ZGram - 9/17/2004 - "A Report from Abu Ghraib North"

[zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org]

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny:  Now more than ever!

September 17, 2004

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

The Zundel hearings are still in progress.  Another day - today - has 
been added. 

John Farrell, the one-time petty thief turned CSIS operative turned 
CSIS snitch turned Catholic school teacher, is on the stand.  Ernst 
told me last night that he had never, in all his experiences in 
dozens of courts on several continents, seen such a difficult 
cross-examination.  The Zundel defense team is brilliant, not giving 
an inch.  The government is running massive, furious interference, 
aided by Judge Blais who clearly has his marching orders from his 
handlers.  Get this:  In the middle of this court day, Judge Blais 
heard secret evidence - probably a first!

Blais, one-time CSIS boss, hates Farrell, and it shows.  Of course - 
why wouldn't he?  Farrell let the cat out of the bag about the 
criminal activities of CSIS.  At the same time, Judge Blais must 
protect his former turf by having no choice but to protect Farrell - 
when he'd much rather wring his neck, we guess. 

What a disgusting spectacle! 

I am waiting for Paul Fromm to send me a detailed report for my 
readers - and my records. 

Meanwhile, "Setting the Record Straight:  Letters from Cell #7" is 
big conversation fodder for the guards at the Toronto West Detention 
Center, where Ernst and other so-called "security certificate" 
prisoners are being held in inhuman conditions.  Many guards are 
openly rooting for for the book, hoping it will be a bestseller. 

Actually, according to Canadian booksellers criteria, it already has 
become a bestselling title  - more than 5,000 copies have been sold, 
largely on word of mouth alone.  Orders are still streaming in.

One of the Arabs, last name Almrei, in the cell next to Ernst, has 
received his own copy, courtesy of a not-so-mysterious donor who paid 
for it and shipped it, since only paperbacks with an invoice marked 
"Paid" are allowed.  He loves it.  He and Ernst have struck up quite 
a friendship on the rare occasions they can share a few words. 

Other than Almrei, the Arabs stay away from the Zundel case, which is 
a pity.  We share the same enemies and could share names, 
experiences, and pertinent data.  I wrote to Maher Arar's wife - Arar 
is the rendition victim who was kidnapped in America while traveling 
and shipped to be tortured in Syria.  The Arar case has the same CSIS 
footprint as Ernst's.  Arar's wife seems to be a sharp, courageous 
lady, who fought hard to get her husband back.  I sent her a copy of 
Ernst's book and offered cooperation.  There was no response - and 
only last night I found out that at the very least, the Canadian arm 
of their multi-million dollar lawsuit for damages is in some 
Jewish-led law firm's hands.  Good luck!  That explains the 
reluctance.  That's analogous to making Henry Kissinger the head of 
the 9/11 inquiry!

Since we are speaking of Abu Ghraib North, here is a write-up about 
another CSIS victim, Mahjoub, also held in that hell-hole, also being 
verbally abused by state prosecutor MacIntosh whose specialty is 
heaping smears on the people he is to convict.  This Arab victim was 
slated to be farmed out for torture - but apparently "saved" at the 
last minute, at least for now. 

[START]

Mahjoub Spared Torture in Egypt for Now:

Temporary Stay Granted in Deportation of Egyptian Refugee Held Four 
Years Without Charge at Toronto's Metro West Detention Centre

TORONTO, SEPTEMBER 8, 2004 -- A chartered jet was scheduled to fly 
Mohammad Mahjoub out of Canada this afternoon and return him to Egypt 
and a future of prison, torture, and cruel and unusual punishment., 
But that flight was cancelled shortly after 1 pm when a stay was 
granted, temporarily preventing this illegal deportation.

A group of relieved supporters, including Mahjoub's wife Mona 
El-Fouli and members of the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada, 
noted that although Mahjoub is "safe" for now, he returns this 
evening to his solitary confinement cell at Metro West Detention 
Centre to continue an indefinite period of incarceration which has 
been marked by endless humiliation and abuse.

That ill-treatment was the focus of yesterday's hearing, part of a 
constitutional challenge to his lengthy detention. Today's positive 
decision on deportation was a bit of an ironic trade-off that spared 
Mahjoub the torture of Egypt for the torture of Canada, where being 
held over 4 years without being shown a shred of evidence why is 
torture enough. Add to that an attempted sexual assault upon Mahjoub, 
numerous death threats from guards, lack of access to medical care to 
deal with high blood pressure and hepatitis C, rampant racism and 
anti-Muslim slurs, and one begins to see that Mahjoub has few choices 
available to him as his case slowly makes its way through the courts.

