Cheers and applause greeted accused al-Qaida agent Mohamed Harkat at a Saturday rally, condemning the government's refusal to reveal and prosecute the case against him in an open court of law. It was Harkat's first public event since a Federal Court judge liberalized the terms of his bail conditions in March to allow him to, among other things, attend and address political rallies. He must wear a GPS tracking device on his ankle, however.``Today, I have a voice for the first time in almost seven years, a chance to expose my case,'' he said in heavily accented English to about two dozen supporters gathered at the Human Rights Monument in Ottawa. ``I have been persecuted on some things I never done, I have nothing left to lose. I have already lost everything, I am trying to get my dignity back and clear my name of all allegations.''
``I spent 43 months in jail without trial and without access to the evidence, '' Harkat, 40, told the small gathering. ``My family is devastated, my name and reputation is destroyed, all in the name of national security.''
Five people, including Harkat's wife, Sophie, stood in front of him as he spoke. Each was blindfolded, gagged and had their hands bound with rope to symbolize the secretive nature of the government's security-certificate cases against Harkat and four other immigrant men accused of terrorism. The government wants them deported as national security risks.
The Algerian-born Harkat came to Canada from Pakistan in 1995. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service monitored his activities upon his arrival, and for at least two years beginning in the fall of 1996, intercepted his telephone conversations. He was arrested in December 2002 on the strength of a security certificate, which accused him of being a sleeper agent for al-Qaida, which he denies. Harkat remained in detention until June 2006, when he was released on strict conditions that required him to be in the company of a surety at all times, even inside his house.
``Since June of 2006, I have been like a prisoner in my home with my wife, who has been like a full-time jailer,'' he said. ``I am mentally exhausted, disgusted with the continuing injustice. I feel like an animal on a lead by having a GPS on my ankle.'' He fears he will be jailed, tortured or killed if he is deported to Algeria as a suspected Islamic terrorist.
The case against him has been conducted largely in secret, including continuing Federal Court evidentiary hearings that began late last year. As part of those hearings, government documents made public in March alleged that Harkat admitted in a March 1997 conversation that he knew al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Zubaydah personally. Harkat, in previous testimony, has denied any association with Zubaydah, who remains a prisoner in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
The Harkat case is expected to come to a head in June, when a rare public hearing is scheduled in Federal Court to determine whether the government made a reasonable decision in declaring him a terrorist. Still, Harkat and his supporters say that, despite some recent changes to the security certificate process, including the creation of ``special advocates'' - lawyers appointed to represent security certificate defendants in secret hearings - the regime remains fundamentally flawed in favour of the government.
``I am angry at the system for allowing such darkness,'' Harkat told Saturday's gathering. ``Every day, I live with a huge cloud over my head, reminding of the possibility of being deported to where I will face jail, torture or death, because I have been labelled a terrorist by the Canadian government. We will never get to the bottom of the case without a fair and open trial.''