Montreal, 10 October 2007 – The Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui is deeply disappointed by the Federal Court’s decision to continue to impose bail conditions on Mr. Charkaoui, despite the Supreme Court ruling on 23 February 2007 that the security certificate process is unconstitutional, and despite the demonstrated lack of credibility of the public case against Mr. Charkaoui.

The 34-year old Montrealer, who was arrested in May 2003 under a security certificate, continues to live under severe restrictions on his liberty, which affect his entire family. The conditions were originally imposed on Mr. Charkaoui as a condition of his release from prison in February 2005. They include a requirement of accompaniment by his mother or father each time he leaves home, a curfew, electronic tracking, prohibitions on using internet, cell phones, and any telephone except the one in his home and restriction to the island of Montreal. On 22 August 2007, Me. Dominique Larochelle, one of Charkaoui’s lawyers, asked the Federal Court to lift Mr. Charkaoui’s conditions until the case against him is heard.

“Very obviously, I am deeply disappointed by today’s decision,” said Mr. Charkaoui. “My family and I had a great deal of hope that I would be free, and it is particularly difficult to receive this news just two days before the Eid holiday. However, we refuse to be discouraged, and we will certainly appeal.”

“We are astounded by the fact that the Court continues to take into consideration government information sourced to Ahmed Ressam. Since the beginning of this ordeal, Mr. Charkaoui has been asking to cross-examine Mr. Ressam. That right has never been granted. We know that Mr. Ressam had an interest in providing information to authorities because he thereby lessened his own sentence. In this way, he identified an incredible 130 people. He is known to have suffered a mental breakdown while in prison. And then he retracted his allegations,” stated Mary Foster, spokesperson for the Coalition.

“As for Nafia’a … there are serious indications that his information was produced under torture,” added Foster. “The court acknowledges that the government supplied information obtained from a source who was tortured: Abu Zubaydah. We have the lesson of the Maher Arar case, and the cases of Abdullah Almalki, El Maati, and Nureddin. These examples not only raise questions about the credibility of other secret information in the file, but should strengthen concerns that the government may have been less than scrupulous in verifying that Nafiaa’s information was not also produced under torture or coercion.”

“I am not a terrorist. I never was a terrorist. I do not pose a danger, I never did. I do not accept these conditions. I have no choice but to respect them; but in my heart I do not accept them. They seem to me to be more a form of punishment than actually designed to prevent terrorism,” said Charkaoui. “In its ruling that the security certificate process is illegal, the Supreme Court clearly found that I have the right to know the case against me. It is not much to ask: the right to defend myself, to clear my name of these false allegations, to enjoy the same freedoms as everyone else in Canada.”

In response to the Supreme Court decision, organizations such as the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, the Ligue des droits et libertés and the Canadian Council for Refugees have called on the government to reject the use of secret evidence and to stop using immigration procedures because they discriminate against non-citizens.

However, the Supreme Court ruling has not put an end to the ordeal for those subject to the secret trial process. Three men in Ontario – Mohamed Harkat, Mohammad Mahjoub and Mahmoud Jaballah - are held under house arrest, and a fifth, Hassan Almrei, remains isolated in Canada’s infamous “guantanamo north” in Kingston, Ontario. All remain under threat of deportation, despite the recognized illegality of the process and the acknowledged risk of torture.

Proponents of equality are gearing up for a renewed battle this fall, as the Conservative government has announced its intention of responding to the Supreme Court decision by introducing new secret trial legislation for non-citizens. The Coalition has called for the abolition of the security certificate since 2003.

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Motion to cancel conditions: www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/en/node/88
Federal court decision: www.fct-cf.gc.ca/

More information: 514 222 0205