Orignal author: Jessica Squires
Source: Briarpatch Magazine
URL: [link]
Date: December 8, 2005


“Those who exchange liberty for security will soon find they have neither. -- Benjamin Franklin (attributed)

"As someone who has suffered and endured physical and psychological torture at the hands of a regime that does not respect basic human rights, I find it very shocking that Canada will deport Mr. Jaballah to Egypt, a country it admits practices torture on detainees.

There is nothing on earth that justifies shipping off someone to torture. The best way to have security is to support and promote justice. If someone is guilty of breaking the law, then he should be allowed to see the evidence against him and to defend himself in an impartial and fair manner.

“It is about time for Canada to repair the damage that was done to its reputation since it was criticized by various human rights organizations for being directly or indirectly complicit in sending people to torture. Canada has a choice to make and I hope it chooses the right one by committing not to send people back to countries where they will face a substantial risk of being abused and tortured." --Maher Arar (Canadian citizen deported to Syria and tortured)


Without warning or explanation, a Muslim man is arrested and detained. Neither he nor his lawyers are given access to any evidence against him, and no charge is laid. The man is detained indefinitely on the basis that he might, at some point in the past, present, or future, pose a risk to national security. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has collected the required signatures of the Federal Ministers of Public Safety Citizenship and Immigration to authorize the detention.



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