Mohamed Harkat
Encyclopedia
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 certificate
s. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service
alleges that he entered the country as a sleeper agent
for al-Qaeda
. Harkat worked as a gas station attendant and a deliveryman for Pizza Pizza
during his seven years in Canada. He was released on May 23, 2006 under house arrest
, while fighting deportation.
and Algeria
in the construction business.
A student at the University of Oran
, Harkat joined the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) in 1989, when it was still a legitimate political movement. He offered them the use of a family-owned house in Zmalet Elamir Abdulkadir as a registered district office. Harkat was excused from Algerian military service because he broke his left leg as a child and it never properly healed. In March 1990, the Algerian government stormed the house and arrested the FIS members within. Harkat was not present, and was warned by his uncle that security forces were seeking him. He departed in April 1990 for a trip to Saudi Arabia using a Hajj passport
. From there he travelled to Pakistan, where the Muslim World League
employed him and sent him to Peshawar
in May 1990, to help distribute relief packages and organise aid programs.
For the next four years, Harkat worked and lived out of a Babbi warehouse and picked up shipments of food and relief supplies for the refugee camps in the city from the Peshawar airport and train station, earning $300–500 monthly. CSIS has alleged that during this time he also worked for Human Concern International
, suggesting this meant he was a formal colleague of Ahmed Khadr, and that he may have run a guest house for foreign mujahideen
traveling to participate in the Afghan civil war.
In June 1994 Harkat lost his job. He lived off his $18,000 in savings for the next year. He has made contradictory statements suggesting he either deposited $12,000 of his earnings in a bank through a friend named Haji Wazir, or that he never used a bank and instead kept all his money with him. CSIS contends that Pacha Wazir
, to whom they believe Harkat is referring, is an Emirati citizen known to have connections to al-Qaeda
.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) alleges that Harkat and "Mohammad Adnani" were the same person, and that during this time he joined the more militant Groupe Islamique Armé wing of FIS, and eventually aligned himself with Gama`at Islamiyya. CSIS will not provide a source for this claim, arguing that the information came from "open sources".
In September 1995, Harkat paid $5000 for airfare to travel out of Pakistan to Malaysia, from where he hoped to catch a direct flight to Canada
. In Kuala Lampur, he purchased a forged Saudi passport in the name of Mohammed M. Mohammed S. Al Qahtani for $1200 from a stranger named Abu Abdallah Pakistani, to carry in addition to his legitimate Algerian passport, since Saudi passports did not require entry visas to visit Canada.
, and arranged to meet him at the Ottawa bus station, since he claimed he was told it would be best to launch a refugee claim from the city. Taher met him at the bus terminal, and brought him to the mosque, where he was introduced to Abrihim, a convert to Islam who lived beside the mosque, and allowed Harkat to live with him for a week or two.
He stated that he would be persecuted by the Algerian government due to his past membership in the FIS. His claim was accepted on February 24, 1997. In March, he applied for Permanent Resident
status.
While attending prayers at the Ottawa Mosque on Northwestern Avenue, he met Mohamed el-Barseigy who was looking for somebody to share his apartment. Accepting el-Barseigy's offer of a drive back to Toronto, Harkat was introduced to Ahmed Khadr who was also in the van traveling to Toronto. Harkat has said that Khadr was silent during most of the trip, and his only advice to Harkat was "tell the truth to immigration authorities", a claim that a Federal Court justice found was "inherently implausible and incredible". They never met again after the 5-hour drive.
He was also in contact with Fahad al-Shehri
, who was later deported from the country. In 1996, after el-Barseigy moved to a new home, Harkat moved to 391 Nelson Street, Apartment 1. At the end of the year, he enrolled in English courses at the Ottawa Technical High School
.
On October 4, 1997, he was interviewed by CSIS, and was accused of using the alias "Abu Muslima", which he denied. In 2004, he recanted his denial and admitted using the name in Pakistan. He became addicted to gambling, and lost several thousand dollars - prompting authorities to ask where he'd gotten the money in the first place. He stated that a man named Wael, who was a mutual friend with Harkat's close friend Abdel Mokhtar, had come to Canada with $60,000 to start a business; and had liked Harkat and offered to loan him $10,000 and then an additional $8,000 to open an antique store and a gas station. He also stated that the money was from Mokhtar, rather than Wael. It later came to light that one of the CSIS agents detailed to collect information on Harkat had been Theresa Sullivan, who had been fired in 2002 after she carried on an extramarital affair with one of her informants, making Harkat question whether information she provided about him was reliable.
