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| Great White North |
| Canuck terrorist getting bail support from celebrities |
| 2005-06-28 |
| The son of Pierre Trudeau is among several prominent Canadians who are lending financial and moral support to accused terrorist Hassan Almrei in his bid to be freed from prison, court heard Monday. Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau, the son of the late former prime minister, cites his concern for human rights as the driving reason he is prepared to offer a $5,000 bail bond to secure the release of Almrei, a Syrian national who fears torture in his homeland. Trudeau's offer, however, came as an intelligence analyst warned the Federal Court hearing that Almrei continues to pose a danger to Canadian security. Trudeau, a filmmaker and journalist, met Almrei in May, when he went to visit him at a Toronto jail as part of research on a documentary about accused terrorists who are detained without charge. In an affidavit presented in court Monday, a legal assistant for one of Almrei's lawyers said Trudeau is concerned about the nearly four years Almrei has spent in solitary confinement on a national security certificate. "He is prepared to stand as a surety because he is concerned about human rights, he is concerned about Mr. Almrei's lengthy detention in solitary confinement, and because he has confidence in Mr. Almrei to comply with the conditions of a release order," says the affidavit. Trudeau observed Monday's court proceedings from the public gallery but refused to speak with reporters. He was expected to testify Tuesday on Almrei's behalf. Almrei, a Toronto businessman, has been detained since October 2001 when CSIS officials accused him of having ties to al-Qaida, participating in jihad in Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the 1990s and forging travel documents. Since his arrest, Almrei has spent nearly all of his time in solitary confinement - a cold and dreary cell that drove him to hold a 39-day hunger strike last year that drew national attention and forced officials to raise the temperature in his cell. A senior CSIS analyst, however, warned the court away from trusting Almrei. It's unlikely anyone who embraced the al-Qaida ideology so fervently would renege on those beliefs later, said the analyst, identified only as P.G. "Mr. Almrei continues to be a threat to the security of Canada," P.G. told court. "Detention is not a deterrent to future activity." Nonetheless, Almrei's cause has drawn support from an Edmonton-based anti-war group as well as prominent Toronto writers Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, who have offered a $200 bond, and Globe and Mail columnist Heather Mallick, who has offered a $100 bond. All told, supporters have pulled together between $30,000 and $40,000 in the event Almrei is granted bail, friend Matthew Behrens said outside court. Almrei is not the only one to draw high-profile support. When accused terrorist Adil Charkaoui was granted bail in February, his $50,000 bond was supplemented by donations from Trudeau, Oscar-winning filmmaker Denys Arcand, singer Bruce Cockburn and former cabinet ministers Warren Allmand and Flora MacDonald. Five men have been held on security certificates since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. All five argue they face torture if they are sent back to their homelands. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #5 They have the right to remain silent. So what Naome! Remember where and how they came into the US. Do your homework before you make such a silly statement, he is not a victim, just a terrorist supporter. Let him rot. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-06-28 19:58 |
| #4 Even terrorists have rights, ya know! |
| Posted by: Naomi Klein 2005-06-28 18:16 |
| #3 Trudeau, a filmmaker and journalist Twice the idiot for half the price! |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-06-28 18:00 |
| #2 He fears being tortured if they send him back to Syria? If he's really al-Qaeda, they'll have a ticker-tape parade through downtown Damascus as soon as he gets off the plane. |
| Posted by: Captain Pedantic 2005-06-28 12:24 |
| #1 I'm having a little trouble paying for college, think they would chip in for that? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-06-28 10:46 |