Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 20 April 2007

Montreal, 20 April 2007 -- With Ahmed Ressam's admission that he fabricated information against Quebecker Adil Charkaoui, there is more reason than ever to question information provided by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the agency responsible for initiating security certificate proceedings.

Mr. Charkaoui, whose constitutional challenge to the security certificate was upheld by the Supreme Court in February 2007, stated, "This is not the first time that the flimsiness of CSIS's case against me has been exposed. In 2004, the Federal Court agreed to set aside any information provided by CSIS sourced to Abu Zubaydah, because there was reason to believe it was produced under torture in US custody. In January 2005, we learned that CSIS had destroyed evidence in my case - this is the basis of a second challenge that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear in the coming year. In February of the same year, shortly after my release from prison, Radio Canada published evidence indicating that information introduced by CSIS and sourced to a Morrocan prisoner had been produced under torture and had later been recanted."

"The role CSIS seems to have played, in introducing partial, questionnable and even unlawfully obtained information against Mr. Charkaoui, is very troubling," added Mary Foster, member of the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui. "CSIS is not supposed to be a police force, building a case against an individual. It is supposed to provide an impartial threat assessment."

"The security certificate legislation has provided the context for error and abuse to occur, including the introduction of evidence from this kind of unreliable 'jailhouse snitch'," stated Me. Dominique Larochelle, Mr. Charkaoui's lawyer.

Charkaoui and his lawyers have sought to cross-examine Ressam since his name was first published in connection with Charkaoui's security certificate file in July 2003. However, government lawyers opposed Charkaoui's right to cross-examine Mr. Ressam, finally admitting that no affadavit from Ressam existed, only hearsay evidence. Ressam was held under an unusual arrangement in the United States whereby his prison sentence would be lessened if he provided information to authorities during a period of four years. In March 2005, Charkaoui submitted evidence in court that threw further doubt on the credibility of information that Ressam had allegedly provided against Charkaoui. This raised questions about CSIS's failure to have produced this same, easily-obtained evidence, a Montreal arrest warrant indicating Ressam was in fact in Montreal during a period he claimed to have been in Afghanistan.

"This latest revelation also underscores the weakness of proposed alternatives to the security certificate legislation. With a special advocate in place, would this information have come out publicly? I doubt it. Would keeping this information from the public serve justice? Not in my view." added Charkaoui.

"The government has announced that it is considering introducing new security certificate legislation, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision to strike down the security certificate as unconstitutional. One alternative under consideration is the introduction of a government-appointed lawyer, known as a special advocate, who will have access to the secret information but be prevented from disclosing it to his or her client or to the public.

"Mr. Ressam's retraction well illustrates that the usual rules of justice with adverserial proceedings should apply in a judicial process with such grave allegations against an individual, entailing a loss of reputation and of liberty. It confirms the validity of the Supreme Court's conclusion that the security certificate regime violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," stated Me. Johanne Doyon, Mr. Charkaoui's lawyer.

Charkaoui concluded, "It is another happy day for me and my family. Another piece of evidence has come to light to support what we have been saying for the past four years: that I am innocent of all the allegations that have been thrown at me."

The security certificate against Mr. Charkaoui has never been upheld. The case has been suspended since March 2005, when the government was forced to withdraw a decision following Radio Canada's exposure of a CSIS intelligence failure.

Although he has never undergone any trial, and although the law itself has now been ruled unconstitutional, Mr. Charkaoui still remains under severe restrictions that affect the freedom of his entire family. He is subject to a strict curfew, must be accompanied by a court-appointed supervisor every time he leaves his home, and is forced to wear a GPS-tracking bracelet.

For more information or to set up interviews with Mr. Charkaoui:

Mary Foster 514 222 0205 (en)
Dominique Larochelle 514 842 2233 x 266 (fr)