Muslim community jubilant as Federal Courts knock down security certificate against Hassan Almrei

December 16, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Montreal, Quebec, December 16th, 2009- The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) applauds the recent decision from the Supreme Court of Canada to quash the security certificate against Hassan Almrei.

 

“We are grateful that our Federal Courts are doing what the Harper administration has repeatedly failed to do, namely uphold our constitutional values of justice and liberty,” stated Salam Elmenyawi, president of MCM. “National security is undeniably a priority to us all, but the federal government cannot continue to sacrifice civil rights and charter protections to target individuals on mere suspicion without any solid evidence.”

 

Under the security certificate, Hassan Almrei, a Syrian-born Toronto resident, was arrested in October 2001. He was released earlier this year, but remained subject to strict monitoring conditions, including an electronic tracking device worn on his leg. According to the ruling by Mr. Justice Richard Mosley, the case by CSIS against Mr. Almrei consisted of outdated and unreliable information and that CSIS and the federal ministers of public safety and immigration “breached their duties of utmost good faith and candour to the court by not thoroughly reviewing the information in their possession.”

 

MCM calls on the Canadian government and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan to launch an impartial investigation to examine the abuses that have occurred and continue to occur under the name of security certificates. MCM further calls for the establishment of a system of checks and balances to protect the civil liberties of those involved and also asks the federal government to duly compensate the victims of the security certificates.

 

Security certificates still remain in place against three other Canadian Muslim men, Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohamed Harkat. The security certificate against Montreal resident Adil Charkaoui was revoked in September of this year following a ruling from the Federal Courts.                                                

 

CONTACT:

Salam Elmenyawi

Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM)

Ph.: (514) 748-8427

Fax: (514) 747-9139

E-mail: info@muslimcouncil.org

Website: http://www.muslimcouncil.org

 

The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) is an umbrella organization representing a number of Islamic institutions in the Montreal region. There are over 200,000 Muslims in Montreal, about 900,000 in Canada and 1.7 billion worldwide.

 

 

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