Fundraising Campaign to cover legal costs

It's been two years since the Federal Court of Canada struck down the security certificate that held the Charkaoui family in a virtual prison for six and a half years. Two years have passed but the struggle for justice is still not won. The government has not been held accountable and Adil Charkaoui still does not have citizenship. We need your support!

From 2003 to 2009:

* Adil was imprisoned, for 22 months, at Rivière des prairies Detention Centre in Montreal, without charge and on the basis of information that was never disclosed to him;

* For over four years, he was subject to an intrusive and humiliating form of house arrest, still without charge, and without disclosure of the information;

* CSIS destroyed evidence in his file and, although the Supreme Court agreed that the practice was illegal and that it created a prejudice against Adil in the case, CSIS was not penalized and the case continued;

* The Supreme Court struck down security certificate legislation as unconstitutional, but Adil was kept under the same conditions until "new" legislation - which the Quebec Bar Association qualified as "not sufficiently different from its predecessor to be considered constitutionally valid" - was introduced, a new certificate issued and the process started all over again;

* Adil has suffered innumerable public attacks on his reputation by government officials and mainstream media, tarnishing his reputation and endangering his personal security and that of his family;

* Top secret documents, containing false and slanderous allegations against Adil, were leaked to media - although both RCMP and CSIS initiated investigations into the first such leak, no results of those investigations were ever made public;

* False and inflammatory information against Adil was shared with dozens of foreign countries, seriously compromising his personal safety;

* Adil was threatened with deportation, despite the fact that Immigration Canada recognized that he was at risk of torture, cruel and unusual punishment or death if deported - worse, in 2005, Radio Canada revealed the existence of a concealed arrest warrant for Adil in Morocco, raising very troubling questions about the knowledge and role of Canadian officials in the danger this created for him if he were deported; and

* Adil's teaching permit was withheld by the Minister of Education of Quebec because of the security certificate, causing Adil to lose his job and the family income.

In the end, the government simply withdrew the information from Adil's security certificate file: when the Federal Court finally tried to force CSIS to reveal the information used to justify all these extraordinary measures, thus at last affording Adil some measure of opportunity to clear his name in open court, the crown "ran away like a thief in the night" in the words of his lawyer, Johanne Doyon. The certificate was then thrown out as baseless.

Adil has received no apology. The government refuses to admit that they made a mistake. He and his family have received no compensation for the lost years, the lost income, the loss of reputation, the irreparable damage to personal security and well-being. The media continues to propogate dangerous slander. Citizenship is still withheld.

Shortly after winning his case, Adil called on the government to issue an apology, grant him citizenship and provide reasonable reparation. There was no response. Adil was then forced to turn to the courts to seek the apology he needed to begin putting his life back together and to hold the government accountable for its actions. The lawsuit has now been underway for more than a year and a half, as Adil's legal team strives to surmount multiple impediments of secret information, voluminous documentation, and the clear intention of the government to throw up roadblocks in its path. Adil's lawyers, who have worked with him for eight years, building up considerable trust and knowledge of the case, have reached the point where they absolutely need financial support to continue. They face a much larger, much better resourced team of government lawyers. Court costs alone are significant.

Moreover, Adil's application for citizenship, submitted in 1999, twelve years ago, has not moved forward. Lack of citizenship leaves Adil in a state of vulnerability and uncertainty. Legal action to force the government to respond to the application is, in theory, possible, but it remains out of reach at the moment due to legal costs.

To continue the lawsuit and to launch a motion for citizenship, the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui needs financial support. We are turning once again to our networks of solidarity: to individuals, grassroots collectives, unions, human rights organizations, student groups, social justice organizations and community groups. We need your support to continue this important bid for accountability. Please consider making a contribution.

TO DONATE

Make your cheque to:
"Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui"
and write "legal appeal" in the memo line

and mail it to:
1984 Le Ber
Montreal QC H3K 2A7

in solidarity
Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui
justiceforadil@riseup.net
www.adilinfo.org