Mahmoud Jaballah
Encyclopedia
Mahmoud Es-Sayyid Jaballah is an Egyptian
-Canadian who has been detained in Canada without charge on a "security certificate
" since August 2001 due to his association with members of al-Jihad. He has consistently defended himself saying that he does not believe in violence, and just because he phones or visits people, does not mean that he shares their beliefs.
He was arrested in 1981 and accused of membership in al-Jihad and participating in the assassination of Anwar Sadat
, but was found innocent by the courts. He was re-arrested in 1987 and again accused of membership in the group, but the courts again found him innocent of all charges.
Jaballah left Egypt in July 1991 and worked in Pakistan from November 1991 through June 1994, first as a biology teacher and then as a school principal under the International Islamic Relief Organization
. He has denied claims from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) that he also fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
He claims to have stayed in Azerbaijan from September 1995 through March 1996.
He married Husnah Mojammad El-Sayyed El-Mashtouli, with whom he has six children, she and four of the children have been granted refugee status in Canada.
, and visited Yemen, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Turkey, and Germany successively. stated that he had also used a false Iraqi passport in the past, to travel from Pakistan to Yemen, and from there to Azerbaijan, from 1994 to 1996. Muayyed Nureddin
offered to drive him around the city if necessary, as he was a newcomer without transportation, but the two never became friends.
By November 2006 he had arranged a postal box in the city, registered under the name Bellal. He was visited by CSIS agents shortly after arriving, and his son maintains that they were upset because Jaballah refused to spy for them, which the agency denied.
and Thirwat Salah Shehata, the latter had served as Jaballah's lawyer in Egypt and married Jaballah's sister. He denied any relationship with Mabruk.
In September, Jaballah was advised to use caution when contacting "the father", believed to be a reference to Ayman al-Zawahiri
. He responded that he was usually contacted by the father, not vice versa. Two months later he mentioned to Shehata that he hadn't heard from the father, but was assured that he was alright and just had some difficulties communicating recently. In a later phone call to Yemen he asked a colleague to deliver a message to the father from him and in April 1997 he got a telephone call from the father who asked him how he was faring in Canada. Ten months later he was given the number for an Inmarsat
satellite phone
to contact "Mohammed", which Canadians allege was a reference to al-Zawahiri, and phoned it frequently.
In October 1996, al-Jihad's London leader Adel Abdel Bary
contacted Jaballah to mention he was shipping him several books and periodicals, including al-Mujahideen and al-Faqr for distribution in Canada, and copies of the Shifaa and some audiocassettes he asked him to forward on to Shehata. He also offered to ship him a phone card printing machine to ensure he was able to easily communicate overseas.
In November, Shehata, now his brother-in-law to whom he had offered financial support, told Jaballah that he was in Syria and preparing to go stay with "Daoud", believed to be a reference to Ibrahim Eidarous who was staying in Azerbaijan
. That same month, he was informed by a friend that Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub had moved to Toronto, whom both had known in Afghanistan. He later met Mahjoub briefly while picking his wife up from the Khadr's house where Mahjoub was also visiting. Jaballah returned the greeting, introducing himself to Ibrahim by the kunya name
Abu Ahmad and left. Although Mahjoub was found with the phone number of Jaballah's son at the time of his arrest, 289-2361 under the name Abu Ahmed ("Father of Ahmed"), Jaballah denied having ever spoken on the phone with him.
On December 13, Jaballah was informed that his friend "Najib" had been hospitalised, which authorities suggest was a reference to Ahmad Salama Mabruk
being imprisoned along with Ayman al-Zawahiri
and Mahmud Hisham al-Hennawi
by Russian authorities as they tried to cross into Chechnya
. He promised to raise funds in Canada to help offset Nijab's troubles while Shehata did the same in Azerbaijan. Hani Yusef al-Sebai contacted him at this time, explaining that he was staying near Shehata and helping with the fundraising for Mabruk's release. During one phonecall, Jaballah hung up abruptly on al-Sebai explaining he had security concerns and they should speak on his cell phone in the future. He contacted Eidarous on January 1 to ask how he would arrange a cash transfer from the British Bank Middle East to Azerbaijan under the name Khalil Yaseen Mohammed Mahmoud, and a few days later phoned Shehata to say he was unable to transfer the funds to him. Shehata told him to just send the funds for Mabruk's release to Daoud's postal box in London instead.
