Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 8 November 2004

Summary of the Demonstration against Secret Trials, in Ottawa on November 8th 2004 and the court appearance at the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa on the constitutionality of security certificates.
 
Note, the following is a very rough translation from an original report prepared in French.

The Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui invites everyone to an evening panel discussion “CHAINED BY NATIONAL SECURITY: Challenging Canada's Secret Trials”. The evening will take place at McGill University, room 304 McConnell Engineering Building (3480 University), Thursday, 7 October 2004 beginning at 7:00pm.

Two out-of-town guest speakers will be addressing the assembly:

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 19 August 2004

19 August, Montreal,2004 – Prime Minister Paul Martin is coming under fire this week for his Minister’s decision to refuse protection from torture to secret trial detainee Adil Charkaoui. Amnesty International, the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG), Ed Broadbent and other Members of Parliament are among those sounding the alarm about the recent decision by Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan.

    Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 24 July 2004

Montreal, 24 July 2004 – Supporters of justice for Adil Charkaoui received a few surprises as they read yesterday’s Federal Court decision to uphold the imprisonment of the 30-year old Montrealer. The decision followed an attempt by Charkaoui to clear himself of the suspicions that have fallen on him, in order to be released on bail.

Supporters welcomed Judge Simon Noel’s decision to set aside information against Charkaoui provided by Al Qaeda member Abu Zoubaida, which was probably extracted under torture. The testimony about the probable use of torture on Mr. Zoubaida was given in open court by Abdurahman Khadr, called as a witness by Charkaoui.

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 13 July 2004

July 13, 2004 - Adil Charkaoui, the 30 year old Montrealer who has spent more than 400 days in a Montreal prison without charges, on secret evidence, last week made another bid for his freedom.

He did so with the backing of some twenty people, including MNAs Louise Harel (PQ, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve) and Daniel Turp (PQ, Mercier), a former Professor of Charkaoui’s at University of Montreal, Gregory Baum (renowned theologian and author, retired McGill University professor), and Pascale Montpetit (comedian), in addition to Charkaoui’s father and sister. Together they offered around $50,000 in bail for Charkaoui’s conditional release.

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 14 July 2004

Montreal, 14 July 2004 – In the first of two days of hearings in the Charkaoui case, Abdurahman Khadr gave testimony which threw the case against Adil Charkaoui into question.

Khadr, whose sensational story about his family’s involvement in Al Qaeda made headlines earlier this year, explained that he was in a unique position to have met Charkaoui had the latter ever come to train in Afghanistan. As Canadians in Afghanistan closely associated with bin Laden, the Khadrs made a point of meeting other Canadians who entered the tightly-knit networks in which they moved. Khadr was also at Khalden training camp in 1998. In the public summary of the secret evidence being used against Mr. Charkaoui, Khalden camp is named in implied connection with a trip Charkaoui made to Pakistan in 1998. "I have never seen Adil Charkaoui before today," Khadr confirmed.

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 13 July 2004

13 July 2004, Montreal - Among the more than twenty people who came forward to offer support for Adil Charkaoui’s release on bail are Louise Harel (MNA (PQ), Hochelaga-Maisonneuve), Daniel Turp (MNA (PQ), Mercier), Marie-Christine Paret (former Professor of Charkaoui’s at University of Montreal), Gregory Baum (renowned theologian and author, retired McGill University professor), Pascale Montpetit (comedian), Martin Duckworth (documentary film-maker), Amir Khadir (doctor, activist with the Union des Forces Progressistes), Murray Thomson (Pearson Peace Medal, Order of Canada, co-founder of more than seven national and international peace and social justice organizations), and Charkaoui’s father and sister. Together, they are offering almost $50,000 in bail for Charkaoui’s conditional release.

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     Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 21 May 2004

First anniversary of Charkaoui's arrest

Montreal's CSIS officers were treated to "One hour of solidarity after One year of detention" over lunch hour last week. It was exactly one year after the day that Adil Charkaoui was surrounded on a highway in Montreal and arrested with great media fanfare. CSIS was behind the arrest, alleging that the young teacher was a threat to national security. Charkaoui has been imprisoned without charge under secret evidence ever since, facing deportation back to Morocco, where torture and possibly death await him.