He married the Canadian Sophie Lamarche, and five months later in May 2001, began speaking about marriage to an Algerian named Khaira Abdel Khader and discussed buying a house for her in the country, rebuffing her requests to immigrate to Canada.
Harkat was arrested in Ottawa
on December 10, 2002 as a threat to national security, after a security certificate
was issued on the recommendation of CSIS, who relied upon secret evidence that has not been revealed due to national security
concerns. Public statements indicated that Abu Zubaydah
, who was waterboard
ed during harsh interrogations by the United States, described a man "similar to" Harkat running a guest house in Pakistan that shuttled mujahideen
to Chechnya
, although he did not use Harkat's name. This led the United States to accuse Harkat of "assisting terrorists, including the September 11 hijackers".
On March 22, 2005, Federal Court
judge Eleanor Dawson
ruled that the security certificate binding Harkat was reasonable. On December 30 of that year a federal court judge dismissed Harkat's application for release.
In April 2006, he was moved, along with the other four detainees, to a section at the Millhaven Institution
specifically built for those held under security certificates.
(CBSA) 48 hours in advance. The CBSA were also allowed constant access to his house, were required to approve any visitors to the house, and had two agents accompany him on any outings.
On June 13–14, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada
heard the case of Harkat v. Canada on the constitutionality of security certificates. On December 22, Harkat's lawyer, Paul Copeland, announced that Federal Court Chief Justice Allan Lutfy
would grant a judicial review of the original deportation order in Federal Court.
The Canadian Border Services Agency added six full-time positions for surveillance agents to follow Harkat at all times, at an annual cost of $868,700, as well as purchasing a new $31,000 car for the tailing, and spent $5,000 monthly to have staff monitoring Harkat's tracking bracelet.
On January 29, 2008, CBSA agents entered Harkat's home while he was showering, and placed him under arrest citing a breach of bail conditions, since his mother-in-law had not stayed at the house for several days following an argument with her husband. He was released after being questioned about the matter.
On September 24, 2008, judge Simon Noel
ruled that CSIS must disclose their "secret" evidence against Harkat, allowing him and his lawyers to view the material, which CSIS said could take up to six months. Six months later, he ordered that the release conditions be loosened, allowing Harkat to remain home by himself without needing his wife present at all times. In May 2009, judge Noel had said that the unwillingness of CSIS to share its material regarding the reliability of an informant who gave evidence against Harkat was "troubling", and made the rare move of ordering them to disclose confidential files to Harkat's defence lawyers who held security clearance
. It was also noted that CSIS claimed to have destroyed all original copies of their evidence, instead offering copies.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Mohamed Harkat has drawn Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
media attention as being one of several Muslim-Canadians
Islam in Canada
According to Canada's 2001 census, there were 579,740 Muslims in Canada, just under 2% of the population. In 2006, the Muslim population was estimated to be 0.8 million or about 2.6%. In 2010, the Pew Research Center estimates there were about 0.9 million Muslims in Canada. About 65% were Sunni,...
alleged to have ties to terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and imprisoned under 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...
s. 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...
alleges that he entered the country as a sleeper agent
Sleeper agent
A sleeper agent is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but rather to act as a potential asset if activated...
for al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. Harkat worked as a gas station attendant and a deliveryman for Pizza Pizza
Pizza Pizza
Pizza Pizza is a Canadian franchise of pizza restaurants mainly located in the province of Ontario. Other locations operate in Quebec, Nova Scotia, in western Canada , and in non-traditional locations such as university campuses and movie theatres throughout Canada...
during his seven years in Canada. He was released on May 23, 2006 under house arrest
House 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...
, while fighting deportation.
Life
Harkat's father El-Ait, who had six other sons, was born in Algeria and spent time working in both FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
in the construction business.
A student at the University of Oran
University of Oran
University of Oran , or Es Sénia University , is a university located in western Algeria in the wilaya of Oran. It was established in November 1961 as part of the University of Algiers. On April 13, 1965 was made a separate campus, and on December 20, 1967 it became an independent University...
, Harkat joined the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) in 1989, when it was still a legitimate political movement. He offered them the use of a family-owned house in Zmalet Elamir Abdulkadir as a registered district office. Harkat was excused from Algerian military service because he broke his left leg as a child and it never properly healed. In March 1990, the Algerian government stormed the house and arrested the FIS members within. Harkat was not present, and was warned by his uncle that security forces were seeking him. He departed in April 1990 for a trip to Saudi Arabia using a Hajj passport
Hajj passport
- Issuing countries :*Afghanistan*Algeria*Bahrain*Bangladesh *Brunei*China *Egypt*India *Indonesia *Iran...
