As you have no doubt noticed, civil liberties have increasingly been under attack this past year, and all signs point to the situation worsening in the near future. Since our creation in 2002, we have been defending civil liberties from the negative impact of counter-terrorism and national security measures, but it has been some time since we have been this concerned.

From national security agencies’ relentless efforts to obtain more powers, to politicians looking for a diversion from the terrible outcomes of neoliberal policies and capitalist greed, many are fear-mongering around “foreign interference,” scapegoating migrants and refugees, and equating expression of support for Palestinians lives and rights with support for terrorism, all to justify more restrictions on rights and freedoms.

This upcoming Giving Tuesday, we need your help to protect our civil liberties!

I support ICLMG

Your support will allow the ICLMG to continue our work on the following issues:

Defending advocacy for Palestinian rights and lives

We will continue to defend freedom of expression, association and assembly and denounce the equation of support for Palestinian rights with terrorism, the violent dismantling of encampments, the targeting of activists for arrests, and the charges and rights-violating release conditions they face simply for defending Palestinian rights and lives.

Abolishing the terror entities list

As we have done for the past two decades, we will continue work towards the abolition of the terrorist entities list, as it is an arbitrary political tool that undermines freedom of association, freedom of expression and due process in the courts. 

Justice for Mohamed Harkat and abolishing security certificate

Speaking of administrative tools, the security certificate regime circumvents the need for the state, in a criminal trial, to present solid evidence of culpability. We will continue to advocate for the abolition of this regime as it violates due process and the presumption of innocence, and for Mohamed Harkat, who has lived under a draconian security certificate for more than 20 years, to not be deported to likely arbitrary detention, disappearance, torture and death in Algeria.

Foreign interference

Bill C-70, which was adopted in record speed without any amendment, will have significant impacts – both directly and in the form of a chilling effect – on privacy, academic and press freedoms, the right to protest and engage in dissent, efforts at international cooperation and solidarity, and it could well be used to profile people on political, racial, religious, or nationality grounds. The recent Mandate Letter of the National Security and Intelligence Advisor ordering her to systematize the flow of intelligence across government is worrisome. We continue to give our recommendations in defense of civil liberties to the Foreign Interference Inquiry, and plan to create a mechanism to monitor how the law is used, as well as continue pushing back against xenophobic fear-mongering.

Rights at the border

We have seen a resurgence, even in the past few days, of fear-mongering from politicians around migrants and refugees, with calls to bolster the powers of border security agencies as well as restricting the number of people we welcome to Canada. It’s not new but has been getting worse recently. We will continue pushing back on the false narrative depicting migrants and refugees as security risks and advocating for rights protection and accountability for border agencies, including by monitoring the creation of a new CBSA and RCMP watchdog and complaint body.

Extradition reform & protecting Hassan Diab

As you may have seen in our last News Digest, Canadian professor Dr. Hassan Diab is currently the target of an organized smear campaign and death threats, and renewed calls for the government to extradite him to France. We will continue pushing for Canada to protect Dr. Diab – as well as for the reform of Canada’s extradition law.

International development assistance

We continue to monitor and critique the implementation of the authorization regime for organizations that provide international assistance to vulnerable populations in areas controlled by groups considered terrorist by the Canadian government. The unclear, invasive and burdensome regime – launched in April 2024 – has failed to even process, let alone approve, a single application so far. We will continue to work with partners to advocate for improvements on this issue.

Repatriate Canadians arbitrarily detained in North East Syria

We will continue advocating for the return of the rest of the Canadian citizens and the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children indefinitely detained in Syrian camps under conditions akin to torture; as is Canada’s responsibility under domestic and international law. We will also continue to push for an independent investigation into the recent death of FJ, a Quebec mother who Canada separated from her children.

Online harms

We will continue our work to ensure that the Canadian government’s proposals on “online harms” do not violate fundamental freedoms, or exacerbate the silencing of racialized and marginalized voices.