In September 1997 Bary was replaced by Ibrahim Eidarous as the leader of the London organisation, and Jaballah began phoning him instead, still referring to him as "Daoud", to discuss matters.
In July 1998, Jaballah phoned Ibrahim Ismail Allam and passed on a message Shehata had asked him to deliver. A month later, Shehata phoned Jaballah and told him that he'd moved to Lebanon, but didn't have a phone in his new location. He never again contacted Jaballah.
In the summer of 1998, following the bombings of two American embassies, Eidarous, Bary, al-Sebai, Khalid al-Fawwaz
and Sayyid Ahmed al-Maqsud were among eight men arrested in London, England for their relation to al-Jihad. Canadian authorities interviewed Jaballah on September 21 and 26 to question him since he had phoned all five men. He said that he'd read of the London arrests on the al-Hayat website but hadn't heard who specifically had been arrested. When shown a list of the arrested men's names in Arabic, he claimed to not recognise any of them, and when challenged retorted that perhaps he had known them by other names since he knew a lot of people overseas, but didn't recognise the names in front of him. He was asked to name everybody he'd contacted who lived overseas and give CSIS their telephone numbers, and refused. He further stated that the bombings were likely carried out by the Egyptian Intelligence Service to allow them to arrest those opposed to the regime. After the interviews, Jaballah phoned Eidarous and told him that Canadian authorities had asked about him, and even referred to him as Daoud.
He has since argued that he knew Bary due to his role as director of the International Office for the Defence of Egyptian People, and was seeking help preparing for his upcoming hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
, although he admitted having contacted him a month after arriving in Canada, several months before he began preparing for his IRB hearing.
In 1998, Barakat Fahim Ali Mohamed was contacted by Jaballah, who wanted an immediate set of false documentation for himself and his family, in case Canadian authorities declined his refugee bid or pursued him. In October 1998, he asked Mohamed whether he had received the necessary photographs of his children and was disappointed to learn he had not. In March of the following year, Jaballah unsuccessfully tried to send Mohamed a fax with his address details, and phoned him repeatedly. He was told that "the thing" was ready for him, and would be sent out after Eid
, assuming the fax had been received by then. He was given details on a Yemenese post office box
where it is believed he sent money to pay for the fake identification. By the end of April, Canadian authorities allege that Mohamed sent a letter postmarked in Yemen and signed "Murad", which was addressed to "Bellal", but sent to Jaballah's postal box. It simply stated that the sender was sorry to have not heard from him since Eid, and that he hoped he would get in contact soon.
Jaballah has described a casual relationship with Ahmed Khadr, stating that his wife had gone grocery shopping with Khadr's mother-in-law, and he had thus invited Khadr into his house for fifteen minutes, while the two drank tea and discussed their respective relief work in Peshawar, Pakistan. He said his wife had bought the Khadr family groceries, when Khadr came to Canada as a refugee. He said he met Khadr when he dropped by to pick up items being given to his family during a period of time when Khadr's family was in need. And, consistent with Muslim charity, he offered Khadr some tea. He said Khadr only stayed about fifteen minutes. Jaballah has said that he never met Khadr while in Peshawar, though Khadr's sons Abdullah
and Abdurahman
have said that they had seen Jaballah around Peshawar and knew him as an Arabic tutor in the city who went by the patronymic
Abu Ahmed. It was later claimed by the government that he had in fact taught the Khadrs while working as a teacher at two schools in the city, and that his wife had asked the family to deny any closer connection than what he'd previously mentioned to the authorities.
