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February 27, 2004
ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny
Another important development!
Remember the Canadian Arab, Maher Arar, who was nabbed in
the United States, apparently after a tip by the nefarious Canadian
political police, CSIS, and turned over to the Syrian government to be
tortured?
For some time now, Ernst has insisted that his kidnapping in
the U.S. and being turned over to Canada was done in a similar fashion -
with the collusion of two governments trading political "favors".
As Ernst puts it, "Š somebody in Canada collected an IOU with my
arrest and deportation from the United States."
I am going to parcel out to my ZGram readers a story in four
parts because it is difficult to absorb the roles of various players in the
widening Canadian/US deportation/torture scandal since Arab victims' names
are involved. I tend to confuse them myself. However, we are beginning to
see some patterns of how these political deportations/extraditions are
carried out.
Zgram - Part I gives an overview of what Ernst calls
"... they (secret services in the United States and Canada) are farming
out people to other countries to be tortured."
Zgram - Part 2 is the actual testimony of the second Arab
torture victim, Muayyad Nureddin, to have come forward telling a story of
having been nabbed while traveling and turned over to Syria to be tortured.
Apparently due to media awareness and pressure, this second torture victim
requests to have the government of Canada investigate the roles of CSIS and
the RCMP.
Zgram - Part 3 is particularly interesting because it quotes
Amnesty International's General Secretary Alex Neve, admitting he has known
about these torture practices for "several months" and asking
likewise for the government of Canada to investigate. Remember that it was
Newe, knowing full well that this was going on, who REFUSED to look into the
kidnapping and mistreatment of Ernst Zundel - even after hundreds of
letters, faxes and emails were sent to him from all over the world!
Part 4 is just a wrap-up ZGram, quoting the attorney for the
first two torture victims to have come forward with this chilling story in a
press conference.
I am sending all four ZGrams today to make up for a missing
ZGram yesterday and to trade myself a "ZGram-free weekend" - very
badly needed!
Brace yourself. This is not pleasant reading.
[START]
Feel free to forward far and wide--for those without the
stomach to read this in e-mail form, it is posted on our website at
www.homesnotbombs.ca)
Second Canadian Details Torture in Syrian Prison
Major Questions Arise about Role of RCMP and CSIS in Setting
Up Canadians for Torture Overseas
"A Syrian official told me that I would not see the sun
again," traumatized Canadian tells press conference.
Lawyer says, "Mr. Nureddin's case, and Mr. Arar before
it, appear to indicate that the RCMP and CSIS, or both of them, are moving
into another form of targetting: Canadian citizens."
(report from the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada
and its growing subsidiary, the Campaign to Stop the Detention and Torture
of Canadians Abroad)
TORONTO, FEBRUARY 25, 2004 -- It's the second time in the
past few months that a Canadian has gone before the cameras to discuss his
torture at the hands of Syrian authorities. It's the second time that
serious questions have been raised about the potential role of CSIS and the
RCMP in sharing the kind of information with overseas intelligence agencies
that has prompted the torture of a Canadian detained abroad.
And there was an eerie sense at today's Toronto press
conference with torture survivor Muayyad Nureddin -- who was held without
charge or explanation just over one month in a Syrian prison and released in
January -- that it may not be the last time we see such a sight: a quiet,
dignified statement about the terror of torture visited upon a human being
who made the mistake of travelling abroad while Muslim or Arab.
Indeed, as Amnesty International's Canadian General
Secretary Alex Neve pointed out, "two other Canadians, Abdullah Almalki
and Anwar Al-Bouchi remain in Syrian jails. Reports of their torture emerged
months ago. Canada must redouble its efforts on their behalf."
And yet there are still others. Recently detained overseas
and just released from Egypt are Helmy Elsherief, a 64-year-old man who was
"questioned" for two full weeks in Egypt before being released,
and Ahmad Abou El-Maati, held over two years, tortured in Syria and then
transferred to an Egyptian prison.
Israel has detained Windsor, Ontario resident Jamal Akkal
based on what appears to be a trumped-up allegation that he was forced to
confess to in a language he does not read nor speak after 20 days of
round-the-clock interrogation.
[--- something deleted here] In the U.S., Canadians are also
held behind bars.
