TAKE ACTION (SEE BELOW) TO STOP DEPORTATIONS TO TORTURE

Canada Defies United Nations and Paves the way to Deport Secret Trial Detainee Mahmoud Jaballah to Torture in Egypt

New Immigration Decision Violates Canada's Legal Obligation NEVER to deport ANYONE to Torture; Torture Survivor Maher Arar Calls on Canadian Government to End Practice of Deportation to Torture

Campaign To Stop Secret Trials In Canada

TORONTO, OCTOBER 4, 2005 -- Four months after the United Nations called on Canada to respect the absolute prohibition on deportation to torture, the Governmment of Canada has for a second time denied protection to secret trial detainee Mahmoud Jaballah, paving the way to deportation to that exact fate in Egypt.

Jaballah, a father of six held without charge or bail since August, 2001, on secret evidence neither he nor his lawyers are allowed to see, expects to challenge the decision in Federal Court sometime in October. Jaballah and his family claimed refugee status when they arrived in Canada in May, 1996, following a decade of persecution, arbitrary arrests and detentions without charge, and torture in Egyptian prisons.

R.B. Thornton, a delegate of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Joe Volpe, acknowledges in a 15-page deportation decision that in 2002, a Government of Canada pre-removal risk assessment officer concluded "there are substantial grounds for believing that the applicant [Jaballah] would be killed or tortured should he be required to return to Egypt."

The Federal Court has twice ruled that this assessment constitutes a final determination as to the risk faced by Mr. Jaballah if deported. R.B. Thornton writes in the September 23, 2005 decision that "there is the possibility that Mr. Jaballah will be subject to torture or even the death penalty if he were to return to Egypt," but proceeds to deny Jaballah's application for protection.

Mr. Jaballah is one of five Arab Muslim men subject to a security certificate, which allows the government to hold individuals under indefinite detention based on secret evidence. Today in Federal Court in Montreal, Adil Charkaoui, released on bail in February of this year, is challenging the portion of the immigration act which opens the door to rendition of non-citizens to torture -- the act explicitly excludes people who have fallen under security suspicions from protection against deportation to torture.

The Jaballah deportation decision is the first to be released in the cases of the Secret Trial Five since the landmark United Nations Committee Against Torture report, released May 20, 2005, calling on Canada to comply with the absolute prohibition on deportation to torture (see http://incat.org/cat_reccomendations.php). Decisions about whether Canada will grant protection for or deport to torture three other men subject to security certificate -- Mohammad Mahjoub, Hassan Almrei, and Mohamed Harkat, all at risk of torture or death if deported -- are expected in the coming months.

The startling Jaballah deportation decision also comes on the heels of three judicial reviews of similar decisions which were challenged in 2004. All of them were found to be "patently unreasonable," "unlawfully made" and, in one case, "perverse." A fourth deportation decision was withdrawn by the federal government earlier this year as well.

While judges of the Federal Court have yet to rule on the legality of deportation to torture, the Jaballah case may prove a touchstone that leads to a final determination about whether such decisions are legal in Canada. Justice Eleanor Dawson, writing in a January 31, 2005 judgment on the deportation decision for Mohammad Mahjoub, did, however, note that there are "powerful indicia that deportation to face torture is conduct fundamentally unacceptable; conduct that shocks the Canadian conscience and therefore violates fundamental justice in a manner that can not be justified under section 1 of the Charter."

While Mr. Jaballah fights the deportation decision, he is also challenging the provisions of the security certificate scheme which prevent him from applying for bail while the deportation issue winds its way through the court system. Arguments in that case resume October 19 in Toronto.

At a time when Canadians have learned a great deal about the shocking role of their government in the deportation to torture of Maher Arar, Ahmed El-Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyad Nureddin, it is remarkable that this government continues to pretend as if there is nothing wrong with deporting someone to such a fate, says a spokesperson for the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada.