Jaballah and Mustafa Krer
met through mutual friends, and Jaballah has said that he phoned Krer for helping finding Egyptian newspaper articles he felt could help his refugee claim, and that Krer occasionally visited Jaballah in Toronto. The only time they met in Montreal was when Krer met Jaballah and his wife at Hassan Farhat
's apartment to celebrate the birth of a child while Jaballah was in the city seeking cheaper car insurance than Toronto offered. Jaballah had met Farhat in 1996 at the Medina Mosque
in Toronto, and received help finding a local apartment and learning English. Farhat introduced Jaballah to Ali Hussein, and later moved to Winnipeg
, Montreal
and then back to Toronto. Jaballah also visited him in Winnipeg, and phoned him 41 times, once telling him that Kassem Daher
would appreciate any religious audiocassettes that Farhat and Jaballah could send him.
members whose loyalty he had "tested" and that he was convinced they were reliable friends. He was congratulated and reminded that al-Jihad could use as many brothers as they could find.
Jaballah was arrested in 1999 on a security certificate
alleging he was a key member of al-Jihad. The courts found the evidence unsatisfactory and he was released several months later. Islamic groups accused the Canadian government of bowing to pressure from Egypt to extradite Jaballah back for a third attempt to convict him of membership in al-Jihad.
In August 2001, Jaballah was arrested on a second security certificate
. He was held at Toronto West Detention Centre
until April 2006, when he and the other security certificate detainees were moved to a newly-constructed facility two hours north of Toronto named Kingston Immigration Holding Centre.
In March 2002, his lawyer Rocco Galati
made headlines when he simply walked out of the courtroom, referring to the legal process holding Jaballah as "a travesty of justice" since security officials were meeting alone with the judge, and the accused was not allowed to know or challenge the evidence against him.
In October 2006, Jaballah's lawyers Paul Copeland and Barbara Jackman
again sought bail, this time noting the support of former Iraqi hostage James Loney and the release of Mohamed Harkat
on bail from a security certificate four months earlier.
by judge Carolyn Layden-Stevenson
, a day after Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub was similarly released, and escorted to his family home. A CSIS agent identified only as J.P., the Deputy Chief of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation in the Ottawa Regional Office as of 2005, testified against the petitions for release by Almrei, Jaballah and Charkaoui. Under the conditions of his release, Jaballah is not allowed to leave his house without approval, nor have visitors who haven't been cleared by security. His mail is opened and his phone is tapped, and he is prohibited from using a cellphone or internet connection.
In December 2007, security officials petitioned Layden-Stevenson to allow them to install 14 surveillance cameras inside the Jaballah home to watch the day-to-day activities of the family. When asked to review clandestine photographs the Canada Border Services Agency
(CBSA) identified as his house, Jaballah "stunned the court" by appearing perplexed and answering that these were not even photos of his house. The agents had accidentally submit photos from the wrong stakeout
, instead labeling photos of Tamil gang-leader Jothiravi Sittampalam's house as being the Jaballah residence, The court also noted complaints that Muslim women are only able to walk around without their niqab
or hijab
inside the home away from the eyes of strangers; and that federal agents would be intruding on their privacy.
The same month, it was discovered that despite the federal order barring the Jaballah household from access to the internet, the City of Toronto had actually made Afnan Essayyid, one of Jaballah's high school-age daughters, the recipient of its Kids@Computers scholarship program meant to assist children living in welfare
situations, and brought the family a free internet line. Jaballah had phoned Bell
after the internet line was installed in the kitchen, and was told that the account was being set up and paid for by the city. Jaballah's lawyer John Norris questioned the City's agents in court, and was told that the CBSA had never mentioned anything to the scholarship program.
Ultimately, it was decided that Jaballah could not continue to teach at the Um Al Qura school he had founded in Scarborough, nor hold Arabic-language or Koranic classes at his home.
Following the release of information that CSIS had been illegally monitoring the privileged conversations
between Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub and his lawyer, Jaballah and Mahjoub filed a joint motion alleging that the conditions of their house arrest were unreasonable; stating their tracking-bracelets, wiretapped phones and curfews were acceptable intrusions on their lives, while having their family photographed and physically followed at every opportunity and their mail seized were unreasonable. Judge Anne MacTavish
ruled against this motion.