There's the mysterious case of Mansour Jabarah (who was
recently convicted in a secret trial of a slew of alleged crimes after
apparently being kidnapped by CSIS while in Oman and turned over to the
U.S.).
Recently, Somali-Canadian Mohammad Warsame was arrested in
Minneapolis and, after being held as a material witness in an undisclosed
location in connection with a case related to Sept. 11, 2001, was indicted
under the (recently declared unconstitutional) law against provision of
materiel aid to a terrorist group, yet no details have been made public.
There's also the cases of Canadians held at the illegal
Guantanamo Bay "enemy combatants" camp, including teenager Omar
Khadr. This disturbing trend, especially with respect to those who call
Canada home, seems to follow a particular pattern. Mr. Nureddin's attorney,
Barbara Jackman, notes "CSIS has a long-standing practice--and the RCMP
before it and still--of focusing and targetting of persons who are
associated with particular centres. Certainly the Muslim centre is now being
targetted. In the past it's been Tamils, Kurds, Sikhs, because of their
association with particular ethnic centres.
"Associations with other persons and with particular
centres have formed the basis of security certificates imposed on
non-citizens in Canada, like Mr. Jaballah and Mr. Almrei and a number of
others. In security certificate proceedings the government only needs to
establish that the case might possibly be true, so inferences are drawn
based merely on associations with persons or a particular centre that's a
concern to CSIS. Mr. Nureddin's case, and Mr. Arar before it, appear to
indicate that the RCMP and CSIS, or both of them, are moving into another
form of targetting: Canadian citizens."
The unsettling conclusion to be drawn from these practices
is clear.
"Canadian citizens can't be made subject of security
certificates because they're Canadian citizens," Jackman points out in
reference to the mechanisms whereby secret trials in Canada are initiated,
and under which five Muslim men have been detained without charge or bail a
collective 124 months.
"So what appears to be happening is that CSIS or the
RCMP are opportunistically taking advantage of times when people are
travelling to provide information to other governments to get them to do
their dirty work, to ask questions using means that would not be acceptable
in Canada and that are not condoned internationally and in fact are
prohibited internationally ... at this point in time, anybody -- any
Canadian citizen or permanent resident from the Middle East who's ever been
questioned by CSIS or the RCMP -- should be worried about travelling. They
can't take a chance that if they travel they won't be detained in some other
country because CSIS has passed information on about them."
Nureddin's friend, Tawfik Kettanah, asks, "How do you
feel when you know your fellow citizen is passing information about you that
resulted in your torture and humiliation? I say definitely it's betrayal.
This is not only about a fellow citizen, but an organization whose job is to
protect the entire nation's security."
Many questions arose as a result of today's revelations. Mr.
Nureddin himself states clearly:
"I want to know why I was detained in Syria. I want to
know if CSIS or any other Canadian security agency was responsible for my
detention and torture in Syria. I want the Canadian government to hold a
public inquiry so that I and the Canadian public know exactly what happened.
I do not want this to happen to others ever again. It is wrong."
Other important questions arise. Why was it that the
Canadian consular official in Syria learned of Nureddin's pending release
not from Syrian authorities, but from CSIS?
Why was it that the same questions asked by CSIS agents at
Pearson airport in September, 2003, before Nureddin travelled overseas, were
asked by Nureddin's torturers in a Syrian prison three months later? (Those
questions concerned the cash he was carrying for his own and other families
in Iraq (a fairly common practice for many in immigrant communities who
visit overseas); questions about two individuals associated with the
Salaheddin mosque in Scarborough and about another individual who has since
left Canada; questions about whether Nureddin worked in Salaheddin's
accounting department; and how many times he had visited Iraq.
Why is it that Nureddin, while crossing the Turkish-Syrian
border earlier in his ill-fated trip, was again asked questions about the
Muslim centre, when he had quit, whether he belonged to any organization? At
that time his car was stripped down and searched, and his money counted.
While today's conference called for the terms of the Arar
inquiry to be broadened to include the case of Mr. Nureddin, it also served
as another reminder of a question which demands its own inquiry (perhaps
even more so than the shocking -- yet not unexpected -- disappearing act of
$100 million into Liberal patronage coffers.)
