Original author: Terry Pedwell Source: Canadian Press and CANADA.COM URL: [link] Date: March 23, 2005 Harkat supporters denounce court ruling, vow to fight security certificates OTTAWA (CP) - Supporters of alleged terror suspect Mohamed Harkat vowed Wednesday to keep battling federal security certificates like the one that has kept Harkat in prison for over two years. A Federal Court judge on Tuesday upheld a security certificate issued against Harkat, setting the stage for his deportation to Algeria. Justice Eleanor Dawson concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe Harkat had "supported terrorist activity" as a member of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, based on her assessment of secret evidence against him. Harkat supporters denounced the decision as another step in an unjust process. "Of course we were hoping for a different decision but we are not shocked by (the) outcome," said Christian Legeais of the Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee. "There is no justice with a process that does not conform to essential international legal standards," he said in a statement. Harkat's wife, Sophie, who has been leading a campaign to free him, said she's outraged by the ruling. "The justice system in Canada is in a sad state, and today I am outraged," she said through tears at an Ottawa news conference. "I am disgusted that I had to face my husband in jail . . . to let him know that the Canadian government had ruled against him," she said. "I was basically confirming a death sentence."

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