Systemic Islamophobia and countering terrorist financing

Building on our groundbreaking 2021 report on the prejudiced targeting of Muslim-led charities by the Canada Revenue Agency, we will continue advocating in Canada and internationally for changes to counter terror financing laws that undermine civil society and civic space. 

And so. much. more!

Please support our work of protecting civil liberties in a time of increased attacks.

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Please share our appeal widely via email & on Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Thank you!

Xan & Tim

On the occasion of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26th, which marks the moment when the Convention Against Torture came into effect in 1987, we have sent the letter below to the Public Safety minister urging him to stop the deportation to torture of Mohamed Harkat, and to finally put an end to 22 years of injustice.

If you can, please donate to Justice for Moe Harkat to help cover the costs of his legal defense:

DONATE

And take action to stop Moe Harkat’s deportation to torture:

TAKE ACTION

Thank you!

---

June 26, 2024

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
Minister of Public Safety
269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0P8

Via email

Dear Minister LeBlanc,

I’m writing today on behalf of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, a coalition of 46 civil society organizations that since 2002 has worked to defend civil liberties in Canada in the context of anti-terrorism and national security activities, to raise urgent concerns about the case of Mohamed Harkat.

This year marks 22 years since Mr. Harkat was placed under a security certificate (ironically, on Dec. 10th – International Human Rights Day), and the beginning of the ordeal which has continuously undermined his fundamental rights.

We believe it is urgent that you act on Mr. Harkat’s case. Having been recognized as a refugee in Canada, Mr. Harkat has lived here since 1996 without ever being charged or convicted of a crime. Yet, because of the security certificate based on secretive information of questionable origin, Mr. Harkat continues to face deportation to Algeria where he will be at risk of prolonged solitary confinement, forms of treatment that constitute torture or other ill treatment, and an unfair trial based on the fact that he has been publicly identified and described by Canadian officials as a terrorism suspect and security threat.

Our coalition has long decried the use of security certificates, which undermine the rights of the targeted individual by allowing information not normally considered “evidence” to be used against them, and preventing them or their counsel from accessing the whole case brought against them – essentially eliminating any hope of mounting an adequate and full defense.

We believe that security certificates should ultimately be eradicated from Canada’s legal system, and that instead the government should focus on prosecutions under the Criminal Code, which would serve to protect the rights of the accused as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and international covenants, and in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Despite this, security certificates were in fact significantly worsened through changes brought about with the adoption of the Anti-terrorism Act, 2015. Disappointingly, your government declined to address these issues in the recently passed National Security Act, 2017, and decided to in fact further restrict what information can be withheld from those named in a security certificate and their counsel in the recently passed Countering Foreign Interference Act.

More immediately, we are writing because, as the Minister of Public Safety, Mr. Harkat’s fate is in your hands. Under section 42.1(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Minister of Public Safety is granted the power to allow Mr. Harkat to stay in Canada where it is not contrary to the national interest. The courts have consistently relaxed Mr. Harkat’s bail conditions over the years, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has deemed it unnecessary to even file a risk assessment during Mr. Harkat’s previous hearings. As his work colleagues and supporters have attested, and as court assessments and psychiatrists have demonstrated, Mr. Harkat is committed to leading a peaceful life and letting him stay would not be contrary to Canada’s interests. Moreover, deporting a man to a risk of imprisonment and torture is clearly against Canada’s national interest, as well as its international obligations.

We have closely followed the case of Mohamed Harkat since it came to the public eye in 2002. Under the very problematic security certificate regime, Mr. Harkat was imprisoned in maximum security for 43 months, spent years under house arrest, and faced some of the strictest bail conditions in Canadian history. The original “evidence” against Mr. Harkat was destroyed and the allegations against him are based on the testimony of an informant who failed a lie detector test and was never cross-examined in court. Mr. Harkat has never been charged with, let alone convicted, of a crime.

