'We both had faith in the system'

posted on March 30, 2005 | in Category Mohamed Harkat | PermaLink

Original author: Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] (subscribers only) Date: March 24, 2005 Harkat's wife says 'Oh my God. Oh my God,' Mohamed Harkat repeated upon hearing a judge had labelled him a terrorist based on evidence he was never allowed to see. As he waits to learn his fate, the Algerian native and wife, Sophie, now feel let down by that system, she tells Andrew Duffy.

When told that a Federal Court judge had labelled him a terrorist, Mohamed Harkat banged his head against the glass partition that separated him from his wife, Sophie, at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre. "Oh my God. Oh my God," he repeated as he absorbed the meaning of the judgment. Tuesday's decision by Judge Eleanor Dawson means Mr. Harkat will likely remain in custody while government officials decide whether he can be deported to Algeria, where he believes he will be tortured or killed. Sophie Harkat told the Citizen in an interview yesterday that Tuesday's meeting with her husband was more difficult than the one after his sudden arrest in December 2002. "It was horrible ... for me to face him and tell him he's a terrorist in the eyes of the government," she said yesterday. "We both had faith in the court system; we both believed he could finally be getting out. That was the biggest disappointment."

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