That question is on the minds of many refugee families,
especially those whose loved ones have been subject to security
certificates. After someone like Mr. Nureddin comes home from the hell of a
Syrian torture chamber and shares his horrific story, how can the federal
government proceed with plans to try and deport Syrian refugee Hassan Almrei,
now 28 months in solitary confinement, knowing full well the substantial
likelihood that Almrei will face torture or murder?
How can the Canadian government, despite its own conclusion
that they will be tortured and likely killed if returned to Egypt, proceed
with efforts to deport secret trial detainees Mahmoud Jaballah (father of
six, held since August 2001) and Mohammad Mahjoub (father of three, held
since June 2000) to Egypt?
How can Canada proceed with similar cases against Algerian
refugee Mohamed Harkat (still behind bars in Ottawa as his wife Sophie
Harkat wages an unending battle to free the detainees) and Adil Charkaoui,
an art student and permanent resident from Morocco separated by concrete and
steel bars from his loving family, in Montreal?
Given the soundbite nature of the news, it seems especially
important given the gravity of this issue to reproduce [in ZGRAMS Parts 2,
3, and 4] a transcript of today's press conference statements. Those who
participated are Muayyad Nureddin, his friend Tawfik Kettanah, Alex Neve of
Amnesty International and lawyer Barbara Jackman.
Part II : Transcript of tortured victim at a Canadian
press conference
This is Part II of my four-part Zgram about a widening
US/Canadian scandal involving a covert governmental operation between these
two countries to turn over "suspects" to be tortured in third
countries.
Zgram - Part I gave you an overview of what Ernst calls
"... they (secret services in the United States and Canada) are farming
out people to other countries to be tortured."
This Zgram - Part 2 - brings you the actual testimony of the
second Arab torture victim, Muayyad Nureddin, to have come forward after
Maher Arar, telling a story of having been nabbed while traveling and having
been turned over to Syria to be tortured.
The information comes from a Canadian website called
www.homesnotbombs.ca Last night was the first time I saw this material that
somebody e-mailed to me. I do not know the Arabs involved, but the story is
similar to what happened to my husband.
Brace yourself. This is not pleasant reading.
[START]
Given the soundbite nature of the news, it seems especially
important given the gravity of this issue to reproduce below a transcript of
today's press conference statements. Those who participated are Muayyad
Nureddin [and] his friend Tawfik Kettanah.
TAWFIK KETTANAH
(thanks media and all those who helped bring Muayyad home)
This case started when I received a call from Muayyad's
brother that he was being detained in Syria. His friends and I worked to get
the message to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the media.
The media and interviewed some of the people who knew
Muayyad. I later learned that CSIS visited the other two gentlemen who sent
money with Muayyad to their families in Iraq.
These gentlemen and I were approached by CSIS in the same
way and had been asked similar questions about Muayyad and the money, which
seemed to be a concern to the security agency in the airport at the time
when Muayyad was about to leave Canada.
I personally never accused CSIS of planning this and the
last comment I made to CTV News I remember was I need to hear from Muayyad
to pass a judgment. I learned later that some newspapers quoted me as
accusing CSIS, and this is not true.
Now that Muayyad is back I am very concerned that there are
indications that CSIS may have played a role in this case either directly or
indirectly.
MUAYYAD NUREDDIN
My name is Muayyed Nureddin.
I am an Iraqi Canadian.
I am a computer programmer analyst. I completed a three year
degree program at Centennial College in 2000. Before this I studied geology
for two years at a university in Iraq.
In the past I was the principal of the Salaheddin Islamic
School from January, 2001 to June, 2003.
I have never been a member of a political party or joined a
religious movement.
I am not a member of a political party or a religious
movement.
I am not interested in joining a political party or a
religious movement.
I was visited by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
sometime in 1999 or 2000. I was asked:
If I had been to Afghanistan - I said no.
If I knew any Egyptians, involved in the Muslim movement - I
said I did not know.
Where I went to pray - I said to many mosques including the
Medina Masjid, Markham and Salaheddin.
Sometime later CSIS visited me. I was not home. They talked
to my room mate. They did not leave their card and did not return.
