed out.

Harkat was arrested in December 2002 on suspicion of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.

The government wants to deport Harkat to his native Algeria under the certificate — a rarely used tool in Canada's immigration law for removing suspected terrorists and spies.

Harkat's lawyers have painted him as a hardworking refugee trying to build a new life in Canada with wife Sophie.

Counsel David Tyndale said Monday that Harkat's version of reality is "irreconcilable" with the government's view of him as a member of Osama bin Laden's terror network.

Justice Simon Noel will weigh evidence given in open court and closed sessions before deciding whether the government had reasonable grounds to file the certificate. A decision isn't likely before September.

Harkat, who arrived in Canada in 1995, denies any involvement with terrorism.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Laura Czekaj Source: The Ottawa Sun URL: [link] Date: June 1, 2010 CSIS has facts wrong in Harkat terror case: Lawyer

Mohamed Harkat should be taken at his word because of factual inaccuracies in evidence collected by Canadian intelligence officials, federal court heard Tuesday. Government lawyers suggested during a public hearing Monday that Harkat lied about his connections to individuals linked to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist networks. Defence lawyer Matt Webber turned the tables, saying information provided in the case by CSIS against his client has contained errors and omissions. Originals of some documents, along with audio tapes and transcripts, have also been destroyed by the spy agency, he noted. “Accusations of fabrications are being made by the government despite not being able to provide evidential (proof),” Webber said. Judge Simon Noel is being asked by government lawyers to take the CSIS evidence at face value and to give it more credibility than the testimony of Harkat, Webber said. This despite the fact that no human sources were made available to the defence for questioning and that much of the information against his client is unknown — even to his lawyers — on the basis of national security concerns. The public portion of the hearing into whether the government’s use of a security certificate against Harkat was reasonable is taking place this week in Federal Court. Harkat is accused of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent. The Algerian national denies the allegations and says he came to Canada as a refugee. If the judge rules against Harkat, the married Ottawa resident faces deportation. Noel has indicated that he is privy to classified information that is contradictory to elements of Harkat’s testimony. In particular there are discrepancies between Harkat’s recollection of how he spent his 15 months in a refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, and what the classified information suggests, Noel said. Harkat has been accused of running a safe house for Islamic extremists during that time period. Since defence lawyers couldn’t challenge the accuracy of the classified information in court, Webber said his client’s testimony should trump the untested evidence. As for discrepancies in Harkat’s recollection, the lawyer said it is to be expected of anyone being questioned about events that happened more than a decade ago. laura.czekaj AT sunmedia.ca Copyright © 2010 Ottawa Sun All Rights Reserved.

by Sophie Harkat
Source: Justice for Mohamed Harkat Email List
URL: N/A
Date: May 26, 2010 at 10:41am


Closing arguments in Mohamed Harkat's reasonability hearing begin this week!

Monday, May 31st - Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
Supreme Court of Canada building, 301 Wellington Street, Ottawa
East Courtroom
10 am

Hope to see you there.

Come for an hour or more. Open to public. Free to come in and out as you wish.
Show your support one last time !

Donations needed. Please Support our work.
Send cheque or money to The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee
14 Perkins Street
Ottawa, ON
K1R 7G5

Thanks for your continued support.
Sophie Harkat
[link]

by Laura Czekaj Source: The Ottawa Sun URL: [link] Date: May 31, 2010 Ottawa pizza delivery man lied about ties to extremists, Crown alleges

Alleged terrorist Mohamed Harkat is in Federal Court this week to determine whether he can stay in Canada in the final phase of a hearing that will test the legitimacy of Canada’s use of security certificates. The public portion of hearings questioning the reasonableness of the security certificate against the Algerian national are happening in federal court this week as government and defence lawyers submit their closing remarks to Judge Simon Noel. The government’s decision to first imprison, then place extensive restrictions on the freedom of Harkat by ordering him placed under a security certificate was put under the microscope on Monday as Crown prosecutors stressed that the testimony given by former pizza delivery man is not to be trusted. Government lawyer David Tyndale argued that Harkat’s version of his past contains a number of facts irreconcilable with the evidence collected by intelligence sources. “You simply cannot find that Harkat’s entirely innocent explanation for all his activities could be credible,” said Tyndale. “Does lying make him a terrorist?” countered Noel.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Jim Bronskill (CP)
Source:MetroNews - Vancouver
URL: [link]
Date: May 31, 2010


OTTAWA - A federal lawyer began concluding arguments in the Mohamed Harkat case by painting the Ottawa man as a calculating terrorist who consistently covered his tracks with lies.

