05) "SECURITY CERTIFICATE" MYTHS - Editorial

People's Voice Editorial

     The case of "security certificate" detainee Mohammad Mahjoub proves the need to defend civil rights for all in Canada, regardless of our origins or beliefs. For 12 years, Mr. Mahjoub has been struggling to clear his name against shadowy accusations by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service. Most of that time he has been incarcerated, and his family has faced intense state harassment. Finally on September 6, defence lawyers were able to compel former federal minister Stockwell Day to explain in court why he signed a security certificate against Mohammad Mahjoub, and to shed much-needed light on this controversial case.

     On the witness stand, Day praised himself for taking care to review all the evidence in such cases. But he could not explain why "evidence" likely obtained through torture in other countries should be sufficient to condemn the accused.

     Instead, Day accepted the word of CSIS that Mr. Mahjoub was a "leading member" of the "Vanguards of Conquest" in Egypt prior to coming to Canada. Yet the only four judgements of Egyptian courts relating to this group do not name Mr. Mahjoub; CSIS was not aware of these judgments before Mr. Mahjoub's lawyers brought them to the attention of the Department of Justice. It also seems the title "Vanguards of Conquest" was manufactured by the Mubarak regime as a political tool to torture and jail opponents.

     The rest of the "evidence" is just as flimsy. But this did not stop Stockwell Day from implying that Mr. Mahjoub may (or may not) have been "linked" to people who may (or may not) have planned to commit serious crimes, and therefore should remain in prison.

     Canada's "security certificate" regime is a dangerous attack on the right of accused persons to an open and fair trial. This abuse of state power must be ended, but it will take much greater public pressure to force the Harper Tories to stop this shocking violation of human rights.

(The above article is from the September 16-30, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)