by Mohammed Adam
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: March 31, 2010 2:10 PM


OTTAWA — The Canadian Security Intelligence Service engaged in such massive destruction of records that the case against accused terrorist Mohamed Harkat should be stayed, his lawyer argued Wednesday in Federal Court.

Ottawa lawyer Matt Webber told Judge Simon Noel that the conduct of CSIS was so "egregious" that there's no remedy but to throw out the case.

On the second day of the first constitutional challenge of Canada's revised security certificate system, Webber said the very integrity of the administration of justice is at stake.

"They mounted a policy of destruction of evidence...I cannot conceive of a case (where) the state has destroyed all of the records," he said.

When the judge pointed out that the destruction of the records was not done out of malice, Webber replied, "they made a mistake but my client should not be on the receiving end of that mistake."

He argued that what is before the court are summaries of evidence that do not allow Harkat to challenge the case against him. Webber said the court cannot rely on "grotesquely incomplete records that were rendered grotesquely incomplete by the conduct of the state."

On Tuesday the court heard from another of Harkat's lawyers, Norm Boxall, that the special certificate under which Harkat was detained as an al-Qaeda sleeper agent is fatally flawed. Boxall said the law denies Harkat the basic right to know the case against him, preventing him from mounting a proper defence.

The government alleges that Harkat, a pizza delivery man in Ottawa, came to Canada in 1995 from Pakistan as a sleeper agent. In 2002, he was declared an alleged national security threat and detained under the security certificate process, which allows the government to present evidence in secret.

The hearing is to determine whether the government was right to detain him. He faces deportation to his native Algeria if the judge rules against him. Harkat has denied he was a sleeper agent or that he had any contact with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, as the government contends.

The hearing was to continue Wednesday afternoon.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

by Mohammed Adam Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: March 31, 2010 Ottawa man cannot 'meaningfully' meet charges, federal court hears

The special certificate under which Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat was detained as an al-Qaeda sleeper agent is fatally flawed, and the case against him should be thrown out, his lawyers argued Tuesday in federal court. In the first constitutional challenge of Canada's revised security certificate system, Ottawa lawyer Norm Boxall said the law denies Harkat the basic right to know the case against him preventing him from mounting a proper defence. Boxall argued that Harkat cannot "meaningfully" meet the allegations against him as the Supreme Court intended three years ago when much of the case is still being heard in secret, with Harkat and his lawyers cut off from the proceedings. The tenets of fundamental justice require that a person charged with wrong-doing must be able to see the evidence and challenge allegations. Despite changes brought in by the federal government after the Supreme Court found the original security certificate regime unconstitutional, Harkat is still in the dark about the case against him. "The case should not be decided substantially in secret," Boxall said.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Aedaen Helmer
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: March 30, 2010

Government lawyers went on the defensive yesterday when it was suggested Mohamed Harkat has been denied constitutional rights throughout his deportation hearing.

Norm Boxall, defence counsel for the accused terrorist, said Harkat has been forced to deny “bald accusations” throughout the proceedings while details of the allegations against him are heard in secret.

“Summaries (of secret evidence) fail to meet the minimum disclosure that’s required, and national security concerns trump all,” said Boxall. “There’s no balancing.”

Boxall told Federal Court Justice Simon Noel that the public disclosure of evidence is insufficient for Harkat to respond beyond issuing a blanket denial of allegations, and insufficient for Harkat to give instructions to his court-appointed special advocates, who are the only ones allowed to argue on his behalf during secret hearings.

Harkat and his lawyers have yet to hear the government’s full case against him on grounds of national security.

But Boxall said that unbalanced playing field amounts to a violation of the rights afforded to Harkat under chapter seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“If the right to be heard is a real right, (Harkat) has to have the opportunity to hear the case against him and respond appropriately in an informed manner,” said Boxall.

Justice Noel responded that the ongoing struggle between protecting human rights and ensuring national security amounted to “a battle of two Titans.”

