Prevent Cruelty Towards Animals

Today, I heard a very heart-breaking story on TV. This really sweet-eyed dog was beaten up by his owner with a stick. Then he was hung on some heat-generating device (don’t recall the name) and left to die. When he was rescued, his one leg had to be amputated to save his life. It was so shocking to hear this. Who would do such a thing to an innocent cute animal?  And the dog’s eyes were full of pain, just one look tells you that. 

So, the TV program then talked about this Vancouver based organization, BSCPCA,  that works to save abused animals and provide them with better home. Its possible to volunteer with them, adopt an abused animal through them and donate for this cause. 

So, go check them out today.

Later days

take care

Kind Regards

U.S. is murdering Afghani civilians.

US ‘Killed 47 Afghan Civilians’

By BBC

11/07/08 “BBC” — - A US air strike in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday killed 47 civilians, 39 of them women and children, an Afghan government investigating team says. 

Reports at the time said that 20 people were killed in the airstrike in Nangarhar province. The US military said they were militants.

But local people said the dead were wedding party guests.

Correspondents say the issue of civilian casualties is hugely sensitive in Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai has said that no civilian casualty is acceptable.

Demand for trial

Mr Karzai set up a nine-man commission to look into Sunday’s incident.

The commission is headed by Senate deputy speaker, Burhanullah Shinwari whose constituency is in Nangarhar province. He told the BBC: ”Our investigation found out that 47 civilians (were killed) by the American bombing and nine others injured. 

“There are 39 women and children” among those killed, he said. The eight other people who died were “between the ages of 14 and 18″.

Source

 

FBI is “profiling” Muslims

Why don’t they do at least one thing correctly?  This is totally illegal. Funny how one president is messing around with the entire American constitution. Is democracy for real or is it just a fad?

The FBI’s Plan to ‘Profile’ Muslims

By Juan Cole

10/07/08 “Salon” — – The U.S. Justice Department is considering a change in the grounds on which the FBI can investigate citizens and legal residents of the United States. Till now, DOJ guidelines have required the FBI to have some evidence of wrongdoing before it opens an investigation. The impending new rules, which would be implemented later this summer, allow bureau agents to establish a terrorist profile or pattern of behavior and attributes and, on the basis of that profile, start investigating an individual or group. Agents would be permitted to ask “open-ended questions” concerning the activities of Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans. A person’s travel and occupation, as well as race or ethnicity, could be grounds for opening a national security investigation.

The rumored changes have provoked protests from Muslim American and Arab-American groups. The Council on American Islamic Relations, among the more effective lobbies for Muslim Americans’ civil liberties, immediately denounced the plan, as did James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute. Said Zogby, “There are millions of Americans who, under the reported new parameters, could become subject to arbitrary and subjective ethnic and religious profiling.” Zogby, who noted that the Bush administration’s history with profiling is not reassuring, warned that all Americans would suffer from a weakening of civil liberties.

In fact, Zogby’s statement only begins to touch on the many problems with these proposed rules. The new guidelines would lead to many bogus prosecutions, but they would also prove counterproductive in the effort to disrupt real terror plots. And then there’s Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s rationale for revising the rules in the first place. “It’s necessary,” he explained in a June news conference, “to put in place regulations that will allow the FBI to transform itself as it is transforming itself into an intelligence-gathering organization.” When did Congress, or we as a nation, have a debate about whether we want to authorize the establishment of a domestic intelligence agency? Indeed, late last month Congress signaled its discomfort with the concept by denying the FBI’s $11 million funding request for its data-mining center.

Read the rest here: Source

The Third World War

The speaker of this video is John Stockwell. He is the former CIA Station Chief in Angola in 1976 who has spent 13 years working with the agency. In this video he gives a short history of the CIA covert operations. He estimates that in late 1980s, over 6 million people died in CIA covert actions. He is one of the CIA’s highest level officer to testify to the Congress about his actions.

