Can go out alone. Judge rules conditions are unnecessary
 
SUE MONTGOMERY, The Gazette, 21 February 2009
 
For the first time in four years, Adil Charkaoui, 35, was able to go outside yesterday without his mom and dad.

In a judgment that Charkaoui has been awaiting for close to a year, Federal Court Judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer yesterday lifted the restrictive conditions under which the Moroccan-born Montrealer, who Ottawa believes is a terrorist, has had to live since being released on Feb. 18, 2005, from nearly two years' detention.

He's now able to drive his car and go to the gym alone. He can surf the Internet, use mobile or landline telephones. He can stay out past 10 p.m. He can plan trips off the island of Montreal.

But the battle against 'big brother' is far from over ...

Four years after Adil Charkaoui was placed under draconian "preventive conditions", he will finally be able to walk out of his front door without his mother and father. A decision by the Federal Court released on Friday, 20 February 2009 did away with the bulk of the conditions which have suffocated the Charkaoui family since Adil was released from prison on 18 February 2005. (Read decision here.)

In an impromptu press conference, Adil told journalists how much he was looking forward to things that would seem completely banal to most people, such as going out to a restaurant with his wife and children or taking the kids to the park by himself. For the first time since he left prison four years ago, he was able to make a phone call from a telephone outside his home. His tentative plans for the evening included a late-night drive around the city with his family.

Irwin Block, The Montreal Gazette, 23 January 2009
 
Moroccan-born Adil Charkaoui is a "mainstream Muslim" who was unfairly profiled as a security risk and jailed without any evidence or charges, says Montreal imam Salam Elmenyawi.
 
"He is guilty by association, not by committing any act," Elmenyawi, chairperson of the Muslim Council of Montreal, told the Federal Court yesterday.
 
Elmenyawi was the last witness called by Charkaoui's lawyers in support of a motion to remove the most stringent conditions imposed as part of his house arrest after his release from detention in February 2005.
 
A chaplain at McGill and Concordia, Elmenyawi said Charkaoui "understands very well the damages the Muslim community has suffered from actions and violence in the name of Islam."
 
He recalled Charkaoui expressed "outrage" when the Talmud Torah schools library in St. Laurent was firebombed and denounced the London bus bombings and alleged Toronto terror plot.
 

Sue Montgomery, Montreal Gazette, 16 January 2009

Charkaoui was arrested by the Canadian government under a security certificate six years ago. He has been wearing an ankle bracelet monitor for the past four years and is not allowed to go anywhere without one of his parents.

To view slide show with audio narrative: CLICK HERE.

Sue Montgomery, The Gazette, 17 January 2009

Adil Charkaoui nears the four-year mark of living under virtual house arrest without being charged with any crime

At 7 on a minus-30C morning, Adil Charkaoui descends the steps of his Anjou duplex with his 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter in tow. He has three things in his hands: a coffee, La Presse and a GPS tracking system allowing Canadian authorities to monitor every move he makes throughout his day.

But before he's allowed to back out of his driveway, Charkaoui, 35, must have two more things: a green light on the walkie-talkie-like GPS - signaling that Canada Border Services Agency is awake and watching - and his dad.

Supporters speak out after agency denies terror suspect permission to attend potluck

Jennifer Campbell, The Ottawa Citizen, 7 September 2008

The birthday boy thanked the assembled crowd for coming out to a party he couldn't attend.

Ottawa terror suspect Mohammed Harkat, who was released under strict conditions after having spent four years in jail under a security certificate, wasn't allowed to attend his own birthday party because the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which is responsible for monitoring Mr. Harkat's movements, said it would be a political gathering and that contravenes the conditions of his release.

That came as a surprise to his wife, Sophie, who said they've received permission to attend potlucks together in the past. Under Mr. Harkat's conditions, they must make their outing requests 48 hours in advance.

"It's a sad day for injustice in this country when the birthday boy can't attend his own party," Ms. Harkat said.

A dialogue between a father and his four year old son,
by Adil Charkaoui (translated from French)*
 
- Daddy, daddy …
- Yes, little one.
- What are you wearing around your neck?
- Around my neck! Nothing.
- No - there!
- Ah! You mean around my ankle.
- That's the neck of the foot, the ank... ?
- Ankle.
-  But you haven't said what it is.

- Well, that, it's a bracelet.
- How long have you worn it?
- Three years.
- Why do you always wear it?
- Because i've got to, it's a present.
- Who gave it to you?
- It was tonton.
-  Which tonton?
-  Okay…it was uncle Sam…
-  Who is uncle Sam?
-  Really, you ask too many questions. It was somebody who gave it to me ...uncle Sam, uncle Stephen, uncle Security. It doesn't really matter, you don't know him.
-  Ok, but why is your bracelet black?
-  Because those who gave it to me have white faces but black hearts.
-  Why isn't it gold like Mommy's?
-  Because the people who gave it to me don't have golden hearts, little one.

Gareth Peirce, Friday December 21, 2007, Guardian

    Editorial, The Gazette, Friday, December 07

Mahmoud Jaballah is a suspected Al-Qa'ida sympathizer, but not convicted of anything - and the distinction is critical, not semantic.

In fact, he has never been charged with any crime, and so has never even gone to trial. But he did spend eight years in a special jail in Kingston, Ont., - built for suspected terrorists - based on circumstantial evidence about his involvement in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 before being released to severe house arrest in Toronto last spring. ((Correction - he spent most of his prison time in Toronto, was only moved to Guantanamo north (the special Kingston prison) when it opened in spring 2006 - CJAC))

There are no charges pending, but Jaballah is far from free. His family's every move is watched by CSIS and police, who have set up heavy monitoring outside his home.