On September 16, 2003 I went to Pearson International
Airport. I was planning to fly to Germany via Amsterdam to meet up with my
brother and travel with him by car to Iraq to visit our family.
When I was in the boarding line-up, I was approached by two
men who identified themselves as Canadian security agents. They escorted me
to the sitting area and questioned me for about 45 minutes. They asked me:
How many times I had visited Iraq - I told them two times
before.
How much money I was carrying with me - I had already
declared my money. I gave them the details about whose money I had, because
I was taking money from friends in Canada for their families in Iraq.
They asked if I knew three gentlemen, two Canadians, Aly
Hindy and Subhat Allah Rasul, and one landed immigrant, Hassan Farhat, who
left Canada in 2001. I told them that I knew these men. Two were friends and
one was my former boss.
They asked if I was involved in the accounting department of
the Islamic Centre, where I had been the principal. - I told them no.
After this 8 customs officers and a dog searched me and my
luggage. I was allowed to board my flight.
I met my brother in Germany and we traveled by car through
Europe to Turkey, then to Syria and Iraq. I was held up at the
Turkish-Syrian border for about 4 hours. Our car was searched - even the
doors and inside the ceiling. My money was counted. I was questioned:
Did I work at a Muslim Centre - I said yes, but I had quit.
When did I quit - I said in June, 2003
Did I belong to any organization - I said no.
When I was in the border office, the Turkish official
received a call. I heard him say "why were they exaggerating" as I
had nothing. When he hung up the phone the officer told me that they had to
check me as they had received a report from higher officials.
I had no problems after this. My brother and I traveled to
Syria and Iraq.
In November, 2003 I traveled with one of my brothers to
Jordan to arrange to have the cars released, which I had shipped from
Canada, so that my brother and I could bring them to Iraq for resale. On my
way back to Iraq, a Jordanian border official asked me if I had been told to
report to any office in Jordan. I said no. He was surprised that I had not
been told to report in Jordan.
On December 11, 2003, I traveled by car with my mother, two
sisters and three brothers to the Syrian border. I was planning to board a
flight in Damascus to return to Canada via Amsterdam. One brother was to
travel with me to Damascus and the rest of my family were to return to
Syria.
I was detained. My luggage was searched and then given to my
brother. He was told to leave. We agreed he would go on to Damascus and wait
for me there. I learned later that he stayed in Damascus a few days and then
returned to Iraq to tell my family that I was detained in Syria. My family
contacted my friend Tawfik Kettanah in Canada to ask him to help find out
what had happened to me.
At the border, I was searched and handcuffed to a bed. A
Syrian official told me that I would not see the sun again. I was questioned
about my background. I overheard a Syrian official telling someone on the
phone that I had not been detained when I traveled through Syria in
September, 2003 because they only received a report on me on November 14,
2003.
I was transferred that afternoon to a military detention
centre in Kamashly. I was kept in a small 1 x 2 metre cell. [3 ft by 6 ft]
One officer joked about me hiding a bomb in my shoe. I told him I was only
trying to return to Canada. The next evening I was transferred to the
Palestine Branch of Syrian Military Intelligence in Damascus.
I was detained at the Palestine Branch from December 12,
2003 to January 13, 2004. During this time, I was detained in an underground
cell about 5 x 6 metres. [15 ft by 18 ft] There were 30 prisoners in the
same cell and by the time I left there were 40 prisoners.
I was interrogated a number of times. I was asked:
What money I had brought to Iraq. I told them I had about
$10,000.
They told me exactly how much I had brought - $10,500 US and
4,000 Euros.
They asked if I had given the money to an organization. I
said no.
They asked about the same three men that Canadian security
agents had asked me about at the airport when I was leaving Canada in
September, 2003.
They asked me about the Salaheddin Centre. I told them I
worked there before as school principal, and had quit.
I went through one terrible torture session. I have never
experienced this before and never want to again. I was taken to an
interrogation room and questioned. I was left to think about what
information I would give. My interrogators returned and I was told to
undress, but for my underwear. I was made to lie on the ground on my
stomach. I was soaked with cold water and a ceiling fan was put on. I was
interrogated again. The officers did not like my asnwers. I was made to lift
my legs, still lying on my stomach. The soles of my feet were lashed with a
cable more than a dozen times. I was told to stand and they poured cold
water on my feet. I was made to walking, while standing in one place for ten
minutes. Then they repeated the same process twice more. Each time I was
asked for more information. They called me a liar, when I had nothing new to
say to them. I was sent back to my cell and told I would be called back for
more questions and that I had better think more about my answers.