[ Read the rest ... ]

Souce: CBC News URL: [link] Date: March 30, 2010 Ottawa man accused of being terrorist sleeper agent wants case thrown out

A Federal Court is hearing closing arguments in the case of an Ottawa man accused of being a terrorist sleeper agent, with his lawyers set to argue the government violated his rights by issuing a security certificate against him. Mohamed Harkat, 41, was arrested in December 2002 after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleged he had ties to known al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah and other Islamic extremists. He was released on bail in 2006 after being held without trial under a national security certificate. The former gas-station attendant and pizza delivery man, who lives in Ottawa with his wife, Sophie, has denied the allegations and said he is merely a refugee who fled strife-torn Algeria, working with an aid agency in Pakistan before his 1995 arrival in Canada using a fake Saudi passport.

[ Read the rest ... ]

by Canadian Press
Source: The Winnipeg Free Press
URL: [link]
Date: March 30, 2010

OTTAWA - A lawyer for Mohamed Harkat says the security-certificate case against the terror suspect violates his client's constitutional rights.

Norm Boxall told the Federal Court of Canada today that federal lawyers have disclosed insufficient details of the accusations. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleges Harkat, arrested in December 2002, is an al-Qaida sleeper agent with ties to several Islamic extremists.

The former gas-bar employee and pizza delivery man denies any involvement with terrorism.

Harkat says he is merely a refugee who fled his strife-torn Algerian homeland and worked with an aid agency in Pakistan before his 1995 arrival in Canada using a false Saudi passport.

The government is trying to deport Harkat on a national security certificate, a rarely used immigration tool for removing suspected terrorists.

© 2010 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved.

by Mohammed Adam
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: March 30, 2010

OTTAWA — The lawyers for Mohamed Harkat asked a Federal Court Tuesday to throw out the case against him, saying the security certificate law under which he was declared an al-Qaeda sleeper agent is unconstitutional.

Lawyer Norm Boxall's main argument was that much of the hearing is being held in secret without Harkat knowing the case against him.

The challenge goes back to a three-year-old Supreme Court of Canada decision that declared the original security certificate regime unconstitutional because the accused were not able to know the case against them. The court gave the federal government one year to fix the law, which it did by bringing in the special advocate.

But Boxall said the new law remains fundamentally flawed. Harkat still doesn't know the case against him in order to mount a proper defence and the special advocates who are supposed to represent his interests in the closed hearings are restricted in what they can do, Boxall said.

Crucially, he added, the special advocates cannot talk to Harkat and get instructions from him and they cannot talk to his open-court lawyers.

"The case should not be decided substantially in secret," he said.

The government alleges Harkat, a pizza delivery man in Ottawa, came to Canada in 1995 from Pakistan as a sleeper agent. In 2002, he was declared a national security threat and detained under the security certificate process. The hearing is to determine whether the government was right to detain him. He faces deportation to his native Algeria if the judge rules against him. Harkat has denied he was a sleeper agent or that he had any contact with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, as the government contends.

The hearing was to continue Tuesday afternoon.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

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Click HERE to see more photos from the recent Rally Against Secret Trials that was held in Ottawa at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin Street. A big Thank You to Terry Stavnyck for sharing these photos.

par Catherine Lamontagne Source: Le Droit URL: [link] Date: 28 mars 2010 [PHOTO: L'audition de la cause de Mohamed Harkat reprendra demain devant la Cour suprême] À quelques jours de la reprise des audiences dans la cause du Canadien d'origine algérienne Mohamed Harkat, des dizaines de manifestants se sont réunis au Monument canadien pour les droits de la personne à Ottawa pour dénoncer les « procès secrets », samedi.

