The ICLMG, alongside 13 groups, have co-signed the following open letter:

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

We, the undersigned, wish to express our profound concerns about the issuance of export permits for Canada’s multi-billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia, despite the flagrant incompatibilities of this contract with the human rights safeguards of our export controls.

To provide such a large supply of lethal weapons to a regime with such an appalling record of human rights abuses is immoral and unethical. The spirit and letter of both domestic export controls and international law support this view. The government has had every opportunity to uphold this position, but has chosen not to. We therefore ask the government to rescind the export permits, ensuring that this deal does not go ahead unless and until relevant human rights concerns have been resolved.

The effectiveness of Canada’s export control regime is contingent upon its ability to produce objective, reliable assessments related to export permit applications. We believe the regime’s integrity has been utterly compromised with the government’s decision to proceed with the largest arms sale in Canadian history to one of the world’s worst human rights violators.

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Since you’re here… … we have a small favour to ask. Here at ICLMG, we are working very hard to protect and promote human rights and civil liberties in the context of the so-called “war on terror” in Canada. We do not receive any financial support from any federal, provincial or municipal governments or political parties. Any donations will go a long way to support our work. On the fence about giving? Check out our Achievements and Gains since we were created in 2002. Thank you for your generosity!

Due to unforeseeable technical difficulties, we were only able to record the first 30 minutes of the talk. We apologize for the inconvenience:

The ICLMG, in collaboration with Inter Pares and Octopus Books, presents:

The Rule of Law in an Age of Fear: A talk with Dennis Edney, Omar Khadr’s lawyer

Dennis Edney is a Canadian defence lawyer based in Edmonton, Alberta, and originally from Dundee, Scotland. Dennis and Patricia Edney star in the 2015 Canadian documentary Guantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr, which looks at Edney’s advocacy for Omar Khadr and features interviews in Edney’s home, where Khadr resided as a guest after being released on bail in 2015. An abridged version of the documentary can be watched online here.

Mr Edney spoke about Omar Khadr’s case and the climate of fear surrounding the war on terror and how it has affected and continues to negatively affect human rights, due process, and the rule of law.

On May 7, 2015, after a 13 year imprisonment, Omar Khadr was finally freed on bail. His ordeal is far from over. There are two upcoming 2016 court challenges:

• A civil lawsuit against the Canadian government for complicity in his arbitrary detention and cruel and inhumane treatment at the hands of the United States;
• An appeal to the Court of Military Commission Review in the U.S. to vacate all Omar’s Guantanamo Bay ‘convictions’.

As urged by the United Nations’ Committee Against Torture, the violation of Omar’s rights must be properly remedied.

Poster

Our National Coordinator Monia Mazigh was on Parliament Hill this morning alongside Amnesty International Canada’s Secretary General Alex Neve, Ahmad Attia – Khaled’s brother-in-law – and Tara Collins from Ryerson University to urge the Canadian government to act now and use its new responsible conviction principle to bring the Al Qazzaz family safely back home to Canada.

Khaled Al Qazzaz has been trapped in Egypt for more than 1000 days and he is afraid he will be sent to prison arbitrarily again. Himself, his Canadian wife and children are prevented from leaving without cause.

Find out how you can help here: http://www.freekhaledalqazzaz.com

Watch the full press conference here.

Photos:

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