by Mohammed Adam
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: February 3, 2010
Mohamed Harkat ended two days of testimony Tuesday, laying bare his past ruinous gambling addiction and continuing to deny he was a sleeper agent or that he had any contact with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, as the government contends.
He described to Federal Court Judge Simon Noël his expensive gambling habit that cost him up to $100,000 and acknowledged the corrosive addiction put him in debt and nearly ruined his marriage.
Harkat said he lost thousands playing mainly blackjack at the Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau. He gambled every cent he had, even his savings. Eventually, he said he had to ask to be banned from the casino after his wife Sophie told him choose gambling or her. "I tell the security (at the casino) I like to ban myself. I did for a year," he said. "It was out of control. I lost all the business money I had."
[ Read the rest ... ]
Harkat tells court about his gambling
posted on February 04, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLinkHarkat denies he ran errands for terrorists
posted on February 04, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Aedan Helmer
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: February 3, 2010
Mohamed Harkat categorically denies allegations by the Canadian government that he was an active jihadist and a member of “an international extremist network that supported Osama bin Laden.”
“That’s against my beliefs,” Harkat said Tuesday when asked by defence lawyer Matthew Webber if he supported using violence of any kind.
“It’s against my beliefs for somebody to use violence against a human being.”
Harkat took the stand in his own defence for the second day Tuesday, denying allegations that he ran a safe house for Afghan mujahedeen while he was living in Pakistan in the 1990s, denying that he ran errands and worked as a chauffeur for terrorists, and denying that he had close connections to Ahmed Said Khadr, a known associate of bin Laden.
“That’s not true,” Harkat said.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: The Ottawa Sun
URL: [link]
Date: February 3, 2010
Mohamed Harkat categorically denies allegations by the Canadian government that he was an active jihadist and a member of “an international extremist network that supported Osama bin Laden.”
“That’s against my beliefs,” Harkat said Tuesday when asked by defence lawyer Matthew Webber if he supported using violence of any kind.
“It’s against my beliefs for somebody to use violence against a human being.”
Harkat took the stand in his own defence for the second day Tuesday, denying allegations that he ran a safe house for Afghan mujahedeen while he was living in Pakistan in the 1990s, denying that he ran errands and worked as a chauffeur for terrorists, and denying that he had close connections to Ahmed Said Khadr, a known associate of bin Laden.
“That’s not true,” Harkat said.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Harkat says he's no sleeper
posted on February 03, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Mohammed Adam
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: February 2, 2010
[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat seemed in a lighthearted mood as his testimony began in the Security Certificate Hearing Monday, February 1, 2010 at the Supreme Court of Canada.]
OTTAWA — Mohamed Harkat completed two days of testimony Tuesday, saying he is neither a sleeper agent, an extremist nor a member of the Bin Laden network, as the government contends.
He told federal court judge Simon Noel that he never knew nor met alleged 9/11 mastermind Abu Zubaydah, and while in Pakistan, he did not associate with extremists.
“That's not true,” he said when asked about being a sleeper agent.
Harkat completed his testimony on a day that his expensive gambling habit, during which he lost between $65,000 and $100,000 was laid bare in court.
He acknowledged a corrosive addiction that put him in debt and nearly ruined his marriage.
Harkat said he lost thousands of dollars playing mainly blackjack at the Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau. He gambled every cent he had, raiding his savings and deposit account. Harkat said he couldn't help himself, winning and losing large sums of money. Eventually, he had to ask that he be banned from the casino after his wife Sophie asked him choose gambling or her.
“I tell the security (at the casino) I like to ban myself. I did for a year,” he said.
“It was out of control. I lost all the business money I had.”
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: February 2, 2010
[PHOTO: Mohamed Harkat seemed in a lighthearted mood as his testimony began in the Security Certificate Hearing Monday, February 1, 2010 at the Supreme Court of Canada.]
OTTAWA — Mohamed Harkat completed two days of testimony Tuesday, saying he is neither a sleeper agent, an extremist nor a member of the Bin Laden network, as the government contends.
He told federal court judge Simon Noel that he never knew nor met alleged 9/11 mastermind Abu Zubaydah, and while in Pakistan, he did not associate with extremists.
“That's not true,” he said when asked about being a sleeper agent.
Harkat completed his testimony on a day that his expensive gambling habit, during which he lost between $65,000 and $100,000 was laid bare in court.