I was told the chair would be used next time. This is a
chair frame into which a person is pushed and then his back bent.
I could not walk for a number of days after this session. I
lived with the constant fear that it would be repeated. I could not sleep.
Every time any guard came to the door I was afraid. It was mental torture
for me after the physical torture.
Early in January, 2004, I was made to sign statements
without being permitted to read them.
[Š some text missing here] an outline of my family
information, which appeared to be the statement that I had previously been
told to write out.
[Š some text missing here] what appeared to be a statement
which I had been made to write saying that I had been treated nicely while
detained.
[Š some text missing here] a statement prepared by the jail
authorities, which I think covered the answers I had provided to their
questions.
On January 13, 2004 I was told to get ready as I was being
released. I was called to the Director's office and my passport, flight
ticket, and other belongings were returned to me. I was taken to another
office and told by Syrian officers to say that I had been treated nicely.
I was taken to the Branch director's office and when asked I
told him that I had been treated nicely. I was introduced to Leo Martel from
the Canadian Embassy and left the prison with him. I spent time at the
Embassy that day and the next and told them what had happened to me.
I was taken to the Sheraton Hotel overnight. The Canadian
government covered the cost of my hotel and flight back to Canada. I was
told to sign a repayment agreement. I now owe them $3,073.
I was told by Leo Martel that CSIS had advised the Canadian
Embassy that I was to be released the morning of January 13, 2004.
Since my return to Canada, I have fully cooperated with CSIS.
I met with them. They told me that they were involved in securing my
release.
They told me that I am not a person of concern to them.
It has become clear that there is a pattern of people who
held my job at the Islamic School being viewed with suspicion by the
authorities. Helmy El Sherief was the principal at one time. He was held in
an Egyptian jail for close to one month this year. Mahmoud Jaballah was the
principal at one time. He has been held in a Canadian jail for more than two
years. I was principal at one time and I have been tortured in Syria.
I did know both of these men. I know nothing about them
doing anything illegal.
I have never done anything illegal. Why have I and they been
targeted.
I have many questions:
I want to know why I was detained in Syria.
I want to know if CSIS or any other Canadian security agency
was responsible for my detention and torture in Syria.
I want the Canadian government to hold a public inquiry so
that I and the Canadian public know exactly what happened.
I do not want this to happen to others ever again. It is
wrong.
I thank the Canadian media and every person who helped in
securing my release.
Part III / Amnesty International at the press conference
Herewith Part III of my four-part Zgram about a widening
US/Canadian scandal involving a covert governmental operation between these
two countries to turn over "suspects" to be tortured in third
countries.
Zgram - Part I gave you an overview of what Ernst calls
"... they (secret services in the United States and Canada) are farming
out people to other countries to be tortured."
Zgram - Part 2 - featured the actual testimony of the second
Arab torture victim, Muayyad Nureddin, to have come forward after Maher Arar,
telling a story of having been nabbed while traveling and having been turned
over to Syria to be tortured.
In today's Zgram - Part 3 - we first get a brief statement
from Tawfik Kettanah, a friend of torture victim, Mr. Nureddin, followed by
Amnesty International's General Secretary, Alex Neve - whose letters I have
in my files stating that he does not think Ernst Zundel merits his attention
and intervention!
[START]
TAWFIK KETTANAH:
It strongly appears that there may have been some government
departments that passed information to Turkey, Jordan and Syria about [Mr.
Nureddin] which resulted in him being detained in Syria.
If the Canadian government takes part in such actions, that
means we risk falling into the category of police state. I know and believe
Prime Minister Paul Martin does not consider, or want, Canada to be one.
I call on the Prime Minister to sincerely get to the bottom
of this case and use all possible means to bring justice to this case.
Now I want to ask a question: how do you feel when you know
your fellow citizen is passing information about you that resulted in your
torture and humiliation? I say definitely it's betrayal. This is not only
about a fellow citizen, but an organization whose job is to protect the
entire nation's security.