La manifestation, organisée par le comité Justice pour Mohamed Harkat, avait pour objectif de demander la révocation du certificat de sécurité qui pèse sur M. Harkat depuis 2002. Le Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité (SCRS) soutient qu'il est un extrémiste islamiste et un collaborateur du réseau al-Qaïda. Il a été remis en liberté sous de strictes conditions - il n'a toujours pas le droit de posséder un téléphone cellulaire ou un ordinateur et il doit être accompagné lors de tous ses déplacements - mais demeure menacé d'expulsion vers son pays d'origine. « Mohamed n'a jamais été et ne sera jamais un terroriste. Il est un homme gentil et généreux. Il est apprécié par tout le monde », a déclaré Jessica Squires au nom de la femme de l'accusé, Sophie Harkat. Plusieurs personnalités de la fonction publique et de la colline parlementaire sont venues dénoncer le « procès secret dont est victime M. Harkat », dont le député néo-démocrate, Paul Dewar. « Le certificat de sécurité qui pèse sur M. Harkat est contraire à la charte et surtout contraire aux droits humains et à la dignité humaine », affirme M. Dewar.

[ Read the rest ... ]

par Radio-Canada URL: [link] Date: 27 mars 2010 Quelques dizaines de manifestants se sont réunis au centre-ville d'Ottawa pour dénoncer ce qu'ils appellent des « procès secrets ». La manifestation a été organisée par le comité Justice pour Mohamed Harkat. Ce Canadien d'origine algérienne est visé par un certificat de sécurité depuis 2002, car il est soupçonné d'activité terroriste. Les manifestants ont réclamé que ce certificat de sécurité soit révoqué. Mohamed Harkat Mohamed Harkat a d'ailleurs pris part à cette manifestation. Même si ses conditions de remise en liberté sont moins restrictives, il n'a toujours pas le droit de posséder un téléphone cellulaire et un ordinateur. Il peut également circuler librement dans la région d'Ottawa, mais il doit être accompagné par quelqu'un approuvé par le gouvernement pour se rendre à l'extérieur. Par ailleurs, l'audition de la cause de Mohamed Harkat reprendra mardi devant la Cour Suprême du Canada. Il sera question de la constitutionnalité du certificat. Jusqu'à maintenant, deux certificats ont été invalidés par les tribunaux: ceux de Hassan Almrei et d'Adil Charkaoui. "Procès secret"

En vertu d'un certificat de sécurité, une mesure qui fait partie de la législation canadienne depuis 1978, le Canada peut emprisonner ou expulser du pays un résident permanent ou un étranger qui représenterait une menace à la sécurité nationale. Cette procédure ne découle pas de la Loi antiterroriste, mais bien de la Loi sur l'immigration et la protection des réfugiés. Contrairement à un ordre d'expulsion traditionnel, Ottawa peut garder le secret sur le détail de sa preuve, prétextant la sécurité nationale ou la protection de sources. Un certificat de sécurité n'est délivré que si le gouvernement doit protéger certains renseignements pour des raisons de sécurité nationale. TOUS DROITS RÉSERVÉS © CBC/RADIO-CANADA 2010

by Aedan Helmer
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: March 27, 2010

In the final throes of winter, wisps of steam hover above the few stubborn snow piles that dot the rocky bluff on the Ottawa River where the highest halls of power in the land reside.

Mohamed Harkat, his wife Sophie perpetually at his side, sits on the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada, facing west into the unseasonably warm afternoon sun.

“What did any of that have to do with Moe?” says Sophie, frustration rising in her voice. “What did any of that have to do with us, with our case?”

Harkat pauses for a photographer and ambles up the steps, his leg hobbled by an old injury and his pant leg visibly bulging where a GPS tracking unit has been shackled to his ankle for the better part of four years.

Inside federal courtroom No. 1, government lawyers are grilling Prof. Brian Williams — the savvy American terrorism expert called to testify by Harkat’s defence team — trying to poke holes in testimony he gave years ago in the Guantanamo Bay trial of Salim Hamdan, personal driver and bodyguard to Osama bin Laden.

But into the fifth hour of cross examination, the lines of questioning begin to veer.

A few Harkat supporters and court observers shuffle in their seats as Williams makes clear his position on the role of the Taliban in harbouring al-Qaida operatives. Some quietly filter out of the courtroom when questioning turns to precise details of the bloody Chechnyan resistance against the Russian militia.

[ Read the rest ... ]