To read the transcripts, click here.

Mubin Shaikh, the Informant

We have all heard about the Toronto18 case and of course the famous RCMP mole, Mubin Shaikh.  After doing a bit of readings on this seemingly heroic character, Mubin, I have come to the conclusion that this individual’s testimony is not credible. 

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Fact 1: Mubin Shaikh took 300K from RCMP to help them out. If he was really a good citizen who was concerned about Canadians, then why didn’t he do it all for free? 300K is a lot of money, don’t you agree. Sounds coercive enough to me.

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Fact 2: He has been charged with assault

An informant who said he helped police dismantle an alleged Meadowvale-based terrorist cell is facing assault charges. Mubin Shaikh, 31, was charged on April 3 by Toronto police with two counts of assault and one count of uttering threats in a case that involves two 12-year-old girls.

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Fact 3: He is a drug addict.

Then there was the cocaine. Lots of cocaine. In a series of interviews withMaclean’s, Shaikh admits, for the first time, that the burden of being Canada’s most famous mole became too much to bear. And when it did, he turned not to God, but to hard drugs. “I spent some money on it, money that I shouldn’t have spent,” he admits. “The stress of my involvement was so great. Nobody has been through the situation that I have been through, and because of its impact and importance and significance — that is one hell of a weight to realize is on your head. It got so bad for me, it just broke me. It just broke me.”

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Questions to my dear readers: 1) Does he sound like a dependable, honest and sincere individual? Quite the opposite, don’t you agree?  

 

Now read this really crazy news story. Mubin’s testimonies are illogical. He tells one story to Crown and another story to the Defense. Is this supposed to be funny or sad?  The only words that come to my mouth are “Ridiculous Bizzaro Maximum” and “God Forbid”

Police mole paints altered picture at terror trial

Crown will have a tough time arguing campers were serious threat

June 17, 2008

But when that does happen the Crown may find it difficult to argue that an enterprise described in part by their own star witness yesterday as “idiocy” represented a serious terrorist threat.

THOMAS WALKOM

Alter the perspective and everything changes. In the first full-fledged trial coming out of the case of the Toronto 18, the Crown is arguing that a youth (who cannot be named) participated in a “shocking and sensational” terrorist plot “to cause harm and death by attacking innocent lives.”

But in a Brampton courtroom yesterday, RCMP informer Mubin Shaikh – the government’s star witness – acknowledged that while this particular youth may have been an unsuccessful shoplifter (he was caught –twice), he knew nothing about alleged schemes to blow up buildings or behead politicians.

Rather, Shaikh said, he knew the young man as a quiet, shy, considerate teenager – a recent convert to Islam –who wanted to please the alleged ringleaders of the alleged plot but who, in the main, was just trying to fit in.

And he described the antics of those attending a Washago training camp as a comedy of errors, where the alleged jihadis melted holes in the soles of their running shoes, locked one vehicle’s keys in the car, almost set a sleeping bag on fire and –instead of keeping a low profile -did doughnuts in a Canadian Tire parking lot.

This is the same Mubin Shaikh who said last week that this alleged training camp was actually quite serious and not just an exercise in “picking daisies.”

But that was when he was being questioned by Crown prosecutor John Neander.

Yesterday, under questioning from defence lawyer Mitchell Chernovsky, Shaikh agreed that, really, nothing much happened during the December 2005 camping trip.

He said a recorded lecture on jihad played to the group of teens and young men was so boring that some dozed off.

He said the so-called military training consisted of getting the campers to march up and down a road to keep warm.

He said that when an illegal handgun was used for target practice, the youthful campers were “freaked out” by the noise.

He agreed that the campers wore camouflage outfits mainly to protect their clothes during paintball games.

Last week, Shaikh testified that one of the alleged ringleaders gave a long allegorical speech in which he spoke of the need for Muslims to bring down “Rome” –which the RCMP informer said was a reference to the U.S.

