Secret files against terror suspects revealed

COLIN FREEZE and TU THANH HA AND OMAR EL AKKAD

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

February 23, 2008 at 1:07 PM EST

The case against a group of Canadians sometimes referred to as "the Secret Trial Five" isn't as secret as it used to be.

Ottawa unveiled more specific allegations against the five terrorism suspects yesterday: for example, that one suspect called the satellite phone of al-Qaeda's second-in-command, and that another was in charge of a group of training camp recruits in Afghanistan.

In hundreds of pages of court documents yesterday, Canadian ministers signed new security certificates against alleged members of the al-Qaeda network. In doing so, the government narrowly beat a date imposed by the Supreme Court for the previous certificates to expire.

The controversial measure is intended to be used to jail and deport Canada's most dangerous non-citizens through court proceedings where the defendants are not allowed to hear all of the evidence against them.

The new process will still involve some court hearings the suspects can't attend, but to make the process fairer and more constitutional, the government yesterday appointed 13 "special advocate" lawyers to represent the suspects.

Federal Court judges have already ruled that the five suspects are likely threats who, for the most part, lied in court about their travels and associates. One suspect remains jailed while the rest are under strict house arrest. Fears that the suspects would be tortured abroad continue to stymie efforts to deport them.

Government officials did not say yesterday why they are now revealing more about the allegations against the men. Among the details the government apparently kept up its sleeve for years: 

* Syrian Hassan Almrei, accused of document forgery, is alleged to have gained access to a restricted area at Toronto's Pearson Airport in September, 1999. "Almrei and the five individuals appeared to have access cards and codes for a restricted access building on the [Pearson] grounds," the documents state.

* Egyptian Mahmoud Jaballah, long alleged to be a communications conduit for terrorist cells involved in the 1998 African embassy bombings, is said to have "communicated closely" with Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al-Qaeda No. 2. The new documents indicate that conversations Mr. Jaballah had in Canada were recorded, including ones in which he referred to Mr. al-Zawahiri as "the father" and dialled his satellite phone.

* A Moroccan, Adil Charkaoui, is said to have admitted to CSIS that fellow Montrealer Abderraouf Hannachi — who sent the so-called millennium bomber, Ahmed Ressam, to Afghan training camps — sent him there too. The court documents say that Mr. Charkaoui didn't just attend a terrorist training camp but was also in charge of recruits.An Egyptian who has admitted working for Osama bin Laden in Africa, Mohamed Zeki Mahjoub, was allegedly fingered as a high-level terrorist by another Egyptian security certificate detainee, Mr. Jaballah. "On Nov. 16, 1996, Jaballah disclosed that he and Mahjoub once worked alongside each other 'over there.' And that he [Jaballah] regards Mahjoub as a shrewd and manipulative individual." 

* An alleged Algerian sleeper agent, Mohamed Harkat, is said to have been overheard making ominous remarks. "In February, 1998, Harkat stated that he had to keep a 'low profile' as he needed status in Canada. Further Harkat said that as soon as he received his 'status' he would be 'ready,' which the (Crown) concludes meant that Harkat would be prepared to undertake a jihad in support of Islamic terrorism."

The charge sheets make no reference to earlier allegations made by Abu Zubaydah, a Guantanamo Bay detainee, who was recently revealed to have been interrogated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency using harsh methods.

Compared with the earlier cases, the charge sheets filed yesterday include more references to Canadian Security Intelligence Service spy methods, including telecommunications intercepts.

The government also announced yesterday that a sixth man, who was being held as an alleged Tamil Tiger terrorist, will no longer be subject to a security certificate. "The government of Canada has decided not to reissue a security certificate to [Manickavasagam] Suresh at this point," Mélisa Leclerc, a spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, said in a statement. She said the government is eyeing other legal measures.

Mr. Suresh was arrested in 1995. He brought a landmark case before the Supreme Court that resulted in a ruling that made it harder for Canada to deport immigrants to countries that practice torture.

Last year, Mr. Charkaoui's name was affixed to a Supreme Court ruling that parts of the old security certificate regime violated the Charter of Rights. The court gave the government one year to fix the law. Yesterday was the last working day before the court deadline.

The 13 "special advocates" that the new law created include many veterans of judicial inquiries who've fought government secrecy.