He acknowledged a corrosive addiction that put him in debt and nearly ruined his marriage.
Harkat said he lost thousands of dollars playing mainly blackjack at the Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau. He gambled every cent he had, raiding his savings and deposit account. Harkat said he couldn't help himself, winning and losing large sums of money. Eventually, he had to ask that he be banned from the casino after his wife Sophie asked him choose gambling or her.
“I tell the security (at the casino) I like to ban myself. I did for a year,” he said.
“It was out of control. I lost all the business money I had.”
[ Read the rest ... ]
Début du contre-interrogatoire
posted on February 03, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
Source: Radio-Canada
URL: [link]
Date: 2 février 2010
La Couronne a commencé son contre-interrogatoire de l'Ottavien Mohamed Harkat, soupçonné d'activités terroristes, en fin d'après-midi mardi, en Cour fédérale. L'avocat du gouvernement, David Tyndale, a demandé au témoin pourquoi il était entré au Canada avec un faux passeport saoudien, en laissant derrière lui ses vrais documents algériens.
Mohamed Harkat, âgé de 41 ans, a répondu qu'il s'agissait du moyen le plus efficace pour être admis au Canada comme réfugié.
L'avocat a aussi interrogé l'homme d'origine algérienne sur son appartenance au Front islamique du salut (FIS). La Couronne voulait savoir s'il avait voyagé en Afghanistan en tant que partisan du FIS. Mohamed Harkat a nié avoir mis les pieds dans ce pays.
Plus tôt dans la journée, le témoin, interrogé cette fois par son avocat, a nié en bloc toutes les allégations voulant qu'il soit lié à des mouvements islamiques extrémistes.
Le tribunal se penche depuis la fin janvier sur la validité du certificat de sécurité émis contre Mohamed Harkat en décembre 2002. Les autorités canadiennes soupçonnent l'ex-livreur de pizza d'être un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda, ce qu'il a toujours nié.
La Couronne poursuit son contre-interrogatoire mercredi.
URL: [link]
Date: 2 février 2010
La Couronne a commencé son contre-interrogatoire de l'Ottavien Mohamed Harkat, soupçonné d'activités terroristes, en fin d'après-midi mardi, en Cour fédérale. L'avocat du gouvernement, David Tyndale, a demandé au témoin pourquoi il était entré au Canada avec un faux passeport saoudien, en laissant derrière lui ses vrais documents algériens.
Mohamed Harkat, âgé de 41 ans, a répondu qu'il s'agissait du moyen le plus efficace pour être admis au Canada comme réfugié.
L'avocat a aussi interrogé l'homme d'origine algérienne sur son appartenance au Front islamique du salut (FIS). La Couronne voulait savoir s'il avait voyagé en Afghanistan en tant que partisan du FIS. Mohamed Harkat a nié avoir mis les pieds dans ce pays.
Plus tôt dans la journée, le témoin, interrogé cette fois par son avocat, a nié en bloc toutes les allégations voulant qu'il soit lié à des mouvements islamiques extrémistes.
Le tribunal se penche depuis la fin janvier sur la validité du certificat de sécurité émis contre Mohamed Harkat en décembre 2002. Les autorités canadiennes soupçonnent l'ex-livreur de pizza d'être un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda, ce qu'il a toujours nié.
La Couronne poursuit son contre-interrogatoire mercredi.
Harkat denies knowing Abu Zubaydah
posted on February 03, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Jim Bronskill (CP)
Source: The Winnipeg Free Press
URL: [link]
Date: February 2, 2010
Terror suspect Harkat denies knowing al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah
OTTAWA - Terror suspect Mohamed Harkat denies knowing al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah and disputes a federal claim he was ready to carry out instructions on behalf of the high-profile extremist.
Harkat told Federal Court on Tuesday he had no recollection of a conversation in which he was supposedly advised that Zubaydah wanted him to pay the legal fees of a Saudi man arrested upon arriving in Canada.
According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Harkat told an unidentified acquaintance he was ready to pay $1,000 to help out Abu Messab Al Shehre if contacted by Zubaydah and told to do so.
Harkat allegedly said he didn't fear being called at home by Zubaydah and that he knew him personally.
Harkat acknowledges visiting Al Shehre, who was deported to Saudi Arabia as a security risk in 1997, while he was being held at an Ottawa detention centre.