Counsel David Tyndale said Monday that Harkat's version of reality is "irreconcilable" with the government's view of his activities and associations.

Tyndale asked Federal Court Justice Simon Noel to weigh the full sweep of evidence before him, arguing there are "more than reasonable grounds" to conclude Harkat's behaviour less than innocent.

Harkat, a former gas bar attendant and pizza delivery man, was arrested in December 2002 on suspicion of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.

The government wants to deport Harkat to his native Algeria under a national security certificate — a seldom-used tool for removing suspected terrorists and spies.

The long-running case has hit numerous snags and delays, including a successful constitutional challenge that forced the government to revamp the security certificate regime.

Noel will weigh all of the evidence heard behind closed doors and in open court before concluding whether the government acted reasonably in filing the certificate.

Harkat, who lives in Ottawa with his wife, denies any involvement with terrorism.

[ Read the rest ... ]

Source: Radio-Canada
URL: [link]
Date: 31 mai 2010

Les plaidoiries dans le cadre de l'affaire Mohammed Harkat, ce réfugié d'origine algérienne vivant à Ottawa, se sont amorcées lundi en Cour fédérale.

Mohammed Harkat est soupçonné par le gouvernement canadien d'être un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda. Le procès qui a cours présentement vise à déterminer la validité du certificat de sécurité émis contre lui en 2002. S'il n'a pas gain de cause, Mohammed Harkat sera déporté en Algérie.

Dans sa plaidoirie devant le juge Simon Noël, l'avocat du gouvernement, David Tyndale, s'est appliqué à démontrer que le témoignage de Mohammed Harkat est semé de contradictions.

David Tyndale prétend que Mohammed Harkat a menti au tribunal à plusieurs reprises et est demeuré vague sur plusieurs aspects de son passé.

Me Tyndale affirme que les raisons invoquées par Mohammed Harkat pour s'enfuir d'Algérie, en soutenant qu'il craignait pour sa vie, sont un tissu de mensonges pour masquer son véritable passé. David Tyndale pense que la chronologie des événements ne reflète pas la réalité.

L'avocat du gouvernement ajoute que son voyage à Peshawar, au Pakistan, pour aider les réfugiés afghans qui fuyaient la Russie n'était qu'un prétexte pour cacher ses liens avec le réseau Al-Qaïda.

De plus, selon l'avocat, les transactions financières de Mohammed Harkat au Canada ne sont pas claires, car il recevait de l'argent de l'étranger, mais n'a jamais été en mesure d'expliquer le but de ces transactions.

Quant à Mohammed Harkat, il continue à clamer son innocence.

Mohammed Harkat, dont les conditions libération ont été assouplies, doit toujours porter en permanence un bracelet équipé d'un appareil de repérage par satellite.

TOUS DROITS RÉSERVÉS © CBC/RADIO-CANADA 2010

by The Canadian Press
Source : CTV News
URL: [link]
Date: May 31, 2010


OTTAWA — A federal lawyer began concluding arguments in the Mohamed Harkat case by painting the Ottawa man as a calculating terrorist who consistently covered his tracks with lies.

Counsel David Tyndale said Monday that Harkat's version of reality is "irreconcilable" with the government's view of his activities and associations.

Tyndale asked Federal Court Justice Simon Noel to weigh the full sweep of evidence before him, arguing there are "more than reasonable grounds" to conclude Harkat's behaviour less than innocent.

Harkat, a former gas bar attendant and pizza delivery man, was arrested in December 2002 on suspicion of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent.

The government wants to deport Harkat to his native Algeria under a national security certificate -- a seldom-used tool for removing suspected terrorists and spies.

The long-running case has hit numerous snags and delays, including a successful constitutional challenge that forced the government to revamp the security certificate regime.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: May 31, 2010 Judge suggests Harkat has lied about past

OTTAWA — The judge in the Mohamed Harkat security certificate case has suggested he must decide whether lying to the court about his past makes the Ottawa man a terrorist. Federal Court Judge Simon Noel said Monday he's in an "odd position" because he watched Harkat testify in public while also having the benefit of classified intelligence supplied in-camera, including transcripts from 13 intercepted telephone conversations. The judge suggested that Harkat has been untruthful, which means he must now come to terms with why Harkat lied and his demeanour on the witness stand while he did it. "Does lying make him a terrorist?" Noel asked government lawyer David Tyndale. Lawyers in the case are now making final submissions to Noel, who will have to determine whether two federal ministers made a reasonable decision in declaring Harkat a terrorist threat to Canada. Tyndale said the case will turn on Noel's assessment of Harkat's credibility because the judge has heard two irreconcilable stories.

[ Read the rest ... ]