Yesterday, Shaikh acknowledged that many of those present –including the person now on trial - wouldn’t have a had a clue what the speech meant.

And he summed up the Washago adventure with these words: “Nobody knew what they were doing … Idiocy seemed to be a constant theme.”

For the man on trial, now 20, this may be crucial evidence.

The Crown argues that his actions, including shoplifting, were part of a conscious effort to support terrorism.

But Shaikh described the youth as someone who was never told anything about anything and who was valued by the so-called ringleaders mainly because he worked hard.

By way of contrast, Shaikh has maintained that the ringleaders themselves were trying, in their own inept way, to concoct a dangerous plot.

That theory will be tested when the remaining 10 adults who still face charges come to trial –probably some time next year.

Source

I seriously feel that most of the times the media takes only the bad apples and publicizes them as good ones. And the media does manipulate one’s mind really well. After watching a couple of videos, let’s say about the official story of 9/11, it becomes really easy to believe them-almost like brainwashing. And I was watching one of the CBC videos, Canada Islamist Terrorist Plot, (Part 1, Part 2), I was almost compelled to think “don’t trust bearded guys like Mubin”. Then I had to critically analyze this thought of mine. Appearance (Beard or no beard), doesn’t matter. Truth and lie are something from within the heart. This is a point that is most often forgotten when we watch videos that promote a negative image of a certain race and religion. And associating Islam with terrorism is one of the most ridiculous claims I ever came across. 

People! just be critical from here on. The mainstream media promoted the story of WMDs in Iraq and now a very illegal and oppressive war is occurring. Stop buying their stories. Start analyzing things and stick to the truth like glue. Remember that “For every ailment, there is a cure” and that cure is inside you. 

Later Days

In Peace and Solidarity

 

 

Zakaria Amara’s Speech and Nada’s Commentary

Just got a hold of Zakaria’s speech. It would be a good idea for people to know about this. Kindly circulate widely.

Bismillahir Rahman Nir raheem

Two years have passed since my arrest. When I was taken to Maplehurst I was held in the custody of the Institutional Crisis Intervention Team. Whenever I was moved from place to place, they would force me to run with my hands and legs shacked while my back was bent at 90 degrees forward.

When I was first brought to cell 1 unit 1K, I was slammed face first on the floor, a huge shield was then pressed against my back while a guard smeared my face with his boots because I dared lift my head

Whenever I was moved out of my cell, I was required to slide my hands through the hatch of the door, before it was opened in order to be hand cuffed. To do this I had to kneel on both knees. Many times when I put my hands through the hatch, the guards would forcefully pull my wrists so that my forehead would slam against the metal door.

Whenever the guards came in to collect the garbage they would often apply wrestling manoeuvres on me for the purpose of entertaining themselves. They would sometimes apply pressure on sensitive areas such as my temple and fingers. One day when I came back from court, a guard twisted my hands above my head forcing me to skip on one foot back to my cell.

Since then I have languished in solitary confinement, where for the first year on a daily basis, I spent 23 hours and 40 minutes in a cell no bigger than an apartment’s washroom.

The 23 hours and 40 minutes became a complete 24 hours when I was transferred to the Don Jail. Since then, I have seen the sun less than 10 times and have gone to the exercise yard less than 30 times.

My health, psychologically and physically is deteriorating. I was planning to testify at my trial but now I am not even sure if I will be mentally capable of doing so by the time it comes around, if it ever does.

As for the state of this so called Judicial Process, then I must admit I was naïve. I came in two years ago with the expectation of transparency only to be confronted with section 38, complete denial of CSIS disclosure, censorship of vital information in the so-called RCMP disclosure, and the concealing of state agents identities which by law must be revealed as opposed to informants whose identities are protected.

To expect the accused to mount an adequate defence in the face of such barriers, in a case which is political and state entrapment is a live issue, is to expect a frail old man to defend himself with his hands tied behind and eyes blindfolded, against a professional boxer.