But Harkat told the court there was no way he could have made the comments about legal fees "because I don't know Abu Zubaydah."
[ Read the rest ... ]
Lack of disclosure unfair to terror suspect, Harkat lawyer argues
posted on February 03, 2010 | in Category Security Certificates | PermaLink
Source: The Canadian Press
URL: [link]
Date: February 2, 2010
OTTAWA — A lawyer for Mohamed Harkat says it's unfair to the terror suspect that he has no idea how much of the evidence against him comes from CSIS wiretaps.
Matt Webber pleaded with the Federal Court today for an accounting of the spy service intercepts.
It is still unclear whether the federal government will divulge how many of the alleged conversations involving Harkat were picked up electronically or reported by human sources.
The government is trying to deport the Algerian-born Harkat using a national security certificate, a rarely employed immigration tool.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleges Harkat, arrested almost seven years ago, has ties to Islamic extremists.
The former gas-station attendant and pizza delivery man, who lives in Ottawa with his wife, denies involvement with terrorism.
Harkat began his second day of testimony today at hearings to test the validity of the security certificate.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
URL: [link]
Date: February 2, 2010
OTTAWA — A lawyer for Mohamed Harkat says it's unfair to the terror suspect that he has no idea how much of the evidence against him comes from CSIS wiretaps.
Matt Webber pleaded with the Federal Court today for an accounting of the spy service intercepts.
It is still unclear whether the federal government will divulge how many of the alleged conversations involving Harkat were picked up electronically or reported by human sources.
The government is trying to deport the Algerian-born Harkat using a national security certificate, a rarely employed immigration tool.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleges Harkat, arrested almost seven years ago, has ties to Islamic extremists.
The former gas-station attendant and pizza delivery man, who lives in Ottawa with his wife, denies involvement with terrorism.
Harkat began his second day of testimony today at hearings to test the validity of the security certificate.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Harkat nie tout lien avec des terroristes
posted on February 02, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
par René Hardy
Source: Radio-Canada
URL: [link]
Date: 1 février 2010
Source: Radio-Canada
URL: [link]
Date: 1 février 2010
========================
Voir aussi:
AUDIO: Le reportage de René Hardy
========================
L'Ottavien Mohamed Harkat, soupçonné d'activités terroristes, a témoigné lundi en Cour fédérale. Interrogé par son avocat, l'homme d'origine algérienne est revenu sur ses activités politiques en Algérie, avant son entrée au Canada à titre de réfugié. Mohamed Harkat a milité au début des années 1990 pour le Front islamique du salut (FIS). Il affirme que le groupe islamique armé (GIA) avait décidé de s'en prendre à tous les membres du FIS, ce qui l'a contraint à fuir. Mohamed Harkat affirme qu'il s'agissait pour lui d'une question de vie ou de mort. Il a d'abord fui en Arabie saoudite, pour se rendre ensuite au Pakistan. Il nie y avoir travailler dans une maison servant de refuge pour des combattants afghans. Il nie aussi y avoir connu le Canadien d'origine égyptienne Ahmed Saïd Khadr, membre haut placé d'Al-Qaïda décédé en 2003. Il l'a rencontré par la suite lors d'un voyage en voiture entre Ottawa et Toronto. Le tribunal se penche depuis la fin janvier sur la validité du certificat de sécurité émis contre Mohamed Harkat en décembre 2002. Les autorités canadiennes le soupçonnent d'être un agent dormant du réseau terroriste Al-Qaïda, ce que Harkat a toujours nié.
Harkat denies links to terrorism in court
posted on February 02, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by The Canadian Press
Source: CBC News
URL: [link]
Date: February 1, 2010
An alleged al-Qaeda sleeper agent emphatically denied running a safe house for Afghan fighters in Pakistan as he recounted his flight from his native Algeria to eventually seek refugee status in Canada.
Mohamed Harkat, 41, took the stand Monday at a Federal Court hearing examining the validity of a rarely used security certificate against him.
The former Ottawa gas attendant and pizza delivery man has been in legal limbo — charged with no crime but under threat of deportation — for seven years on secret evidence that is largely barred from Harkat or the public.
Two of the principal links to terrorist support networks that have been alleged against Harkat involve a Peshawar safe house and claims of ties to Ahmed Said Khadr, a known associate of Osama bin Laden and the late father of Omar Khadr.