ALEX NEVE, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL:
The right to be free from torture is one of the most
fundamental of all human rights. It applies to all people at all times
without exception. No one should be tortured ever.
Mr. Nureddin's description of arbitrary arrest leading to
torture is not, sadly, the first time that Canadians have heard about
torture in Syria. His alarming testimony comes of course on the heels of the
frightening experience of Maher Arar, whose case is now to be the subject of
a public inquiry.
The testimony Mr. Nureddin has provided regarding torture by
military intelligence officials in Damascus is detailed, credible and
consistent with well-established patterns of torture which Amnesty
International has documented for many years in Syria.
Canada's response now to what Mr. Nureddin has suffered must
be immediate and it must be two-fold. First, Canada must intervene clearly
and unequivocally with Syrian authorities, expressing its outrage with what
happened to Mr. Nureddin, and making a firm demand that torture in Syria
come to an end.
There are several elements needed here. First, two other
Canadians, Abdullah Almalki and Anwar Al-Bouchi remain in Syrian jails.
Reports of their torture emerged months ago. Canada must redouble its
efforts on their behalf. Second, hundreds of other Syrian detainees, many
held for political reasons, face the risk of torture every day. Canada must
speak also on their behalf. Third, Canada must insist on an impartial
investigation into Mr. Nureddin's allegations.
Four months since the release of Maher Arar, Syrians have
not launched such an investigation into his allegations, and Canada's voice
in pressing for such investigations has been notably and unacceptably
silent.
If Syrian officials are not prepared to investigate, they
must be pressed to allow an international expert to do so, such as the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.
Fourth, Canada must also become an outspoken champion for
justice for Mauled Nureddin. That means that those responsible for his
torture must be brought to justice. It also means that Mr. Nureddin must be
assisted in pursuing compensation, including here, in Canadian courts, if
necessary.
But the second very critical element to this case is the
need for Canada to examine its own role. The questions are many and are of
profound importance. Did Canadian law enforcement or security agencies
provide information that led to Mr. Nureddin's arrest and torture! If so,
what did they do to guard against that information-sharing leading to
serious human rights violations, including torture? Were they involved in
any way during Mr. Nureddin's detention? Were they aware that he was at risk
of torture during his detention? Were they clear and forceful in their
efforts to protect him from torture? What Mr. Nureddin's case tells us is
that what happened to Maher Arar is not an isolated and exceptional case.
And there are of course worrying possibilities that similar
concerns are at the heart of other recent cases, such as that of Ahmad El-Maati
and Helmy Elsherief. Amnesty International has therefore called on the
Canadian government to broaden the terms of reference to the Arar inquiry to
include Mr. Nureddin's case and to specifically ask Mr. Justice O'Connor to
consider what steps need to be taken to guard against the activities of
Canadian law enforcement and security agencies in the area of national
security leading to violations in the area outside of Canada of the basic
rights of anyone.
Specifically, Mr. Justice O'Connor should be asked to
examine the facts of Mr. Nureddin's case. He should be asked to recommend a
new, comprehensive process for ensuring thorough, impartial and transparent
investigation of cases such as Mr. Arar's and Mr. Nureddin's. And he should
be asked to recommend legal policy and institutional reforms that may be
needed to ensure that the actions of Canadian officials do not directly or
indirectly lead to human rights violations outside Canada.
No one should ever be tortured. Canada should never play a
role in torture, be it direct or indirect, be it through turning a blind eye
to its occurrence.
It's time now to make sure that Canada is a champion of the
right to be free from torture everywhere and is not a witting or unwitting
accomplice to torture in any country.
wrap-up ZGram
I now bring you the conclusion of this four-part Zgram that
can be summarized in Ernst Zundel's words, "... they (secret services
in the United States and Canada) are farming out people to other countries
to be tortured."
In this Zgram, Attorney Barbara Jackman, legal counsel for
torture victim, Mr. Nureddin, gives an important statement at the press
conference.
Pay close attention to what she says about the use of "centres"
to smear and implicate targeted victims of secret services such as CSIS.
