OTTAWA - A man who has been detained for three years on suspicion of being an Al Qaeda sleeper agent was denied bail today. Mohamed Harkat was arrested at his Ottawa apartment in December 2002 on a security certificate issued by the federal government. Harkat's lawyer, Matthew Webber, said his client was "quite upset" with the decision by Federal Court Justice Francois Lemieux. A CSIS official testified in November that Harkat, who has never been charged, would be a threat to national security if he were released. In March, a Federal Court justice upheld the security certificate on which he has been held, paving the way for Harkat's deportation to his native Algeria.

[ Read the rest ... ]