Press Release
Toronto, 6 March 2007 -- A Federal court judge announced in court today that security certificate detainee Mahmoud Jaballah will be released from Guantanamo North and placed under house arrest in the coming weeks. The judge gave her decision in court today and will release her reasoning within two weeks. Jaballah, who has been in arbitary, indefinite detention since August 2001, will remain in prison until measures are in place to meet the "restrictive and strict" conditions that will be placed upon him.
Only three of the five security certificate detainees remain in prison at the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, dubbed "Guantanamo North" by Federal Court Justice Andrew MacKay. With today's decision, two of these men - Mohammad Mahjoub and Mahmoud Jaballah - are slated for transfer to house arrest within the month. This leaves only Hassan Almrei in prison under the unjust and unconstitutional security certificate procedure. Mohamed Harkat remains under house arrest in Ottawa and Adil Charkaoui remains under very strict release conditions in Montreal.
While nothing can return the years stolen from the victims of security certificates, immediate action on the part of the government would ensure that the injustice does not continue. The Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui calls on the government to act without delay to release Hassan Almrei and the other detainees from arbitrary restrictions on their liberty.
In striking down the security certificate procedure, the Supreme Court allowed the Federal government one year to put in place new legislation. The Coalition will not stop its campaign until the two-track system of justice - in which the lives and dignity of non-citizens count for less than that of citizens - is eliminated. "Depriving non-citizens of their liberty must be
subject to the same standards as citizens," said Marie-Ève Lamy, member of the Coalition. "The Supreme Court's Charkaoui decision is clear on this point: anything less than a fair and full trial to justify detention falls short of justice."
The government must honestly apply the Supreme Court decision and ensure that no one is deprived of their liberty without a full and fair trial.
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For more information: 514 222 0205
Source:
Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui
www.adilinfo.org
justiceforadil@riseup.net
tel. 514 859 9023
