Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 17 February 2005

Montreal, 17 February 2005 – The Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui is delighted with today’s Federal Court decision to release secret trial detainee Adil Charkaoui on bail. He and his family are expected to have an emotional reunion tomorrow, after almost two years of separation. Charkaoui had been detained since May 2003 without charge in Montreal.

“The court has done right to uphold the principle of freedom from arbitrary detention in this decision. We are proud of the people across Canada and Quebec who have stood up against secret trials and racism over the past months,” said Hind Charkaoui, Mr. Charkaoui’s sister.

“We now look forward to two things. The day that my brother is entirely cleared of these allegations, and the day that this discriminatory, Kafka-esque process is eliminated altogether,” added Hind Charkaoui.

The struggle is still far from over for Mr. Charkaoui and his family. In the coming weeks, Mr. Charkaoui will be in court for a judicial review of the certificate. Also to come is a judicial review of the Ministry of Public Safety’s decision in August 2004 to authorise Charkaoui’s deportation, despite the opinion of Immigration Canada and Amnesty International that he risks torture.

The father of two has always maintained his innocence. In his testimony last week, Charkaoui described the dynamic of surveillance and fear in Canadian Muslim communities. The secrecy and low evidentiary standard of the security certificate process – under which Mohamed Harkat, Hassan Almrei, Mahmoud Jaballah, and Mohammed Mahjoub are also detained - allows the government to detain and deport people on suspicion and hearsay. Many prominent individuals and groups, including the Canadian Labour Congress, AQOCI, Bruce Cockburn, Judy Rebick, and Sascha Trudeau, have joined the call to abolish security certificates. Denys Arcand, members of parliament Alexa McDonough and Meili Faille, former federal cabinet ministers Warren Allmand, and Flora MacDonald, CUPW President Deborah Bourque and Monia Mazigh are among the more than twenty –five who personally offered bail for Charkaoui’s conditional release.

Upcoming dates for Charkaoui:

21-25 February - Judicial review of security certificate (judge assesses whether it is possible that the government allegations could be true; i.e. he tests the "reasonability" of the certificate)
26 March - "Free the Five in 2005" Rally in Montreal
4-8 April - Judicial review of protection decision (judge assesses whether the Minister's delegate was correct in her August 2004 decision to refuse protection)

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