Life under a security certificate has also had a profoundly negative impact on Mr. Harkat’s well-being. His arrest and time in solitary confinement, the severe conditions of his release and the threat of deportation to torture have resulted in chronic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. Sophie Lamarche-Harkat, Mr. Harkat’s wife, has also spoken of the stress upon her, their household and their family of living with constant Canada Border Services Agency surveillance and the threat of losing a loved one. Throughout all this, Mr. Harkat has gained a community that cares about him deeply. For them, he is simply “Moe,” a loving and soft-spoken man who is always ready to help those around him. They have been living in constant fear since deportation proceedings began in 2015.

Beyond the current impacts of living under a security certificate on Mr. Harkat’s well-being, he faces a credible threat of imprisonment, abuse and torture if, as your government is seeking, he is deported to Algeria.

Amnesty International has noted that the Algerian Code of Criminal Procedure allows those charged under anti-terrorism laws to be detained for up to 12 days without access to legal counsel or charge, creating a window for abuse, and does not prohibit the use of confessions obtained under torture. Amnesty International has also reported on a 2018 case where a journalist was reportedly beaten and waterboarded, held in solitary confinement for over one month. More recently, human rights advocates have shared reports of abuse and torture in Algerian prisons during an ongoing crackdown on civil liberties using overly broad “anti-terrorism” laws.^[1] In March 2024, it was reported that an Algerian national who spent 20 years of imprisonment and torture in Guantanamo Bay prison, without ever being charged, was returned to Algeria, only to be arrested, held incommunicado for 12 days, and forced to provide false confessions under duress.^[2]

It is also important to note that courts in other countries, such as the UK in 2016^[3] and Ireland in 2017,^[4] have recognized these concerns and barred their governments from deporting individuals to Algeria as the individuals concerned faced a substantial risk of torture.

On October 26, 2017, Prime Minister Trudeau clearly stated: “I hope people remember to demand of governments, this one and all future governments, that nobody ever has their fundamental rights violated either through inaction or deliberate action by Canadian governments. Nobody ever deserves to be tortured. And when a Canadian government is either complicit in that or was not active enough in preventing it, there needs to be responsibility taken.”

Consequently, we urge you, Minister LeBlanc, to use your unique position and the discretion afforded to you under the law to exempt Mr. Harkat from deportation, end this 22-year ordeal and allow him to stay with his wife and community in Canada.

Doing so would send a clear message that defending human rights and eliminating mistreatment and torture go hand in hand with protecting the safety of people in Canada. It would also ensure that Canada upholds its commitments as a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture. We do not want this government, or its successors, to have to once again apologize and pay compensation because your government refused to take the right action today.

We would appreciate a timely response to our letter, and if you would like more information or have any questions, we would be happy to meet with you to discuss it further.

Sincerely,

Tim McSorley
National Coordinator
International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group

^[1] See: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2023/09/a-society-behind-bars-the-effects-of-algerias-widespread-crackdown-on-human-rights/ and https://menarights.org/en/articles/universal-periodic-review-how-address-current-human-rights-crisis-algeria-civil-society

^[2] See: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/05/former-guantanamo-bay-detainee-faces-re-victimisation-algeria-un-experts-say and https://theintercept.com/2024/05/21/guantanamo-algeria-terrorism-prison-saeed-bakhouch/

^[3] Parsons, V. (2016, Apr 18). Bid to Deport Six Terror Suspects Blocked After UK Judges Cite Torture Fears in Algeria. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2016-04-18/bid-to-deport-six-terror-suspects-blocked-after-uk-judges-cite-torture-fears-in-algeria

^[4] O’Faolain, A. (2018, Aug 1). High Court quashes refusal by Minister of Justice to revoke deportation of Algerian. The Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/high-court-quashes-refusal-by-minister-of-justice-to-revoke-deportation-of-algerian-1.3583222

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