In Ernst's hearings, for instance, a big deal is being made
about his alleged "association" with leaders and members of the
Heritage Front, a non-profit "centre" set up in the early 1990s to
provide a "safe ethnic haven" for disaffected Aryan youths. I
remember one of the very first audios I heard of a then to me unknown Mr.
Zundel where he expresses his concern that "something is not
right" about this Heritage Front - that he thought it was a set-up by
the government.
And as per usual, Ernst Zundel had it right!
Thanks to a careful investigation written up in a number of
sensational political exposés by Canadian veteran reporter Bill Dunphy, it
was revealed to an astonished Canada that the Heritage Front had a CSIS
mole, Grant Bristow, embedded in a leadership position who tried to egg the
white kids on to telephone-harass Canadian Jews and get themselves involved
in other petty crimes such as some street gang violence. That's how
society's "villains" are created by the very agencies commissioned
to protect us - clever and handy, isn't it? To justify their jobs, some
people just create themselves the villains that they need!
Ernst was never a member, much less a leader of this
Heritage Front, but he did know some of the white kids and those in a
leadership position. The Heritage Front became a mere shell of itself after
the outing of Grant Bristow through Dunphy, but the "centre" is
still seen as a handy tool for CSIS to smear Ernst's character in the
on-going hearing, with former CSIS boss, Judge Blais, presiding.
(I sell a video called "Setting the Record
Straight" where Ernst explains his interaction with some of the
Heritage Front kids. If you are interested, email me - and I'll be glad to
send you a copy for $25.- postage included.)
But back to Attorney Barbara Jackman, who represents torture
victim, Nureddin.
[START]
I'm an immigration lawyer and I've been involved in security
cases since the 1970s, when it was the RCMP Security Service and then later
with both CSIS and the RCMP. I think what happened with Mr. Nureddin should
be put in context. CSIS has a long-standing practice--and the RCMP before it
and still--of focusing and targetting of persons who are associated with
particular centres. Certainly the Muslim centre is now being targetted. In
the past it's been Tamils, Kurds, Sikhs, because of their association with
particular ethnic centres.
Associations with other persons and with particular centres
have formed the basis of security certificates imposed on non-citizens in
Canada, like Mr. Jaballah and Mr. Almrei and a number of others. In security
certificate proceedings the government only needs to establish that the case
might possibly be true, so inferences are drawn based merely on associations
with persons or a particular centre that's a concern to CSIS. Mr. Nureddin's
case, and Mr. Arar before it, appear to indicate that the RCMP and CSIS, or
both of them, are moving into another form of targetting: Canadian citizens.
I think it's important to realize that under the
anti-terrorism act, there is no case to make against Mr. Nureddin or a
number of the other persons. Canadian citizens can't be made subject of
security certificates because they're Canadian citizens. So what appears to
be happening is that CSIS or the RCMP are opportunistically taking advantage
of times when people are travelling to provide information to other
governments to get them to do their dirty work, to ask questions using means
that would not be acceptable in Canada and that are not condoned
internationally and in fact are prohibited internationally.
While the United States is returning people directly to
countries to be tortured, it would appear that our services --or at least
the question is raised -- that our security services are taking advantage of
people's normal travels to have other countries question them using improper
moves to do so.
I think that it's important for the Canadian government to
investigate what happened and like Alex Neve said, Mr. Nureddin and I would
like his case to be added to Mr. Arar's inquiry.
It's important not just in terms of what's happened but I
think at this point in time, anybody, any Canadian citizen or permanent
resident from the Middle East who's ever been questioned by CSIS or the RCMP
should be worried about travelling.
They can't take a chance that if they travel they won't be
detained in some other country because CSIS has passed information on about
them.
That seems to be what is happening here and it's a very very
serious concern which the government needs to investigate. I wrote a letter
to Anne McLellan on behalf of Mr. Nureddin asking her to add him to Mr.
Arar's inquiry, to do a second phase so to speak in order to investigate
what happened to him and to emphasize that the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service -- not just the RCMP -- needs to be investigated in
terms of the practices that appear to be happening at the present time.
[END]
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Write to Canada's Immigration Minister and complain
over the unfair treatment Ernst Zündel has received.
Immigration Minister Denis Coderre
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 995-6108
Fax: (613) 995-9755
Email: Coderre.D@parl.gc.ca |
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