Today's hearing began with a brief bit of testimony from Deirdre 
Gilker, the Operations Manager for Removals at the Greater Toronto 
Enforcement Centre (GTEC), a deportation factory that splits apart 
families on a regular basis to meet its deportation quotas. Gilker 
stated quietly that GTEC is prepared to remove Mahjoub from Canada, 
that a valid travel document is available, and that the deportation 
is imminent.

She would not say when and where Mahjoub would depart from, as this 
was a "security" concern. She also neglected to mention that her 
boss, the immigration department, had concluded in a risk assessment 
that Mahjoub would likely face torture upon his return to Egypt. No, 
her job is cut and dried: receive a piece of paper with Mahjoub's 
name on it, ensure he is "removal ready" (much like a slab of rotten 
meat being prepared for the dumpster), and then dispense with him. No 
consequences, no moral afterthought, just another day on an assembly 
line of misery.

Mahjoub's attorney Barb Jackman asks Gilker if he will be sent out on 
a commercial airliner. Gilker says she cannot comment for security 
reasons. Jackman counters that "we all know it won't be a commercial 
airline -- they won't take these cases," and wonders why Gilker finds 
it so difficult to deny this.

Immigration Dept. lawyer Donald MacIntosh jumps up in the first of 
numerous over-the-top outbursts today with the point that Mahjoub is 
a dangerous guy, as testified to over a year ago when some 60-70 SWAT 
team members from Metro Police and the RCMP walked the hallways of 
the court with sub-machineguns during a bail hearing. (Of course, no 
such security is on hand today, but this escapes Mr. MacIntosh, who 
seems to forget such displays, though, rare, are only required once 
to leave a certain impression in the public's and the judge's mind.)

His objection is sustained by Judge Eleanor Dawson, and the arguments 
for a stay begin. Jackman points out that both sides agree Mahjoub is 
at risk if returned to Egypt, and that the assurance he will not be 
harmed comes from a general in the Egyptian security force GIS, 
implicated in many human rights abuses. "What they have is an 
assurance from a torturer that he won't torture," Jackman notes.

She says that since numerous important issues raised by the Mahjoub 
file are still before the courts, removing him now would rob him of 
the potential justice that he seeks by having these issues dealt 
with. Indeed, if he were returned to Egypt, it is unlikely a 
government known for major human rights violations would allow him to 
return to Canada for future court dates which, if victorious, would 
result in Mahjoub being allowed to stay in Canada.

Jackman also quotes from expert testimony and an Amnesty 
International document which clearly show the grave risk to Mahjoub 
if returned.

MacIntosh rises and, with little reference to relevant case law, 
instead goes on what is becoming increasingly common in these 
proceedings: a raving rant that makes him sound like George W. Bush 
on mega-doses of steroids. MacIntosh claims "separation of families 
[by deportation] does not lead to irreparable harm" and cautions the 
judge against allowing the best interests of the children to trump 
other considerations. He then repeatedly attacks Mahjoub, calling him 
a liar, perjurer, a sneaky, devious, dangerous man who seems to have 
tricked the "well-intentioned" Amnesty International and who, by 
calling himself a devout Muslim, insults the majority of the world's 
Muslims.

After all, he points out, Mahjoub is [allegedly] tied to groups that 
are "seeking weapons of mass destruction." Oh oh, he's used the WMD 
word. Last time we heard that, WMD were being denied as an issue even 
by the Bush administration, whose own intelligence failures on the 
issue are well-known. Like a similar outburst at the hearing of 
Mahmoud Jaballah a few weeks back, this is an embarrassing torrent of 
empty rhetoric which, as Barb Jackman points out, seems to be issued 
more for the benefit of the press than for the benefit of the court.

Jackman points out that there has never been any conclusive evidence 
that Mahjoub is any of these things, for the test in a security 
certificate is "the lowest standard of proof in the courts. The test 
is whether the facts are POSSIBLY true, not even PROBABLY true."

"The best experts on intelligence went to war and thousands of lives 
have been lost in Iraq on evidence that wasn't true," she reminds the 
court.

Jackman points out there are numerous alternative courses for the 
government to follow, including releasing Mahjoub on strict bail 
conditions. Better yet, "if he's such a terrorist, charge him under 
the anti-terrorism legislation and show him the evidence. But they 
haven't done that because they [the government] don't have a case to 
prove."

