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| Great White North |
| Court refuses to order Harkat's release |
| 2005-12-31 |
| Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian man who has been held in an Ottawa jail on a security certificate for three years, has had his latest application for release dismissed by a federal court. The ruling was released Friday. Justice Francois Lemieux could have released Harkat if he believed the Algerian would linger in custody indefinitely or did not pose a threat to national security. But Lemieux ruled Harkat "has not satisfied me he will not be removed [from Canada] within a reasonable time." Because Harkat failed to convince the judge on the first condition, Lemieux did not have to consider the issue of whether he posed a security risk if he were released. Under a security certificate, a detainee can be held indefinitely without a trial, and the government can keep any evidence against him or her secret. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleges Harkat is a member of al-Qaeda who trained in Afghanistan and entered Canada as a sleeper agent. Harkat, 36, is a refugee from Algeria. CSIS kept him under its scrutiny for five years before he was arrested in December 2002. Along with claiming that he belongs to al-Qaeda, the spy service says he supports Afghan, Pakistani and Chechen extremists. CSIS alleges that Abu Zubaydah, one of al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenants, identified Harkat as the operator of a guest house in Pakistan for extremists headed for Chechnya. Harkat arrived in Toronto in 1995 from Malaysia, using a fake Saudi passport. He applied for refugee status claiming a fear of persecution by the Algerian government. He moved to Ottawa, married and worked most recently delivering pizzas and pumping gas. His refugee status was granted in February 1997 and he applied for permanent residence the next month. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |