Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 9 December 2005

On eve of international human rights day, Charkaoui challenges campaigning politicians: Will your government stand up against torture?

Montreal, Dec 9th 2005-- It was with dismay and disappointment that the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui learned today that the Federal Court rejected a motion launched by security certificate victim Adil Charkaoui in early October 2005. Me. Johanne Doyon, one of Mr. Charkaoui’s lawyers, had argued that the “torture loopholes” in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) lead to violations of the UN Convention against Torture and Charkaoui’s Charter rights.

“In 2003, Canada marked international human rights day by arresting refugee Mohamed Harkat; they have held him without charge under threat of being sent to torture ever since. In 2004, the Federal Court of Appeal rejected my constitutional challenge to security certificates. Today, the Federal Court bounces the ball back to elected officials: ‘Will you uphold human rights? Will you stand up against torture? Will you uphold the absolute international prohibition on returns to torture?’ It is once again in the hands of the politicians.” said Charkaoui.

IRPA excludes people who have been labelled security threats from provisions created to guarantee that no one is sent to torture. Mr. Charkaoui and his family have thus been living in a state of complete uncertainty, under threat of deportation to torture, since his arrest in May 2003. Me. Doyon argued that keeping Mr. Charkaoui in this situation violates his Charter rights to life, liberty and security of the person, to protection from cruel and unusual treatment, and to equal treatment under the law.

In May 2005, the UN Committee against Torture called on Canada to respect article 3 of the Convention against Torture and to revise IRPA to close the torture loop-holes. In November, the UN Human Rights Committee criticized Canadian policy “that, in exceptional circumstances, persons can be deported to a country where they would face the risk of torture” and stated that it “amounts to a grave breach of article 7 of the Covenant.” In defiance of the UN, the Canadian government has continued to hold Mr. Charkaoui and four other security certificate detainees under a threat of torture. In October, the Minister of Immigration again denied protection against return to torture to Mahmoud Jaballah, citing “exceptional circumstances”.

Mr. Charkaoui and his lawyers will appeal the decision. Mr. Charkaoui is already headed to the Supreme Court in June, to challenge the constitutionality of the security certificate process itself.

Meanwhile, the government case against Mr. Charkaoui has been in suspension since March 2005.

Although the security certificate against him has not even undergone a judicial review, Charkaoui spent almost two years in prison without charge and now lives under severe, “preventive conditions”. These conditions and the stress of the continuing threat of rendition to torture have prevented him and his family from resuming a normal life.

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