The Summary Report drafted by CSIS in 2008 had a number of demonstrable errors, including identifying Amr Hamed
and Essam Marzouk
as the same person, stating that four of Ahmed Khadr's sons had attended training camps when only two had, that Mustafa Krer
was arrested on December 18, 2004 rather than May 2, 2002, and alternatingly referring to the same interview occurring on either August 21 or September 21.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
-Canadian who has been detained in Canada without charge on a "security certificate
Security certificate
In Canadian law, a security certificate is a mechanism by which the Government of Canada can detain and deport foreign nationals and all other non-citizens living in Canada...
" since August 2001 due to his association with members of al-Jihad. He has consistently defended himself saying that he does not believe in violence, and just because he phones or visits people, does not mean that he shares their beliefs.
Life
While studying at the University of Zagazig in Egypt, Jaballah was involved in a student group named Badr which distributed pamphlets, a weekly periodical and arranged fieldtrips for students. He stated that the University dean eventually expelled the professor who organised the group for his "anti-government political activity".He was arrested in 1981 and accused of membership in al-Jihad and participating in the assassination of Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
, but was found innocent by the courts. He was re-arrested in 1987 and again accused of membership in the group, but the courts again found him innocent of all charges.
Jaballah left Egypt in July 1991 and worked in Pakistan from November 1991 through June 1994, first as a biology teacher and then as a school principal under the International Islamic Relief Organization
International Islamic Relief Organization
The International Islamic Relief Organization, , is a charity based in Saudi Arabia. It is a member of The Conference of NGOs, where it serves on the board...
. He has denied claims from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
(CSIS) that he also fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
He claims to have stayed in Azerbaijan from September 1995 through March 1996.
He married Husnah Mojammad El-Sayyed El-Mashtouli, with whom he has six children, she and four of the children have been granted refugee status in Canada.
In Canada
He entered Canada on May 11, 1996 and applied for refugee status. He admitted that he was using a false Saudi passport, that had stamps indicating the bearer had traveled from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, entered Pakistan ten days before al-Jihad's attack on the Egyptian Embassy in PakistanAttack on the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan
Carried out by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the November 19 1995 attack on the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan was retaliation against the diplomatic staffers who were accused of gathering intelligence on Jihad factions inside Pakistan...
, and visited Yemen, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Turkey, and Germany successively. stated that he had also used a false Iraqi passport in the past, to travel from Pakistan to Yemen, and from there to Azerbaijan, from 1994 to 1996. Muayyed Nureddin
Muayyed Nureddin
An Iraqi-born Canadian geologist, Muayyed Nureddin was imprisoned in similar circumstances to Maher Arar in Syria. He claims to have been beaten and interrogated about his connection to a Toronto Islamic school; and has called for a public inquiry into the role of Canadian officials in his...
offered to drive him around the city if necessary, as he was a newcomer without transportation, but the two never became friends.
By November 2006 he had arranged a postal box in the city, registered under the name Bellal. He was visited by CSIS agents shortly after arriving, and his son maintains that they were upset because Jaballah refused to spy for them, which the agency denied.
Alleged associations
The month after entering, CSIS alleges Jaballah began phoning suspected al-Jihad members still living in Pakistan and spoke of acquiring new clothing, which Canadian authorities allege was a codeword for travel documents. He also remains in contact with al-Jihad ruling council members Ahmad Salama MabrukAhmad Salama Mabruk
Ahmad Salam Mabruk was the alleged leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad's Azeri cell. He was one of 14 people subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA prior to the 2001 declaration of a War on Terror.-Life:...
and Thirwat Salah Shehata, the latter had served as Jaballah's lawyer in Egypt and married Jaballah's sister. He denied any relationship with Mabruk.
