Socialist Worker 430, July 21, 2004
N www.socialist.caEnd the racist detentions
Free Mohamed Harkat
By Doug Nesbitt
Mohamed Harkat’s imprisonment without charge has entered its twentieth month. Harkat was arrested on a Security Certificate by the RCMP in a CSIS operation on December 10, 2002.
The arrest was made through Bill C36, which allows arrest without charge, based on suspicions, not evidence. Any evidence, if it does exist, is kept secret from the public, the person arrested and their defence team.
Mohamed Harkat faces deportation to Algeria if found guilty of allegations of being connected to terrorist groups, of which no evidence has been provided. Only a twenty-page document has been released to the defence team, summarizing the allegations made by CSIS.
Harkat has no criminal record anywhere in the world.
In recent developments, Harkat’s defence team was joined by top Ottawa criminal lawyer Matt Webber, and by Paul Copeland, one of the top three Canadian lawyers in the area of national security.
Even with financial aide, and a reduced fee, the cost of this defence team is high
Recently, Mohamed Harkat made a court appearance on June 22 for the purpose of two appeals.
The first appeal was made for a pre-assessment removal, which would force the government to assess the safety of deporting Harkat to Algeria before the main trial was to take place. This appeal was denied, scheduling the deportation assessment for after the main trial. The last Security Certificate case to be deported to Algeria has since gone missing.
The second appeal was for witness immunity for an ex-CSIS agent willing to testify for the defence about the practices and methods of CSIS in open court, as they related to Harkat’s case.
The judge ruled against the appeal, saying that the defence team could only present the witness if the questions were first reviewed by the judge and CSIS itself.
If the witness did reveal secrets about CSIS, he would face 5-14 years in prison. The witness has since withdrawn from the case.
Currently there are no court dates set for the future. The next date will be sometime in late fall, forcing Harkat to endure at least another three or four months of imprisonment without charge or evidence supporting the allegations of terrorism. He is not allowed physical contact with his partner, Sophie Harkat, and can only speak with or her three or four times a week for limited amounts of time.
Mohamed Harkat’s defence is extremely costly, and all financial contributions are welcome. They can be made to a special Harkat fund at the Copeland and Duncan law firm in Toronto, or directly to Sophie Harkat. The Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee in Ottawa coordinates all actions in support of Mohamed Harkat. Their website is http://www.zerra.net/freemohamed
Contact Information for financial contributions:
Sophie Harkat (in Ottawa) • email: sophielamarche@hotmail.com • phone: 613-820-1550
Paul Copeland (in Toronto) • phone: 416-964-8126 ext. 142
Socialist Worker 430, July 21, 2004
N www.socialist.ca