. From there he travelled to Pakistan, where the Muslim World League
Muslim World League
The Muslim World League is one of the largest Islamic non-governmental organizations. Muslim religious figures from 22 states founded it in Makkah in 1962.-Structure:...
employed him and sent him to Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
in May 1990, to help distribute relief packages and organise aid programs.
For the next four years, Harkat worked and lived out of a Babbi warehouse and picked up shipments of food and relief supplies for the refugee camps in the city from the Peshawar airport and train station, earning $300–500 monthly. CSIS has alleged that during this time he also worked for Human Concern International
Human Concern International
Human Concern International is a Canadian, federally registered, charitable non-governmental organization working in international development and emergency relief assistance since 1980.From the HCI website:...
, suggesting this meant he was a formal colleague of Ahmed Khadr, and that he may have run a guest house for foreign mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
traveling to participate in the Afghan civil war.
In June 1994 Harkat lost his job. He lived off his $18,000 in savings for the next year. He has made contradictory statements suggesting he either deposited $12,000 of his earnings in a bank through a friend named Haji Wazir, or that he never used a bank and instead kept all his money with him. CSIS contends that Pacha Wazir
Pacha Wazir
Haji Pacha Wazir is an Emirati citizen who ran a series of Hawala banks before being arrested in 2003, amid accusations that he worked as the "main banker" for Osama bin Laden....
, to whom they believe Harkat is referring, is an Emirati citizen known to have connections to al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
.
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) alleges that Harkat and "Mohammad Adnani" were the same person, and that during this time he joined the more militant Groupe Islamique Armé wing of FIS, and eventually aligned himself with Gama`at Islamiyya. CSIS will not provide a source for this claim, arguing that the information came from "open sources".
In September 1995, Harkat paid $5000 for airfare to travel out of Pakistan to Malaysia, from where he hoped to catch a direct flight to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In Kuala Lampur, he purchased a forged Saudi passport in the name of Mohammed M. Mohammed S. Al Qahtani for $1200 from a stranger named Abu Abdallah Pakistani, to carry in addition to his legitimate Algerian passport, since Saudi passports did not require entry visas to visit Canada.
In Canada
Left with approximately $1000, Harkat flew from Malaysia to Toronto via the United Kingdom on October 6, 1995. He contacted Taher, a colleague he had met in 1994 in Peshawar now living in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, and arranged to meet him at the Ottawa bus station, since he claimed he was told it would be best to launch a refugee claim from the city. Taher met him at the bus terminal, and brought him to the mosque, where he was introduced to Abrihim, a convert to Islam who lived beside the mosque, and allowed Harkat to live with him for a week or two.
He stated that he would be persecuted by the Algerian government due to his past membership in the FIS. His claim was accepted on February 24, 1997. In March, he applied for Permanent Resident
Permanent resident (Canada)
A Permanent Resident in Canada is someone who is not a Canadian citizen but who has been granted permission to live and work in Canada without any time limit on his or her stay...
status.
While attending prayers at the Ottawa Mosque on Northwestern Avenue, he met Mohamed el-Barseigy who was looking for somebody to share his apartment. Accepting el-Barseigy's offer of a drive back to Toronto, Harkat was introduced to Ahmed Khadr who was also in the van traveling to Toronto. Harkat has said that Khadr was silent during most of the trip, and his only advice to Harkat was "tell the truth to immigration authorities", a claim that a Federal Court justice found was "inherently implausible and incredible". They never met again after the 5-hour drive.
He was also in contact with Fahad al-Shehri
Fahad al-Shehri
A Saudi citizen, Fahad al-Shehri was deported from Canada in 1997 on charges he had engaged in terrorism.He was a known associate of Mohamed Harkat, a Canadian accused of links to the Algerian Groupe Islamique Armé.-References:...
, who was later deported from the country. In 1996, after el-Barseigy moved to a new home, Harkat moved to 391 Nelson Street, Apartment 1. At the end of the year, he enrolled in English courses at the Ottawa Technical High School
Ottawa Technical High School
Ottawa Technical High School, more often known as Ottawa Tech, was a high school in Ottawa, Canada that originally specialized in vocational programs. The school opened in 1913 as the second public secondary school in Ottawa, and was closed in 1992. It was located on Albert Street in the western...
.