In September, Jaballah was advised to use caution when contacting "the father", believed to be a reference to Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
. He responded that he was usually contacted by the father, not vice versa. Two months later he mentioned to Shehata that he hadn't heard from the father, but was assured that he was alright and just had some difficulties communicating recently. In a later phone call to Yemen he asked a colleague to deliver a message to the father from him and in April 1997 he got a telephone call from the father who asked him how he was faring in Canada. Ten months later he was given the number for an Inmarsat
Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. It provides telephony and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate to ground stations through eleven geostationary telecommunications satellites...
satellite phone
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
to contact "Mohammed", which Canadians allege was a reference to al-Zawahiri, and phoned it frequently.
In October 1996, al-Jihad's London leader Adel Abdel Bary
Adel Abdel Bary
Adel Mohammed Abd Almagid Abdel Bary is an Egyptian militant who, together with fellow Egyptian Ibrahim Hussein Abdel Hadi Eidarous until the latter's death, have been in the custody of the United Kingdom since 1999, fighting extradition to the United States, where they are wanted in connection...
contacted Jaballah to mention he was shipping him several books and periodicals, including al-Mujahideen and al-Faqr for distribution in Canada, and copies of the Shifaa and some audiocassettes he asked him to forward on to Shehata. He also offered to ship him a phone card printing machine to ensure he was able to easily communicate overseas.
In November, Shehata, now his brother-in-law to whom he had offered financial support, told Jaballah that he was in Syria and preparing to go stay with "Daoud", believed to be a reference to Ibrahim Eidarous who was staying in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. That same month, he was informed by a friend that Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub had moved to Toronto, whom both had known in Afghanistan. He later met Mahjoub briefly while picking his wife up from the Khadr's house where Mahjoub was also visiting. Jaballah returned the greeting, introducing himself to Ibrahim by the kunya name
Kunya (Arabic)
A kunya is a teknonym, the name of an adult derived from their child, especially their eldest son, in Arabic names.A kunya is expressed by the use of abū or umm in a genitive construction, i.e "father of" or "mother of" as a honorific in place of or alongside given names in the Arab world and the...
Abu Ahmad and left. Although Mahjoub was found with the phone number of Jaballah's son at the time of his arrest, 289-2361 under the name Abu Ahmed ("Father of Ahmed"), Jaballah denied having ever spoken on the phone with him.
On December 13, Jaballah was informed that his friend "Najib" had been hospitalised, which authorities suggest was a reference to Ahmad Salama Mabruk
Ahmad Salama Mabruk
Ahmad Salam Mabruk was the alleged leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad's Azeri cell. He was one of 14 people subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA prior to the 2001 declaration of a War on Terror.-Life:...
being imprisoned along with Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
and Mahmud Hisham al-Hennawi
Mahmud Hisham al-Hennawi
Mahmud Hisham al-Hennawi , also known by his kunya Abu Sahl, was an Islamic militant with ties to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad who was killed in Chechnya in 2005.-Early life:...
by Russian authorities as they tried to cross into Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. He promised to raise funds in Canada to help offset Nijab's troubles while Shehata did the same in Azerbaijan. Hani Yusef al-Sebai contacted him at this time, explaining that he was staying near Shehata and helping with the fundraising for Mabruk's release. During one phonecall, Jaballah hung up abruptly on al-Sebai explaining he had security concerns and they should speak on his cell phone in the future. He contacted Eidarous on January 1 to ask how he would arrange a cash transfer from the British Bank Middle East to Azerbaijan under the name Khalil Yaseen Mohammed Mahmoud, and a few days later phoned Shehata to say he was unable to transfer the funds to him. Shehata told him to just send the funds for Mabruk's release to Daoud's postal box in London instead.
In September 1997 Bary was replaced by Ibrahim Eidarous as the leader of the London organisation, and Jaballah began phoning him instead, still referring to him as "Daoud", to discuss matters.
In July 1998, Jaballah phoned Ibrahim Ismail Allam and passed on a message Shehata had asked him to deliver. A month later, Shehata phoned Jaballah and told him that he'd moved to Lebanon, but didn't have a phone in his new location. He never again contacted Jaballah.