I am not being subjective. I realize that all government agencies have secrets that must be protected. However, authorities have in the past used ‘ National Security’ to cover up their dirty work, exculpatory evidence and embarrassing facts. The Maher Arar case is a classic example.

Last year, I was denied the freedom to mix with the other human beings due to the dreamed up danger that I could somehow pose or communicate from within a six-cell block, monitored physically by correctional officers as well as virtually by closed circuit cameras, within a maximum security prison.

During about the same time, I conceded committal to trial for the exchange of having the opportunity to cross-examine a list of witnesses agreed upon by the crown. Both parties signed this agreement yet somehow, we are to believe, there was some alleged ambiguity that allowed the crown to file a direct indictment and effectively breach its undertaking. Now I am in a difficult position of having to cross-examine the main witness in my case, for the first time, at trial.

The unfair manoeuvre has also effectively robbed me of the ability to discover my case, which is a fundamental necessity for developing my defence. This is not an alleged bank robbery or a drug bust. The stakes for the government and the authorities are high thus making the potential for corruption and malice equally high if not higher.

During the adult preliminary, Mr. Bond used to monitor our eye blinks in the prisoner box to ensure that we were not violating the communication ban. While he was busy doing that, his star witness Mubin Shiekh was slaughtering the publication ban on National and international airwaves.

The crown held and is still holding the accused on various charges based on the desire to exaggerate this case and in order to hamper their bail chances and not on the merits of evidence.

These are only some of the main issues that I have. They may very well be supported by law, but at the end of the day, they remain unfair to any mind endowed with the faculty of reason and understanding. As St. Augustine said “An unjust law is no law at all”.

I never asked anyone to believe that I was innocent. All I ever asked for was a chance to prove it. After two years, I have come to realize that even this simple request is too much to expect from this process.

In conclusion, to continue to respect such a process is an insult to my dignity, the very little intellect that I have and my faith.

I will God willing, continue to defend myself through my lawyers, and I will continue to obey orders made by the court with the exception of the order to show it respect since I can’t be expected to give what I no longer have. This, in effect, means that I will no longer stand up for any judge as he/she enters and leaves the courtroom.

Based of the rhythm of the past two years, I have extrapolated the tune of the coming two years, and I’m not willing to be the fool that dances to it.

God willing, the complete and undistorted truth about the ‘ Toronto18′ will one day surface.

Zakaria Amara

Accused in Toronto18 case

Don jail

Also, check out Zakaria’s wife Nada’s commentary on how the court denied even a 5 minute speech to Zakaria.

Couldn’t even give 5 mintues

by prisoner

Asalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatahu

Yesterday was court day. Some date setting motion. It was my family’s turn to cook food. And allhumdulilah we had everything done and got there on time. Then the court started.

Zakaria had been telling me that he had wish to stand up and talk. When I entered the court room , it was so intimidating. Every single lawyer was there, police, SWAT in plain clothes, Judge staring down, subhanAllah, that room is just daunting. I was really scared for Zakaria, I didn’t think he would be able to get up and talk. But subhanAllah, he got up, was standing for a while because thats how a Judge notices you, but the Judge kept talking. And Zakaria in the middle, interepts him and calls his name. My heart just stopped! I was so scared, I thought the Judge was gonna scream. And ALL the lawyers turned around and gave my husband the stare. And even the brothers were making confused faces. But allhumdulilah Zakaria just said that he wish to address the court after the proceedings are over. And the judge was okay with it. And the Judge apologized for not seeing him stand up.

And then Zakaria stood up again to address the court , when the Judge gave permission. Allhumdulilah Zakaria started with ‘ In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate’. It was the first time in that courtroom when the name of Allah was said in a praiseworthy manner. Everything from Allah’s name to His deen to His book is put down in court. You never hear the true essense of Islam in that courtroom. Everything is always twisted and manipulated to fit the agenda they want.

