by Adil Charkaoui (translated by Ehab Lotayef)

One year behind bars!
Missed at least 365 kisses from Khawla
Countless family gatherings. Foods I never touched.
One year behind bars!
Sleepless nights. Endless snow and endless stress.
Long summer days. Sunsets that lost their charm.
And it goes on…
Hearing the same words over and over again:
“National security before individual rights.”
“It's no criminal case. It's immigration.”
“Prove your innocence and we'll let you go.”
How?
When charges are secret.
Informers anonymous.
And all evidence hidden.
Right of appeal? That's only for criminals.
Is presumption of innocence reserved for sponsorship scandals?
Isn't the same Codere involved there?
Has Inquisition and Citizenship Canada ever heard of the charter?
Tonight, one more time,
A two year old girl will sleep without her father
And a baby, nine months old, will be missing his dad
Ask yourself why!

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 28 April 2004

April 28th, 2004 - Montreal: The Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui has learned that Moroccan prisoner Noureddine Nafiaâ has denied all links to terrorist acts in Morocco and elsewhere.

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 16 April 2004

16 April 2004, Montreal – The family of Adil Charkaoui strongly rejects new allegations about Mr. Charkaoui which appeared in the Moroccan journal, Aujourd’hui le Maroc today. They point out that the allegations lack all credibility because it is based on information very likely to have been extracted under torture.

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 5 April 2004

5 April, Montreal – Immigration Canada yesterday released an opinion that security certificate detainee Adil Charkaoui would be at risk of torture, risk of his life, and risk of cruel and unusual punishment if he is deported to his country of origin. Immigration Canada’s opinion matches the assesments of both Amnesty International Canada and Human Rights Watch.

“We are happy that they recognise the risk and we want a guarantee from Anne McLellan that Canada will not deport my son. Not only are they obliged to protect him under international law, but it is because of the case that CSIS created against him in Canada that he is now at risk in Morocco!” said Latifa Charkaoui. Anne McLellan heads up the newly created Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 1 April 2004

McLellan Slams the Door on Five Families Seven Months After Prime Minister's Office Refused A Similar Request

Toronto Families Will Demonstrate Saturday, April 3 at Metro West Detention Centre to Demand Bail, not Jail

1 April, 2004, Ottawa - Anne McLellan, Minister of Public Safety, refused today to meet families of five Muslim men who are detained without charge, on the basis of secret evidence, in Canadian prisons. The families had come from Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto in the hope of meeting with her. Instead they were told that no one from the Minister's office would be available to meet with them.

    Mary Foster, Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 20 February 2004

Montreal, February 20, 2004 - Montreal, February 20, 2004 - Members of the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui as well as family members visited Paul Martin's LaSalle Riding Office this morning to present a letter to the Prime Minister and request a meeting with him within the next two weeks. A representative in the Prime minister office received the delegation and took possession of the letter, confirming that it would be forwarded to the Prime Minister, along with their request to meet with him to discuss Adil's case. Adil Charkaoui has been detained since last May, without any charges being laid against him, on the basis of a security certificate. The Coalition is requesting that Martin immediately release Mr. Charkaoui as well as four other Muslim men also being held without charge in Canada and who risk deportation as a result of secret trials.
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Am I behind these bars or is the world?

In my captivity I may be a bird
that flies across the sky; or maybe i'm a sword
in conscientious people's hearts:
 a call to all to ask the sun to rise again. 

Come share my bonds, with me just for a day. 
Come.. and I promise
--if I can promise anyone in anyway--
I wouldn't make you stay.

Am I behind these bards,
 or is it you? 
Come and you'll see.

Come touch my hand,
Come touch my hand and go. 
You'll never be the same again;
you'll never feel as free.

Ehab Lotayef, Montreal, February 11, 2004

* Charkaoui in Arabic means Easterner

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 23 January 2004

Montreal, 23 January 2004 - The Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui is disappointed and frustrated by today's federal court decision not to release Mr. Charkaoui. The court decision was based on a 12 January detention review, in which Charkaoui asked for release under conditions. Ten people - including prominent doctor and political leader Amir Khadir, Order of Canada holder Murray Thomson, and a former professor of Charkaoui at the University of Montreal - offered a total of $50,000 bail for his release.

Moreover, Adil Charkauoi provided proof that the ministerial information was simply not credible in the view of the FBI's own terrorism experts. "How is it that this evidence was neither taken into account nor discussed in the court's decision?" asked Coalition member Mary Foster.

    Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, 18 January 2004

Montreal, 18 January 2004 - (Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui): It was in a room packed with journalists and supporters that the detention review of Adil Charkaoui, held without accusation since May 2003, took place. The lawyer for the defense, Mrs. Johanne Doyon, pleaded that Adil Charkaoui should be liberated under bail. This would permit him to be reunited with his family (including his wife and two young children) and it would facilitate the preparation of the defense. Nine people, including Adil's father, his sister, people who knew him at University of Montreal, peace and justice activist Murray Thomson, and the doctor Amir Khadir, were ready to act as guarantors that Adil would respect his conditions of release, towards which they had put forward a total of $50,000 in bail.