First paragraph (Teaser):

Montreal - June 9, 2003 (MMN)- On Friday June 6th, a delegation from the Justice Coalition For Adil Charkaoui and their supporters paid a visit to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre's constituency office in Montreal North. They were there to intervene on behalf of Mr. Charkaoui and Mohamed Harkat and to hand Mr. Codderre a letter of demands.

Rest of the text:

Delegation Visits Denis Coderre's Montreal Office To Demand Justice For Adil Charkaoui and Mohamed Harkat

Yahya Abdul Rahman

http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net/delegation.htm

Montreal - June 9, 2003 (MMN)- On Friday June 6th, a delegation from the Justice Coalition For Adil Charkaoui and their supporters paid a visit to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre's constituency office in Montreal North. They were there to intervene on behalf of Mr. Charkaoui and Mohamed Harkat and to hand Mr. Codderre a letter of demands.

On Wednesday evening May 21st, Mr. Charkaoui, aged 30, a landed immigrant originally from Morocco and father of one with another child on the way, was arrested in Montreal, is currently being held in detention under a "national security certificate" and charged with "secret evidence" which
alleges he is a terrorist. Neither he or his defense know what the full charges are against him.

Security Certificates allows the Canadian government to arrest, detain and deport immigrants and refugees charged with being a "national security" threat, without the public presentation of any evidence as to their guilt.

A few days after Mr. Charkaoui was arrested, the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui was formed and includes in its membership a collection of local activists working for the right of due process for Mr. Charkaoui.

Those present in the delegation included Hind Charkaoui, Adil's sister, Sophie Harkat, the wife of Mohamed Harkat, and representatives from the Comit d'Action des Sans-Statut - a group of non-status Algerians who are currently resisting deportation back to their country of origin - members from the No One is Illegal Campaign of Montreal, the Muslim Council of Montreal, and the Direct Action Case Work of Ottawa.

On December 10th 2002, Mr. Harkat was arrested by undercover police outside his home in Ottawa. Since then, he has been in jail without any charges against him, also under a 'Security Certificate.'

When the delegation arrived at Mr. Coderre's office they demanded a meeting with Mr. Coderre, but they were told by the receptionist that he was in Western Canada and was attending meetings, but she said that she would give him a call.

The call she made, however, was to the police.

As the delegation quietly waited for approximately 30 minutes, about 6 police officers arrived with at least one tactical unit van and 2 squad cars and stated they were there to keep the peace. All exits were blocked, which prevented anyone from leaving.

The delegation responded by making it clear to both the police and Coderre's staff that they would remain in the office until a meeting with the Immigration Minister was set, but Coderre's staff continued to insist that it was not possible to schedule a meeting with the Minister.

A short while later more supporters from the delegation arrived, but were not allowed into the office. Those inside the office began to chant "So-so-solidarit, Avec Avec Avec Charkaoui - So-so-solidarit Avec Avec Avec Mohammed Harkat," which drowned out the police and office staff's attempts to have the delegation leave.

At around 4:00 PM several media outlets arrived seeking interviews with those inside the office. With the media present, the police presence in front of the office subsided immediately, but the police presence inside the office remained, which prevented anyone from entering.

At around 4:30 PM the delegation finally left the office and were greeted by many supporters who had gathered outside and were again chanting " So-so-solidarite, Avec Avec Avec Charkaoui - So-so-solidarite Avec Avec Avec Mohammed Harkat".

The delegation's letter was also addressed to Canada's Solicitor General, Wayne Easter. These two ministers were specifically addressed as it was they who reviewed information submitted by CSIS which proclaimed they had
"reasonable grounds" to believe that Mr. Charkaoui is a "danger to national security".

The seven page letter, which was officially endorsed by a number of groups, began by stating: "We deliver this letter in protest of the recent arrest and detention of Mr. Adil Charkaoui under warrant by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act - "Security Certificate"

Responding to the accusation that Mr Charkaoui is "danger to national security," the letter stated: "In the eye of the public, this accusation is totally groundless. In the eye of Adil Charkaoui's parents and friends, it is entirely wrong."

"Adil Charkaoui is a victim at the very least of CSIS incompetence,possibly even scape-goating," the letter further read and outlined six set of demands including: 1) That Adil Charkaoui be released immediately, and those who are being held under security certificates, 2) That Adil
Charkaoui not be deported, 3) That Adil Charkaoui be allowed due process: the right to a fair trial, the right to know what he is charged with, the right to hear evidence against him and the right to defend himself in court, 4) That the secretive and anti-democratic Security Certificate mechanism be abolished immediately, 5) That Canada stop using scapegoats to prove to the Bush administration their commitment to security issues and 6) That Canada stop the ongoing racist harassment of Muslims and Canadians of Middle Eastern and Arabic heritage.

Ms. Harkat also had her own personal letter to Mr. Coderre.

"Since your position as an Immigration minister you have ruined countless lives," she wrote.

"If you are going to ruin so many lives without having any remorse, you could at least have the guts to tell us why by showing us the proof and giving us access to the evidence. The reason we do not have access to this information is because we all know it is untrue," she further wrote.

"I'm surprised you can sleep at night after making such horrifying decisions.....You have broken all the laws the laws of basic justice, you have broken all the laws to obtained human rights, and for that you should be ashamed," she continued.

Her letter called for the abolition of security certificates and the "inhuman treatment being used against the non-status Algerians."

"Stop the insanity. Stop the deportations. Stop ruining lives and families. Stop the Security Certificate. Stop the madness," her letter concluded

A bail hearing for Mr. Charkaoui has been scheduled for July 2nd at the Montreal Federal Court House.

Rocco Galati, Charkaoui's lawyer, angrily stated in a press conference after Charkaoui's first court appearance regarding the security certificate process as a whole by saying: "This is a non-judicial arrest warrant, an arrest by executive fiat, it goes against everything in the Western legal tradition and its constitutionality has never been ruled on by the Supreme Court of Canada."

Hind, Adil's sister, echoed similar sentiments by stating in a recent forum at Concordia University that: "Security Certificates are a regression to the arbitrariness of the middle ages."

"We are horrified and disgusted," she stated.

According to statements in the press and in their handouts, the Coalition's goal is to "fight for the right of due process" for Mr. Charkaoui, and according to a recent call-out is currently "seeking public support and solidarity from groups, organizations and individuals in Montreal and throughout the world." They have set up a website to educate
the public regarding Charkaoui's case at www.adilinfo.org , and Ms. Harkat also has an online presence regarding her husband at:
http://www.geocities.com/mohamedharkat/home.htm

The delegation vowed that they would return to Coderre's office in the coming days and weeks ahead and continue to demand an immediate end to the detention of Harkat and Charkaoui, and have a face to face meeting with the Immigration Minister.

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Stefan Christoff also contributed to this report.