Zakaria then started describing his treatment that he has suffered in the last two years. My eyes started to get watery to hear what my husband had gone through and to see him stand in front of all those who are bent on destroying his life no matter what, even if he is innocent of what they accuse him of. Zakaria was not even speaking for more than 30 seconds, the Crown jumps up saying ‘This is not the time to talk about this, they can put motions forward for that’ .

The judge, of course, agreed with the Crown. ‘ What you are talking about is not productive’ . But locking up a human being in a room smaller than a washroom for 2 years is productive?! Especially when he has not been convicted of any crime? After two years of this painful ordeal, they couldn’t hear my husband for 5 mins!

To read more, click here.

Toronto 18- A Fantastical Horror Movie!

I came across this really ridiculous article “Wiretaps played at terror trial suggest youth favoured to behead prime minister“. I was totally curious to learn the truth but what I read in this article is nothing more than a made-up fantasy. Its so ridiculous.  I have annonated some parts of the article below with my comments.  To read the full article, click here.

By Chinta Puxley, The Canadian Press
ADVERTISEMENT

BRAMPTON, Ont. - The last youth charged in Canada’s largest anti-terrorism operation since Sept. 11 so impressed alleged ringleaders with his determination, his shoplifting abilities and his wood-chopping skills, he was considered a good candidate to behead the prime minister, police wiretaps played in court Wednesday suggest.

The conversations between a police informant and the alleged ringleaders of a homegrown terrorist plot to attack Canadian targets - the central feature of which was talk of a plan to storm Parliament Hill - were recorded during a trip to northern Ontario in February 2006.

On the tapes, one of the alleged ringleaders discusses plans for a group to go to Ottawa and “cut off some heads.” When another alleged conspirator asks what’s planned for Parliament Hill, the same man replies: “We go and kill everybody.” Why does this sound like “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction“

“And then what?” asks one.

(Article cut off due to Copyright reasons. Read the full article here)

“I know he’d cut off their heads,” one says.

“Did you see him, how he was cutting the wood, man?” adds another.

The men on the tape were also impressed with the young man’s determination and his success in shoplifting supplies. (Apparently, the Chosen One (Assasin) was equipped with two important weapons: Shoplifting abilities and Wood-cutting skills. What is he going to use his axe to combat all of Harper’s bodyguards and security who are equipped with the most advanced high-tech weaponry. While combatting these guys, the Chosen One (Assasin) might be thinking something like: “Swoosh! take that! Oh that guy has a Semi-Auto Rifle. I better use my Stainless Steel Axe for him. Swoosh! Swoosh! And that guy has a grenate. I better use my Dragon-Knife for this one. Swish! Hmph! silly people think they can stand in my way. Do not they know that I have the best wood-cutting skills. Now off to take care of Harper. I will use my shoplifting skills to kidnap him.“ Who feels like that he/she is listening to some freak story that is half comedy and half horror)

The youth’s case is the first to go to trial after he was charged two years ago along with 17 others in connection with an alleged plot to attack power grids, Canada’s spy agency, the CBC, the RCMP and a nuclear power plant.

The wiretaps, along with the anticipated testimony next week of police informant Mubin Shaikh, make up the bulk of the Crown’s case (and we all know what Mubin is like, totally trustworthy! Yea! guess again) against the accused, who cannot be named since he was underage at the time of his arrest.

(Article cut off due to Copyright reasons. Read the full article here)

The voices on the tape fret about raising enough money - because “we can’t do jihad without money” - and getting “wives” for the “brothers,” which the Crown alleges is a euphemism for weaponry. (In a desperate attempt to fish for evidence, RCMP valiantly turns towards their finest weapon “Metaphors, euphemisms and what-nots“)

The recordings also include a “chant” (They really want us to believe these dudes belonged to some cult. Who is gonna buy that?) listened to by the group, which sings about being “ready to serve you my Islam” and “I offer you from the veins of my blood.”