After a half hour break, Justice Dawson returns with her decision. 
There are, she says, three issues that need to be addressed in the 
application: is this a serious issue, would irreparable harm result 
from Mahjoub being deported, and whether the balance of convenience 
shows he would suffer greater harm in being deported than the 
inconvenience to the minister of Immigration in granting the stay.

Dawson says she is satisfied on all three counts, quoting liberally 
from the Amnesty International and expert human rights opinions which 
have been offered. She says a denial of the stay would make his 
upcoming judicial review of the deportation decision "nugatory," so 
irreparable harm has been established.

"If it appears he will not stay in detention," she says, then he must 
be brought before the court on an urgent basis to review the stay 
decision.

It was the conclusion of an emotional two days that began Tuesday 
morning, with the continuation of Mahjoub's testimony about prison 
conditions. After having argued for a partially closed hearing for 
his own protection, he decided instead that he would speak out about 
those conditions, despite considerable risk to him at the prison.

"Mr. Mahjoub fully understands the risks he is taking. It would be 
his preference not to face those risks," his attorney John Norris 
begins, but Mahjoub is concerned that the truth get out.

He then goes on to detail some of the horrible incidents which have 
occurred at the jail. On March 7, 2001, upon returning from court, he 
was strip searched, during which he politely asked to keep his boxer 
shorts on, as Muslim men are not allowed to appear naked in front of 
anyone else.

"The guard exploded with anger, calling me names, being abusive 
toward me and my family, and Muslims in general," Mahjoub explains. 
"'You are supposed to be killed, not just you but all Muslims,'" 
Mahjoub quotes the guard as saying to him.

Mahjoub tried to describe to the guard what it was to be a Muslim, 
about not drinking or taking drugs.

"'I don't give a fuck about your fucking religion, this is not your 
fucking country,'" Mahjoub recalls the guard screaming at him. 
Mahjoub said he would charge the guard, after which the guard told 
him, "People like you should be killed. All Muslims should be 
burned." Mahjoub then says the guard pointed to a fellow inmate in 
the area and asked the inmate, "How can you live with this fucking 
piece of shit [Mahjoub]? I'm surprised you didn't do anything to him."

Mahjoub made a complaint about this and numerous other such incidents 
to the jail authorities, to the Ontario Ombudsman, and various human 
rights bodies, but little or no action appeared to have taken place 
in response.

Mahjoub freely gave names and badge numbers of officers involved in 
these incidents, again a very courageous move considering the 
possible retribution he might face back at the jail.

After September 11, 2001, Mahjoub said, "My life was turned into 
something like hell. My family also suffered."

On September 14, 2001, one of the female officers told him to collect 
his things and led him to solitary confinement, without telling him 
what was going on. When he kept inquiring, she became very angry with 
him, yelling out that he would be deported to the United States. He 
asked to contact his wife and lawyer, but that was refused.

After he eventually met with then security chief Nelson Cardoza, who 
reassured him that he would not be deported to the U.S., the guard 
was confronted with this information, and denied everything.

In segregation, he was given a "security gown," a sleeveless, loose 
T-shirt which doesn't cover the body properly and certainly provides 
no warmth. He learned that such gowns were given to people on suicide 
watch.

"I was confused, I was not a violent man or attempted suicide. If 
they think these things will prevent a suicide they are mistaken. 
These things are meant to destroy the person."

He was kept between 21 and 24 days in solitary, five days of them in 
a cell with no lighting and a toilet that flushed only once a day.

He was taken back to general population but then again transferred to 
segregation in December, where he froze, asking for blankets which 
never came. Each time he asked why, "I was told 'because you are a 
prisoner. When you go home you can turn the heat up.'"

Mahjoub says "it was ridiculous, like a comedy," at which he breaks 
down, requiring time to collect himself. He recalls having no towel 
to wash and prepare for prayers (for Muslims, being clean before 
prayer is a key part of religious practice), no soap, no toothpaste, 
and he had to use his drinking glass to wash his body as well.

He recalls one particularly horrifying incident when, after being up 
all night consumed with worry, he finally fell asleep around 5 am, 
shortly after which a guard started banging on his door, screaming 
obscenities about him and his family, "threatening to kill me, to 
slaughter me. He even made the sign of his finger around his neck" to 
show what was in store for Mahjoub.

"The sound felt like an earthquake. I jumped out of bed, I was so 
frightened, I froze, unable to say anything."

"You are a fucking Muslim terrorist," the guard told him. "I will 
kill you, you are a motherfucker goof." Mahjoub names the guard and 
says he still works at the institution.

When Mahjoub made a complaint to another guard, he was told, "You 
must be dreaming."

