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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ICLMG promotes and protects human rights in the context of the war on terrorism, and thus we often bring attention to problematic national security legislation and governments’ actions that negatively impact civil liberties, especially in Canada. We do this by sharing articles, analyses and calls to action with as wide a network as possible. You can help ICLMG reach new people and connect to broader audiences.

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Ottawa, ON – The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) welcomes the news that the Emirati State Security prosecutor dropped all terrorism charges laid against the Canadian Citizen of Libyan origin, Salim Alaradi. Last week, the same judges presiding over related cases dropped all the charges against two other Libyans arrested at the same time as Salim Alaradi.

“These are excellent news. ICLMG along other human rights advocacy groups have been urging the Canadian government to take a more engaged role in defending the rights of Mr. Salim Alaradi, detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since August 2014,” says Monia Mazigh, ICLMG’s National Coordinator.

Nevertheless, the ordeal of Mr. Alaradi is not over yet. Today, the same court accused Mr. Salim Alaradi of two new charges under the penal code of the UAE:

• Sending supplies to Libyan groups without permission;
• Collecting donations without permission of the appropriate ministry.

A forensic examination ordered by the prosecution and submitted to the court today denied any torture against Mr. Salim Alaradi, despite the UN previously confirming that Mr. Alaradi has been tortured.

“It is clearer today that the case fabricated by the State Security against Mr. Salim Alaradi is falling apart despite all the attempts of the prosecutor. Mr. Salim Alaradi has suffered from torture, solitary confinement and indefinite detention. The Canadian government has a moral obligation to put all its weight and demand nothing less than the immediate release of Mr. Salim Alaradi,” adds Monia Mazigh.

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