Lawyers still appealing security certificate decision
Mohamed Harkat, the Ottawa resident who was arrested eight years ago under suspicion of terrorist activity, was served with deportation papers on Friday. Harkat was apprehended under a security certificate, a controversial legal tool that allows the detainment of suspected foreign nationals considered to be security threats based on secret evidence that is unavailable to the accused. The deportation order, which would return Harkat, 42, to Algeria, comes at a time when his lawyers are still appealing the security certificate ruling, arguing that it may violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Harkat’s lawyer, Matthew Webber, said “while they may be serving the paperwork, we fully expect and are confident the Canadian government respects due process.” Harkat, who worked in Ottawa as a gas station attendant and a pizza deliveryman, claims he fled Algeria and worked with a Pakistani aid organization before immigrating.