URGENT CALL TO ALL FRIENDS AND ALLIES OF THE CHARKAOUIS AND TO THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT JUSTICE:

PACK THE COURT STARTING DECEMBER 9th!

Tuesday, December 9th, 9:30am
First Day of Show Trial
Federal Court, 30 McGill Street (Square Victoria metro), Montreal

*To avoid arriving after hearings have finished, please call to confirm before heading for the court: 514-222-0205 or 514-516-2793.

URGENT CALL FOR COURT ROOM SOLIDARITY

Starting Tuesday, December 9th, Adil Charkaoui will be subjected to part of the public portion of his Secret Trial, though it has just been revealed that CSIS has failed to provide evidence even to the court, let alone to Adil and his lawyers.

This is the first time in Charkaoui's case that a court will begin to publicly consider the "reasonability" of the Security Certificate that was issued against him.

It promises to be a veritable show trial: no charges; no evidence (apparently not even the judge has evidence to back up CSIS's secret reports); secret suspicions (Adil himself isn't even allowed to see the secret reports); low standards (the judge is not supposed to decide whether the allegations are true, but only whether they are "reasonable"). Meanwhile, secret hearings between the judge, the government and two special advocates have already taken place.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: COME OUT TO COURT!

Two weeks have been allotted for this so-called "debate on the certificate," though as is always the case with court, it cannot be predicted in advance how many days Adil will actually be in court. For that reason, we are asking people to come to court on the first two days, and to stay in touch with members of the Coalition to find out any updates.

The importance of filling up that court room each and every day Adil and his family are subjected to these biased and demoralizing proceedings cannot be underestimated. It also is a key time in terms of the urgency of the situation faced by Adil and the other four Security Certificate detainees, and the need for public support is greater than ever.

*In order to avoid showing up at court when it has already finished...*
Please call one of the following two numbers *before* heading to court:
514-222-0205 OR 514-516-2793.

*If court is cancelled or finishes early on a particular day...*
We will be meeting to do outreach in order to gather more support in court on the following days. So either way, you can count on using this time to support the campaign against Security Certificates. When you call to check whether court is on (at either of the phone numbers listed above), we will let you know where we are meeting if court is cancelled.

*Federal Court Watch (for Organizations):*
We invite all organizations to sign onto Federal Court Watch. We are specifically asking organizations to designate two of their members to be present in court on at least one of the days (though if you can commit two people for each day of court, even better!). To sign up, let us know which day(s) they will be coming, and for more details, email us at justiceforadil@riseup.net.

UPDATE FROM COURT LAST WEEK:

On Friday morning, the judge ruled that the Quebec Bar Association will be able to intervene in Adil's case (see their written arguments here). The Quebec Bar Association is the body that oversees professional legal practice throughout Quebec, and is the official professional organization of lawyers in Quebec.

OTHER WAYS OF SHOWING YOUR SOLIDARITY

If you can't make it to hearings, please participate in the cross-Canada Day of Action against secret rendition hearings on Wednesday, 10 December:

- In Montreal: Theatrical Action at NOON outside the Federal Court (30 McGill St., Square Victoria metro) on Wednesday, 10 December.

- In Toronto: Gather at CSIS with Santa Claus on Wednesday, December 10, 4:30-5:30 pm, for a Sing-Out Against Secret Trials. Contact tasc@web.ca or 416- 651-5800

- In Ottawa: Details forthcoming at: www.justiceforharkat.com. Contact: justicepourmohamedharkat@yahoo.ca