Maher Arar, writing from Ottawa, comments: "As someone who has suffered and endured physical and psychological torture at the hands of a regime that does not respect basic human rights, I find it very shocking that Canada will deport Mr. Jaballah to Egypt, a country it admits, practices torture on detainees.

"There is nothing on earth that justifies shipping off someone to torture. The best way to have security is to support and promote justice. If someone is guilty of breaking the law then he should be allowed to see the evidence against him and to defend himself in an impartial and fair manner.

"It is about time for Canada to repair the damage that was done to its reputation since it was criticized by various human rights organizations for being directly or indirectly complicit in sending people to torture. Canada has a choice to make and I hope it chooses the right one by committing not to send people back to countries where they will face a substantial risk of being abused and tortured."

For further information, including an analysis of the deportation decision, background on other secret trial cases in which the government has reached similar deportation-to-torture conclusions, and related background material on the issue, visit our website at http://www.homesnotbombs.ca/jaballah2.htm  

Taking Action: Please send letters to Immigration Minister Joe Volpe (address below), whose delegates continue making these dreadful deportation decisions, and cc them to Prime Minister Paul Martin (pm@pm.gc.ca ),

Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister, (McLellan.A@parl.gc.ca),

and Justice Minister Irwin Cotler (cotlei@parl.gc.ca).

Please also cc the Campaign To Stop Secret Trials In Canada at: tasc@web.ca

A sample letter is below. It can be personalized to suit your own writing taste and style!

Joe Volpe
Room 658, Confederation Building
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Phone: (613) 992-6361
Fax: (613) 992-9791
volpej@parl.gc.ca,   Minister@cic.gc.ca

Sample Letter

Dear Mr. Volpe:

I am writing to demand that the Canadian government stop defying international and domestic law in its efforts to deport to torture Egyptian refugee Mahmoud Jaballah, as well as the other secret trial detainees -- Mohammad Mahjoub, Hassan Almrei, Mohamed Harkat and Adil Charkaoui. It is clear both from the Canadian government's own assessments and the opinions of respected international human rights groups that the lives of these men are at risk if deported.

Officials in the Canadian government consistently speak out against torture, yet still make decisions to deport people to torture. Of course, the fact that deportation to torture hangs over the heads of the Secret Trial Five --  and that these men have been jailed indefinitely without charge on secret "evidence"  for years on end, separated from their loved ones, often in solitary confinement, never knowing what will happen -- is a form of torture as well, which can only be remedied with immediate release from this unjustified incarceration.

When Prime Minister Paul Martin spoke at the United Nations on September 16, 2005, he said, "Respect for human rights is the living heart of democracy, the key to unlocking the potential of every person to contribute to their own welfare and to the prosperity and security of their communities."

How can that kind of vision be consistent with a government that sends people to be tortured or killed?

How can Canada say it supports the United Nations and then ignore the United Nations Committee Against Torture, which called on the Canadian government in May of this year to respect the absolute prohibition on deportation to torture that Canada is legally bound to respect?

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler told the Globe and Mail on August 30, 2005 that "as a matter of policy, torture must everywhere and always be condemned."  The Globe then paraphrased Cotler: "And officials must not do anything that would encourage or make them complicit in acts of torture, Mr. Cotler said. 'That would be the policy of the government of Canada.'"

How do these comments square with the September 23, 2005 decision to deny protection to Mr. Jaballah, opening the door to deporting him to torture? And will your government continue to defy the United Nations and choose to deny protection to the other men currently subject to secret trial certificates?

It is time for you as immigration minister to put a halt to these deportation proceedings and bring Canada in line with international law. Indeed, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that its provisions must be construed and applied "in a manner that complies with international human rights instruments to which Canada is signatory." This would obviously include the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and its absolute prohibition on deportation to torture.

As Maher Arar wrote on October 2, 2005,  "Canada has a choice to make and I hope it chooses the right one by committing not to send people back to countries where they will face a substantial risk of being abused and tortured."

I anxiously await your reply to my letter and hope that you, as Immigration Minister, and the rest of your government, will make the right choice.

Name and address