Harkat flatly denied both.
"Your honour, I never worked for Khadr or went in his office" in Peshawar, Harkat told Justice Simon Noel, adding he "never met" Khadr at the time.
As for a Peshawar safe house, it "never happened," said Harkat.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: CBC News
URL: [link]
Date: February 1, 2010
An alleged al-Qaeda sleeper agent emphatically denied running a safe house for Afghan fighters in Pakistan as he recounted his flight from his native Algeria to eventually seek refugee status in Canada.
Mohamed Harkat, 41, took the stand Monday at a Federal Court hearing examining the validity of a rarely used security certificate against him.
The former Ottawa gas attendant and pizza delivery man has been in legal limbo — charged with no crime but under threat of deportation — for seven years on secret evidence that is largely barred from Harkat or the public.
Two of the principal links to terrorist support networks that have been alleged against Harkat involve a Peshawar safe house and claims of ties to Ahmed Said Khadr, a known associate of Osama bin Laden and the late father of Omar Khadr.
Harkat flatly denied both.
"Your honour, I never worked for Khadr or went in his office" in Peshawar, Harkat told Justice Simon Noel, adding he "never met" Khadr at the time.
As for a Peshawar safe house, it "never happened," said Harkat.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Harkat denies working for extremists
posted on February 02, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Canwest News
Source: The Edmonton Journal via The Montreal Gazette
URL: [link]
Date: February 2, 2010
Mohamed Harkat took the stand Monday and denied ever running a safe house for Islamic extremists in Pakistan.
Led in evidence by lawyer Matt Webber, Harkat said he never met or worked for Ahmed Said Khadr -- a close ally of Osama bin Laden -- in Pakistan.
"I never worked for Khadr, I never met him in Pakistan," he said.
Nor did he ever go to Afghanistan, he told the court.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Source: The Edmonton Journal via The Montreal Gazette
URL: [link]
Date: February 2, 2010
Mohamed Harkat took the stand Monday and denied ever running a safe house for Islamic extremists in Pakistan.
Led in evidence by lawyer Matt Webber, Harkat said he never met or worked for Ahmed Said Khadr -- a close ally of Osama bin Laden -- in Pakistan.
"I never worked for Khadr, I never met him in Pakistan," he said.
Nor did he ever go to Afghanistan, he told the court.
[ Read the rest ... ]
I never went to Afghanistan: Harkat
posted on February 01, 2010 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink
by Mohammed Adam
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: February 1, 2010
OTTAWA — Mohamed Harkat took the stand in his own defence Monday and denied ever having been to Afghanistan, a key point in the government case in favour of limiting his freedom with an immigration security certificate.
One of the allegations against him is that he went to Afghanistan in the 1990s and lied about it when he came to Canada.
Asked by his lawyer Matt Webber whether he had ever been to Afghanistan, he replied: "Never."
Asked again if he had ever been to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, he again replied: "Never."
An Algerian-born Muslim, Harkat has been subject to a security certificate since 2002.
The certificate is a tool the government can use to limit the freedom of people in Canada who are not citizens and are said to be threats to Canadian national security, but who can't be deported to their home countries for fear they would be tortured or killed by the governments there.
He was first imprisoned, and now is out of government custody but has to keep to strict conditions.
Today's hearing is part of a judicial process to determine whether the use of the security certificate is reasonable in Harkat's case.
The hearing continues.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
URL: [link]
Date: February 1, 2010
OTTAWA — Mohamed Harkat took the stand in his own defence Monday and denied ever having been to Afghanistan, a key point in the government case in favour of limiting his freedom with an immigration security certificate.
One of the allegations against him is that he went to Afghanistan in the 1990s and lied about it when he came to Canada.
Asked by his lawyer Matt Webber whether he had ever been to Afghanistan, he replied: "Never."
Asked again if he had ever been to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, he again replied: "Never."
An Algerian-born Muslim, Harkat has been subject to a security certificate since 2002.
The certificate is a tool the government can use to limit the freedom of people in Canada who are not citizens and are said to be threats to Canadian national security, but who can't be deported to their home countries for fear they would be tortured or killed by the governments there.
He was first imprisoned, and now is out of government custody but has to keep to strict conditions.
Today's hearing is part of a judicial process to determine whether the use of the security certificate is reasonable in Harkat's case.
The hearing continues.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