(Article cut off due to Copyright reasons. Read the full article here)

The group also discusses turning a secluded northern Ontario property into a “covert” training base, complete with tunnels for moving supplies and snowmobiles to practice with “AKs” - presumably a reference to AK-47 automatic rifles. (Seriously guys, how much time did you spend mis-interpreting/manipulating their conversations? Surely, you deserve a better job than this!)

The group would have to build a tunnel - or even get rid of their nearest neighbours - to keep the location secure, some of the men suggest.

The work ethic of the youth on trial would make him a determined digger, even if he had to tunnel with a fork, several of the men concluded. (Yea sure! looks like a scene straight out of the movies to me.)

(Article cut off due to Copyright reasons. Read the full article here)

Eighteen men and youth were arrested two years ago in a highly-publicized anti-terrorism operation. Defence lawyers have since questioned the strength of the case after charges against seven of the accused men were stayed, whittling the so-called Toronto 18 down to 11.

Before the tapes were played Tuesday, defence lawyer Mitchell Chernovsky, who on Friday called the alleged terror plot a “fantasy,” told the court his client is not a “featured speaker” in many of the wiretaps.  (How come this journalist failed to mention that in the beginning. Such a marginalized mention of the viewpoints of the“ Other“ side.

The trial continues Thursday.

Hmph! Annoying!

Take care

In Peace and Solidarity

Ali Dirie’s Bail Hearing

JUNE 2ND ACTION ALERT: End Solitary Confinement & Respect the Rights of Detainees

Please join us in sending a letter in protest of illegal detentions of some of the Toronto18 guys.

Thank You
Kind Regards

JUNE 2ND ACTION ALERT:
End Solitary Confinement & Respect the Rights of Detainees

Please forward widely.

A C T I O N A L E R T
End solitary confinement.
Respect the rights of detainees.

June 2, 2008 marks the two-year anniversary of the arrest of the so-called ‘Toronto 18′. Since then, the Crown prosecution has been forced to stay all charges against seven of the men, effectively finding them innocent - but not before most of them spent over a year in solitary confinement.

Among the 11 men still in custody, three of them - Fahim Ahmad, Zakaria Amara and Mohammed Dirie - have been in solitary confinement since the day of their arrest, now two years.

The trials for these men have not even been scheduled yet. And under Canadian law, the men remain presumed innocent. But the government has held them in conditions that do not meet the minimum standards of detention established by the Canadian corrections system.

Please take a moment of your time between now and June 2, 2008 to send a message of protest to the provincial and federal ministers (and their opposition critics) responsible for correctional services in Canada. Express your opposition to the inhumane and illegal conditions in which these men have been held for two years.

We, as Canadians, have no right to criticize human rights abuses abroad as long as we ignore them here in Canada. Thank you for your ongoing support.

In solidarity,
Presumption of Innocence Project
www.presumptionofinnocence.ca presumptionofinnocence@gmail.com

Step 1:
Cut and paste the following e-mail addresses into the address line (e-mail addresses for the Ontario Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and his opposition critics; the federal Minister of Public Safety, and his opposition critics; the Ontario Attorney - General, and his opposition critics; and the Attorney - General of Canada, and his opposition critics):

jus.g.sgcs.webmaster@jus.gov.on.ca, rbartolucci.mpp@liberal.ola.org, rbartolucci.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, pkormos-qp@ndp.on.ca, pkormos-co@ndp.on.ca, tabunsp-qp@ndp.on.ca, tabunsp-co@ndp.on.ca, garfield.dunlop@pc.ola.org, garfield.dunlopco@pc.ola.org, cbentley.mpp@liberal.ola.org, cbentley.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org, christine.elliott@pc.ola.org, christine.elliottco@pc.ola.org, communications@ps.gc.ca, Day.S@parl.gc.ca, days1@parl.gc.ca, priddp@parl.gc.ca, priddp1@parl.gc.ca, dosanjh.u@parl.gc.ca, dosanu1a@parl.gc.ca, webadmin@justice.gc.ca, Nicholson.R@parl.gc.ca, Nichor1@parl.gc.ca, Nichor2@parl.gc.ca, comartin.j@parl.gc.ca, comarj@parl.gc.ca, cotler.i@parl.gc.ca, cotlei@parl.gc.ca, cotlei1@parl.gc.ca