In the summer of 1998, following the bombings of two American embassies, Eidarous, Bary, al-Sebai, Khalid al-Fawwaz
Khalid al-Fawwaz
Khalid Abdulrahman al-Fawwaz kunya: Abu Omar al-Sebai is a Saudi who has been under indictment in the United States since 1998, accused of helping to prepare the1998 United States embassy bombings...
and Sayyid Ahmed al-Maqsud were among eight men arrested in London, England for their relation to al-Jihad. Canadian authorities interviewed Jaballah on September 21 and 26 to question him since he had phoned all five men. He said that he'd read of the London arrests on the al-Hayat website but hadn't heard who specifically had been arrested. When shown a list of the arrested men's names in Arabic, he claimed to not recognise any of them, and when challenged retorted that perhaps he had known them by other names since he knew a lot of people overseas, but didn't recognise the names in front of him. He was asked to name everybody he'd contacted who lived overseas and give CSIS their telephone numbers, and refused. He further stated that the bombings were likely carried out by the Egyptian Intelligence Service to allow them to arrest those opposed to the regime. After the interviews, Jaballah phoned Eidarous and told him that Canadian authorities had asked about him, and even referred to him as Daoud.
He has since argued that he knew Bary due to his role as director of the International Office for the Defence of Egyptian People, and was seeking help preparing for his upcoming hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada is an independent administrative tribunal. The IRB is responsible for applying the Canadian federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and for making decisions on immigration and refugee matters...
, although he admitted having contacted him a month after arriving in Canada, several months before he began preparing for his IRB hearing.
In 1998, Barakat Fahim Ali Mohamed was contacted by Jaballah, who wanted an immediate set of false documentation for himself and his family, in case Canadian authorities declined his refugee bid or pursued him. In October 1998, he asked Mohamed whether he had received the necessary photographs of his children and was disappointed to learn he had not. In March of the following year, Jaballah unsuccessfully tried to send Mohamed a fax with his address details, and phoned him repeatedly. He was told that "the thing" was ready for him, and would be sent out after Eid
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
, assuming the fax had been received by then. He was given details on a Yemenese post office box
Post Office box
A post-office box or Post Office box is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office station....
where it is believed he sent money to pay for the fake identification. By the end of April, Canadian authorities allege that Mohamed sent a letter postmarked in Yemen and signed "Murad", which was addressed to "Bellal", but sent to Jaballah's postal box. It simply stated that the sender was sorry to have not heard from him since Eid, and that he hoped he would get in contact soon.
Jaballah has described a casual relationship with Ahmed Khadr, stating that his wife had gone grocery shopping with Khadr's mother-in-law, and he had thus invited Khadr into his house for fifteen minutes, while the two drank tea and discussed their respective relief work in Peshawar, Pakistan. He said his wife had bought the Khadr family groceries, when Khadr came to Canada as a refugee. He said he met Khadr when he dropped by to pick up items being given to his family during a period of time when Khadr's family was in need. And, consistent with Muslim charity, he offered Khadr some tea. He said Khadr only stayed about fifteen minutes. Jaballah has said that he never met Khadr while in Peshawar, though Khadr's sons Abdullah
Abdullah Khadr
Abdullah Ahmed Khadr is the oldest son of Ahmed Khadr and brother of Omar Khadr who has been charged with war crimes before the Guantanamo military commission....
and Abdurahman
Abdurahman Khadr
Abdurahman Khadr is the third child of the Egyptian Canadian Khadr family, and was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, after being detained in Afghanistan under suspicion of connections to Al-Qaeda...
have said that they had seen Jaballah around Peshawar and knew him as an Arabic tutor in the city who went by the patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
Abu Ahmed. It was later claimed by the government that he had in fact taught the Khadrs while working as a teacher at two schools in the city, and that his wife had asked the family to deny any closer connection than what he'd previously mentioned to the authorities.
