Original author: Tamara Lorincz
Source: The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax, NS)
URL: [link] (subscribers only)
Date: June 8, 2005


Today is the national day of action to demand justice for the five Muslim men who have been detained without charges, and face deportation to torture under the security certificate process. Concerned Canadians are calling on the federal government to abolish security certificates, because they deny refugees and permanent residents who are in Canada their fundamental legal and human rights.

Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, sections 7-11, Canadians are guaranteed "the right to life, liberty and security of the person . . . to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure . . . not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned . . . on arrest or detention to be informed promptly of the reasons . . . to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal."

These same rights are also stipulated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, international agreements that Canada claims to endorse. However, these fundamental rights are denied to non-Canadians in Canada under the security certificate process, sections 9, 76-87 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.Currently, there are four men who have been imprisoned without charges in Canadian jails for almost five years, under the authority of security certificates: Hassan Almrei, Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohamed Harkat. Most of these men are married with children. In February, Adil Charkaoui, who was imprisoned for 21 months, was released on bail under severe restrictions, making it very difficult for him to work and care for his family, and he is still threatened with deportation.

It was the minister of Public Security and Emergency Preparedness and the minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada who signed off on the security certificates, based on reports prepared by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. However, the men have not been able to see these full reports. Nor do they know the complete set of evidence used against them in secret trials, where they and their lawyers have not been able to attend. Consequently, the men cannot mount a meaningful defence.

Once a Federal Court judge finds that the security certificate issued is "reasonable," the men are given immediate deportation orders and cannot appeal the ruling. The judge's decision is based on the lowest standard of evidentiary proof of any legal process in Canada. Thus, it is often based on suspicion and hearsay that security certificate detainees are subject to deportation to countries - including Syria, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco - where they face more unfair imprisonment, torture or even death. It should be recalled that it was suspicion on the part of the CSIS and the RCMP that had Canadian Maher Arar sent to Syria, where he endured 10 months of solitary confinement and torture.

Yet, Canada has ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which prohibits parties to the convention from returning or extraditing "a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture" (Article 3). In its May report, the United Nations Committee Against Torture expressed its concern that Canada's security certificate process excludes detainees from the protection of Article 3. The committee "urged that Canada should unconditionally undertake to respect the absolute nature of Article 3 in all circumstances."

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the federal government to reform the security certificate process, so that it meets Canada's international human rights obligations and prevents detainees from being deported where they face the risk of torture. According to Amnesty International, it is only through criminal proceedings that meet international fair trial standards that both justice and security are ensured.

Our country prides itself on respecting the rule of law and upholding human rights, so we must end this shameful practice of security certificates. In 1963, in a letter written from his jail cell in Birmingham, Ala., the great civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

As part of this national day of action, the Halifax Peace Coalition is inviting people to join us at an information picket and to attend a street theatre performance at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Spring Garden public library. In solidarity, there will be a 24-hour vigil taking place outside Prime Minister Paul Martin's constituency office in Montreal. Another 24-hour vigil is also taking place in Toronto at the minister of Citizenship and Immigration's office. In Vancouver, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association will conduct a press conference and street-theatre event outside the local office of the Federal Refugee Board. In Ottawa, an outdoor evening event featuring music and poetry will be held.

Tamara Lorincz is a member of the Halifax Peace Coalition.

Copyright © 2005 The Halifax Herald Limited