Step 2 (OPTIONAL):
Personalize your message with a few lines about why you want the government to end solitary confinement and respect the rights of detainees.

Step 3:
Cut and paste the following message into the body of your e-mail. Be sure to add your name, your address and date at the end of the letter. In the subject line, please write: Over 700 days in solitary confinement.

Dear Mr. Bartolucci and Mr. Day:

Fahim Ahmad, Zakaria Amara and Mohammed Dirie are part of the so-called ‘Toronto 18′ - a group of Muslim men and boys who were arrested in June 2006 and accused of terror-related activity. These three men have been held in solitary confinement for two years, in cells that measure 4 X 6 X 10 feet.

According to a study by the Correctional Services of Canada, enforced segregation for 60 days is ‘the most individually destructive, psychologically crippling and socially alienating experience that could conceivably exist within the borders of the country.’ In addition, the study notes that solitary confinement often leads to the development of psychosis (auditory and visual hallucinations and delusions), self-harm and suicide in detainees.

Prisoner advocates argue that 60 days is the maximum length of time that anyone should be held in solitary confinement. These three men have been held in solitary confinement for over 700 days, more than ten times what is considered safe.

Despite the hysteria that surrounds their cases, these men remain innocent until proven guilty. Accordingly, the conditions of their detention must meet the minimum standards provided to other detainees: regular access to meals, education, exercise outside their cells and social activity. The conditions of their detention must not be used as punishment for crimes for which they have not been convicted.

As Canadian citizens, these men have the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Their current conditions of detention are a violation of this right and of existing legislation that prevents cruel and unusual punishment in Canada.

Therefore, I demand that Fahim Ahmad, Zakaria Amara and Mohammed Dirie:

- Be released immediately from solitary confinement;
- Be guaranteed conditions of detention that meet the minimum standards provided to other detainees;
- Be guaranteed their constitutional rights through the establishment of safeguards by the appropriate authorities.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely,
Your name
Your address
Date

Step 4:
Send e-mail. If you’d like to let us know that you sent an e-mail, please CC presumptionofinnocence@gmail.com.

Source

Canadian law leaves Muslims under house arrest

Appalling!

Did you hear about Bill C-3 that was approved in Feb, 2008 by the Minister of Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety on the recommendation of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)?.

’tis unfair!

In a nutshell, it has allowed the government to detain non-citizens without charge or trial for years, on the basis of secret suspicions and vague allegations, indefinitely, and keep them under threat of deportation, even though there is risk of death, torture or other ill-treatment.

Current cases

Among the most prominent of the current cases:

• Mohammad Mahjoub, an Egyptian refugee and father of two, detained without charge since June 2000 in Toronto and then Kingston. Moved to house arrest in spring 2007.
• Mahmoud Jaballah, an Egyptian refugee and father of six, who was held 9 months in 1999, released, re-arrested in August 2001 on the same basis and held without charge ever since in Toronto and then Kingston. Moved to house arrest in spring 2007.
• Hassan Almrei, a Syrian refugee held without charge since October 2001 first in Toronto and then in “Guantanamo North”, a specially built prison which opened in May 2006.
• Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian refugee and married man, held without charge since December 2002 in Ottawa and then Kingston. Moved to house arrest in July 2006.
• Adil Charkaoui, a Permanent resident from Morocco, married with three kids, held without charge since May 2003 in Montreal. Released under severe conditions in February 2005.

Source