Jaballah and Mustafa Krer
Mustafa Krer
A Libyan-Canadian, Mustafa Mohammed Krer left Libya in 1989, following the arrest of his brother al-Mukhtar Muhammad Krer...
met through mutual friends, and Jaballah has said that he phoned Krer for helping finding Egyptian newspaper articles he felt could help his refugee claim, and that Krer occasionally visited Jaballah in Toronto. The only time they met in Montreal was when Krer met Jaballah and his wife at Hassan Farhat
Hassan Farhat
Born in Telafa, Iraq, Hassan Farhat was the founder and Imam of Salaheddin Mosque in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada....
's apartment to celebrate the birth of a child while Jaballah was in the city seeking cheaper car insurance than Toronto offered. Jaballah had met Farhat in 1996 at the Medina Mosque
Medina Mosque
Medina Mosque may refer to:* Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia* Medina Mosque , England...
in Toronto, and received help finding a local apartment and learning English. Farhat introduced Jaballah to Ali Hussein, and later moved to Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and then back to Toronto. Jaballah also visited him in Winnipeg, and phoned him 41 times, once telling him that Kassem Daher
Kassem Daher
Kassem Daher, born in Bekaa, Lebanon, is a Lebanese-Canadian accused of membership in a number of Islamic militant groups.-Life:At the age of 14, Daher left Lebanon and moved to Columbia - before settling in Leduc, Alberta...
would appreciate any religious audiocassettes that Farhat and Jaballah could send him.
Recruiting
In July 1997 a fax, believed to have been sent by Mabruk, was sent to Jaballah offering advice on how to approach and recruit Canadians to al-Jihad. He sent a reply stating that he had already begun making contacts in the community, and had found several Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
members whose loyalty he had "tested" and that he was convinced they were reliable friends. He was congratulated and reminded that al-Jihad could use as many brothers as they could find.
Arrest
Security certificate
In Canadian law, a security certificate is a mechanism by which the Government of Canada can detain and deport foreign nationals and all other non-citizens living in Canada...
alleging he was a key member of al-Jihad. The courts found the evidence unsatisfactory and he was released several months later. Islamic groups accused the Canadian government of bowing to pressure from Egypt to extradite Jaballah back for a third attempt to convict him of membership in al-Jihad.
In August 2001, Jaballah was arrested on a second security certificate
Security certificate
In Canadian law, a security certificate is a mechanism by which the Government of Canada can detain and deport foreign nationals and all other non-citizens living in Canada...
. He was held at Toronto West Detention Centre
Toronto West Detention Centre
The Toronto West Detention Centre, often referred to as simply The West, is a maximum security remand facility located in Rexdale, a community located in the north-west corner of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
until April 2006, when he and the other security certificate detainees were moved to a newly-constructed facility two hours north of Toronto named Kingston Immigration Holding Centre.
In March 2002, his lawyer Rocco Galati
Rocco Galati
Rocco Galati is a Canadian lawyer who specializes in terrorism cases.In 2001, he defended Delmart Vreeland at trial.He was Abdurahman Khadr's first lawyer...
made headlines when he simply walked out of the courtroom, referring to the legal process holding Jaballah as "a travesty of justice" since security officials were meeting alone with the judge, and the accused was not allowed to know or challenge the evidence against him.
In October 2006, Jaballah's lawyers Paul Copeland and Barbara Jackman
Barbara Jackman
Barbara Jackman is a Canadian lawyer specializing in immigration and refugee law, with particular emphasis on cases involving national security, domestic and international human rights issues, torture and other cruel or unusual punishment, allegations of membership in and/or support of terrorist...
again sought bail, this time noting the support of former Iraqi hostage James Loney and the release of Mohamed Harkat
Mohamed Harkat
Born in Algeria, Mohamed Harkat has drawn Canadian media attention as being one of several Muslim-Canadians alleged to have ties to terrorism and imprisoned under security certificates. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleges that he entered the country as a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda...
on bail from a security certificate four months earlier.