On October 4, 1997, he was interviewed by CSIS, and was accused of using the alias "Abu Muslima", which he denied. In 2004, he recanted his denial and admitted using the name in Pakistan. He became addicted to gambling, and lost several thousand dollars - prompting authorities to ask where he'd gotten the money in the first place. He stated that a man named Wael, who was a mutual friend with Harkat's close friend Abdel Mokhtar, had come to Canada with $60,000 to start a business; and had liked Harkat and offered to loan him $10,000 and then an additional $8,000 to open an antique store and a gas station. He also stated that the money was from Mokhtar, rather than Wael. It later came to light that one of the CSIS agents detailed to collect information on Harkat had been Theresa Sullivan, who had been fired in 2002 after she carried on an extramarital affair with one of her informants, making Harkat question whether information she provided about him was reliable.
He married the Canadian Sophie Lamarche, and five months later in May 2001, began speaking about marriage to an Algerian named Khaira Abdel Khader and discussed buying a house for her in the country, rebuffing her requests to immigrate to Canada.
Arrest
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
on December 10, 2002 as a threat to national security, after 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...
was issued on the recommendation of CSIS, who relied upon secret evidence that has not been revealed due to national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
concerns. Public statements indicated that Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah is a Saudi Arabian citizen, sentenced to death in Jordan and currently held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Not neutral: Arrested in Pakistan in March 2002, he has been in US custody for more than eight years, four-and-a-half of them spent incommunicado in solitary confinement...
, who was waterboard
Waterboard
Waterboard may refer to:* Water board, an organisation charged with the supply of water and care of water levels* Waterboarding, a form of torture consisting of immobilizing the victim and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages...
ed during harsh interrogations by the United States, described a man "similar to" Harkat running a guest house in Pakistan that shuttled mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
to 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...
, although he did not use Harkat's name. This led the United States to accuse Harkat of "assisting terrorists, including the September 11 hijackers".
On March 22, 2005, Federal Court
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
judge Eleanor Dawson
Eleanor Dawson
Eleanor Dawson is a judge currently serving on the Federal Court of Appeals, and is a former judge on the Federal Court of Canada.-References:...
ruled that the security certificate binding Harkat was reasonable. On December 30 of that year a federal court judge dismissed Harkat's application for release.
In April 2006, he was moved, along with the other four detainees, to a section at the Millhaven Institution
Millhaven Institution
Millhaven Institution is a maximum security prison located in Bath, Ontario. Approximately 400 inmates are incarcerated at Millhaven. Opened in 1971, Millhaven was originally built to replace the area's other maximum security prison . A riot at Kingston Penitentiary forced Millhaven to open...
specifically built for those held under security certificates.
Release and subsequent trials
On May 23, 2006, Harkat was released on a $100,000 bail by Justice Dawson. The release conditions stipulated that he be in the company of his wife, Sophie Harkat, or mother-in-law, Pierrette Brunette, at all times. Additionally, Harkat was required to wear a tracking bracelet and was prohibited from using electronic means of communication. Any trips outside of his house were to be approved by the Canada Border Services AgencyCanada 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) 48 hours in advance. The CBSA were also allowed constant access to his house, were required to approve any visitors to the house, and had two agents accompany him on any outings.
On June 13–14, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
heard the case of Harkat v. Canada on the constitutionality of security certificates. On December 22, Harkat's lawyer, Paul Copeland, announced that Federal Court Chief Justice Allan Lutfy
Allan Lutfy
Allan Lutfy QC is the current Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada. He will be retiring from his post on September 30, 2011....
would grant a judicial review of the original deportation order in Federal Court.
The Canadian Border Services Agency added six full-time positions for surveillance agents to follow Harkat at all times, at an annual cost of $868,700, as well as purchasing a new $31,000 car for the tailing, and spent $5,000 monthly to have staff monitoring Harkat's tracking bracelet.
On January 29, 2008, CBSA agents entered Harkat's home while he was showering, and placed him under arrest citing a breach of bail conditions, since his mother-in-law had not stayed at the house for several days following an argument with her husband. He was released after being questioned about the matter.
On September 24, 2008, judge Simon Noel
Simon Noël
Simon Noël is a judge currently serving on the Federal Court of Canada.From 1979-81, he acted as counsel on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP, and co-chief prosecutor on the Commission reviewing the Somalia Affair.He is a resident of Gatineau, Quebec.-References:...
ruled that CSIS must disclose their "secret" evidence against Harkat, allowing him and his lawyers to view the material, which CSIS said could take up to six months. Six months later, he ordered that the release conditions be loosened, allowing Harkat to remain home by himself without needing his wife present at all times. In May 2009, judge Noel had said that the unwillingness of CSIS to share its material regarding the reliability of an informant who gave evidence against Harkat was "troubling", and made the rare move of ordering them to disclose confidential files to Harkat's defence lawyers who held security clearance
Security clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal...
. It was also noted that CSIS claimed to have destroyed all original copies of their evidence, instead offering copies.