The “security certificate” allows the government to arrest individuals, jail them without charges, and hold a secret trial or hearing at which neither the accused nor their lawyer have any right to see the evidence or confront any government witnesses. Such certificates can be used against refugees and landed immigrants (permanent residents). If a judge agrees with the government, the accused can be summarily deported. The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada’s secret police, claims that Charkaoui is a “danger to national security” because he allegedly has links with international terrorism.

At the gathering, Adil Charkaoui’s sister, Hind Charkaoui, said that their family arrived in Canada in 1995 “dreaming of liberty and justice,” which was shattered after he was arrested. Adil Charkaoui has worked as a teacher in Montreal and is currently a Ph.D. student. He now has an 18-month-old daughter and his wife is expecting their second child. Hind Charkaoui said that her brother was harassed by the CSIS, who asked him to act as an informer. After refusing to work for the secret police, he was not granted Canadian citizenship, unlike the rest of his family.

The meeting was organized by the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui. Mohamed Cherfi of the Non-Status Refugees Action Committee (CASS), which has mobilized hundreds of refugee applicants from Algeria whom the Canadian government had tried to deport to that country, also spoke. “We all dreamed,” he said, “but when we see it from the inside the dreams are worthless. What we face is government repression.” He explained how a May 29 sit-in organized by CASS in the Ottawa offices of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Denis Coderre, was attacked by the riot squad. They used “very violent methods, methods that we did not think existed in Canada,” he said.

Twelve people were arrested and the police beat three of them after they had been handcuffed, including Cherfi. The three showed the wounds from the Taser guns used by the cops, and in one case from the butt of a cop’s revolver used to strike them.

“We have to learn how to fight them,” added Cherfi. “We have to get involved. Our strength is in our numbers.” He finished by calling for mobilizations, including at the next judicial hearing for Adil Charkaoui, which will be in early July in Montreal. He also invited participants to sign cards addressed to Coderre demanding the release of Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian who is also being held without charges on a security certificate (see article in the May 26, 2003, Militant).

Representatives from the Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM), and the No One is Illegal Campaign of Montreal also spoke at the meeting.

A press release denouncing the use of the security certificate to arrest and detain Charkaoui was issued May 27 by the League of Rights and Liberties, Amnesty International - Canada, the American Association of Jurists, and the Coalition for the International Surveillance of Civil Liberties. On May 30 the Canadian Arab Federation also issued a press release denouncing the use of security certificates in relation to the case of Charkaoui.

The Justice Coalition For Adil Charkaoui is demanding his immediate release—along with all those who are being held under security certificates, an end to deportation proceedings, and a fair trial.

For more information or to get involved in the defense campaign contact the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui at (514) 583-2208 or by email at justiceforadil@riseup.net. The coalition has a website www.montrealmuslimnews.net/adilfile.htm

Donations for the Adil Charkaoui campaign can be made payable to: JFM Jamyyatu Falahi AlMuslimin and mailed to: MCM: Muslim Council of Montreal, P.O.Box 5286, St-Laurent Stn., St-Laurent QC, H4L 4Z8  
 
 
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