Release
On 14 April 2007 Jaballah was released on house arrestHouse arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
by judge Carolyn Layden-Stevenson
Carolyn Layden-Stevenson
A "high profile" Federal judge of Canada, Carolyn Layden-Stevenson has ruled on a number of cases and motions involving suspects accused of links to militant and terrorist organisations.-Life:...
, a day after Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub was similarly released, and escorted to his family home. A CSIS agent identified only as J.P., the Deputy Chief of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation in the Ottawa Regional Office as of 2005, testified against the petitions for release by Almrei, Jaballah and Charkaoui. Under the conditions of his release, Jaballah is not allowed to leave his house without approval, nor have visitors who haven't been cleared by security. His mail is opened and his phone is tapped, and he is prohibited from using a cellphone or internet connection.
In December 2007, security officials petitioned Layden-Stevenson to allow them to install 14 surveillance cameras inside the Jaballah home to watch the day-to-day activities of the family. When asked to review clandestine photographs the Canada Border Services Agency
Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border enforcement, immigration enforcement and customs services....
(CBSA) identified as his house, Jaballah "stunned the court" by appearing perplexed and answering that these were not even photos of his house. The agents had accidentally submit photos from the wrong stakeout
Stakeout
Stakeout is a 1987 film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, and Forest Whitaker...
, instead labeling photos of Tamil gang-leader Jothiravi Sittampalam's house as being the Jaballah residence, The court also noted complaints that Muslim women are only able to walk around without their niqab
Niqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
or hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
inside the home away from the eyes of strangers; and that federal agents would be intruding on their privacy.
The same month, it was discovered that despite the federal order barring the Jaballah household from access to the internet, the City of Toronto had actually made Afnan Essayyid, one of Jaballah's high school-age daughters, the recipient of its Kids@Computers scholarship program meant to assist children living in welfare
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
situations, and brought the family a free internet line. Jaballah had phoned Bell
Bell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
after the internet line was installed in the kitchen, and was told that the account was being set up and paid for by the city. Jaballah's lawyer John Norris questioned the City's agents in court, and was told that the CBSA had never mentioned anything to the scholarship program.
Ultimately, it was decided that Jaballah could not continue to teach at the Um Al Qura school he had founded in Scarborough, nor hold Arabic-language or Koranic classes at his home.
Following the release of information that CSIS had been illegally monitoring the privileged conversations
Solicitor-client privilege
In common law jurisdictions, legal professional privilege protects all communications between a professional legal adviser and his or her clients from being disclosed without the permission of the client...
between Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub and his lawyer, Jaballah and Mahjoub filed a joint motion alleging that the conditions of their house arrest were unreasonable; stating their tracking-bracelets, wiretapped phones and curfews were acceptable intrusions on their lives, while having their family photographed and physically followed at every opportunity and their mail seized were unreasonable. Judge Anne MacTavish
Anne Mactavish
Anne L. Mactavish, a Canadian Federal Court trial judge, was born in Montreal, Quebec. Her education was at Bishop's University, University of New Brunswick and University of Ottawa. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1982. She became an Associate and Partner at Perley-Robertson, Panet,...
ruled against this motion.
The Summary Report drafted by CSIS in 2008 had a number of demonstrable errors, including identifying Amr Hamed
Amr Hamed
Amr Mohamed Hamed was a Canadian who died in the American bombing of an Afghan training camp on August 20, 1998, as retaliation for the African embassy bombings.-Life in Egypt:...
and Essam Marzouk
Essam Marzouk
An Egyptian resident of British Columbia, Essam Hafez Mohammed Marzouk arrived in Vancouver, Canada in 1993 as a refugee fleeing persecution in Pakistan...
as the same person, stating that four of Ahmed Khadr's sons had attended training camps when only two had, that Mustafa Krer
Mustafa Krer
A Libyan-Canadian, Mustafa Mohammed Krer left Libya in 1989, following the arrest of his brother al-Mukhtar Muhammad Krer...
was arrested on December 18, 2004 rather than May 2, 2002, and alternatingly referring to the same interview occurring on either August 21 or September 21.