As Mahjoub goes through this, I am reminded of what a palliative care 
nurse once said about her patients. "Look at the brow, look at the 
forehead, see if there's wrinkles there, and if there are, that's 
pain."

As Mahjoub gives his testimony, you can see the pain in his forehead. 
His eyes dart about as if he is seeking a safe place to curl up and 
make the painful memories go away. His brow is deeply furrowed at 
times, and he notes there is one incident so severe that he refuses 
to discuss it; thelast time he talked about it in court he went 
through a month of emotional and psychological trauma. "I felt like a 
person who had lost his mind, gone crazy."

He details being sent back and forth to segregation without 
explanation. Although locked away for anywhere from 23 and a half to 
24 full hours each day, he says he was strip searched about 3/4 of 
the time while held there.

He says one night, December 14, 2003, he was playing chess in his 
cell with two other prisoners when he collapsed on the floor in pain, 
experiencing double vision, dizziness, sweating, headache. The others 
begged guards to get him medical attention. The guards refused to 
allow a nurse to enter the cell and check his blood pressure, and 
demanded Mahjoub get up and walk out. He was in such pain that he 
could not move, so they ended up hauling him out of the cell and 
dragging him some 100 metres not to the health unit but to solitary 
confinement. The nurse asked guards to call 911 to take Mahjoub to 
the hospital, but they ignored this request. "You either walk with us 
or we'll drag you," the guards said, refusing his request for a 
wheelchair.

"My head was banging against the guards' feet. One of the guards said 
this is not the way to treat an inmate." While the guards joked that 
Mahjoub was in fact just upset at the capture of Saddam Hussein 
earlier that day, he wound up on the floor of his solitary cell, 
screaming in pain and receiving no treatment. He was given no 
mattress or blanket, and instead thrown a security gown that remained 
on the floor overnight.

One week later, tests confirmed he had Hepatitis C.

During cross examination, government lawyer Daniel Roussy attacks 
Mahjoub mercilessly. After Mahjoub reveals he was on a 39-day hunger 
strike, Roussy condemns him because it appears he has put some weight 
on since coming off the long-term denial of food.

"Would you not agree you have had good medical help?" Roussy asks 
him, counting the visits of a number of health professionals.

"No," Mahjoub responds, pulling out a photo of a prisoner being 
dragged at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison and stating, "This is how I 
was dragged! How can you call this good medical treatment?"

Roussy insists a prison report says that the night Mahjoub was 
dragged to solitary he was "verbally abusive" and "refused" to get up.

Mahjoub responds that he did not refuse to get up, he simply could 
not rise. As for being verbally abusive, there is no report of 
disciplinary action or infractions, usually a result of verbal abuse 
towards guards. It appears, Mahjoub says, that someone has lied in 
the making of that report.

As he goes through the reports, those of us who have been working on 
the campaign begin to see an interesting pattern emerge, one that 
shows that public pressure works. On two separate dates, Mahjoub says 
he was moved, without explanation, out of solitary confinement and 
back to thegeneral population. Both dates correspond with 
demonstrations held by the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials outside the 
detention centre.

Mahjoub will likely not receive a decision on his detention release 
application until the end of the year, and a date has yet to be set 
for judicial review of his deportation decision. In the meantime, he 
is relieved about the stay, and bemused that so much hot air was 
expended on him by government lawyers today. He wishes to thank those 
who have come to court, supported his family, and sent him cards and 
letters, and hopes people in Canada will continue writing to Anne 
Mclellan to stop the deportation and end his long-term incarceration.

On a related note, charges against four people who were arrested at 
CSIS national headquarters last October 31 while trick-or-treating 
for secret evidence will be dismissed Friday morning in Ottawa. After 
almost a year of requesting proper disclosure from the demonstration 
-- everything from RCMP security reports and video surveillance to 
CSIS plans for the demonstration and a subpoena for Ward Elcock, 
former head of CSIS -- the Crown has said they have no evidence 
against us (yah, right) and so charges will be dismissed. Guess CSIS 
did not any more bad press...

Members of the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials will be joined by 
Christian Peacemaker Teams, Tikkun, and the Canadian Assdociation of 
Jews and Muslims this Sunday, Sept. 12 at 1:30 pm in Toronto at CSIS 
HQ, 277 Front Street West, for a multifaith march

through downtown Tornto. The event is preceded the evening before 
with a CPT benefit at 9 pm at the Reverb (Bathurst and Queen).

(Source: http://www.homesnotbombs.ca/mahjoubgetsstay.htm)