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International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group

Coalition pour la surveillance internationale des libertés civiles

November 9, 2024 - 9 novembre 2024

Letter to Minister Joly: Urgent Call for Independent Investigation into the Death of Canadian Citizen FJ

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ICLMG 29/10/2024 - Minister Joly,


I am writing today on behalf of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, a coalition of 44 Canadian civil society organizations dedicated to defending civil liberties in the context of anti-terrorism and national security measures.


Our coalition is gravely concerned by the news of the death of Canadian citizen FJ while being held in a deportation centre in Turkey on the night of October 16 to 17, 2024, leaving her six children in Canada without a mother and leaving a multitude of questions surrounding her death unanswered.


We have read the news coverage and the detailed letter shared with you on Oct. 24, 2024, by members of the civil society delegation to northeast Syria, and fully support their call for you to take immediate steps to initiate an independent and impartial investigation into the death of FJ.


As you are aware, our coalition has written to you on several occasions, including Dec. 7, 2022, Jan. 26, 2023, and March 31, 2023, expressing our concern with the Canadian government’s lack of action in repatriating Canadians detained in life-threatening, indefinite detention in northeastern Syria. We have yet to receive a reply.

In our communications with you, we expressed our worry that your government’s inaction on this ongoing violation of the rights of Canadians could lead to the death of a citizen abroad; it is to our great dismay that these concerns have come to fruition.


It has been reported that your government had previously placed an ultimatum before FJ: her six children being held in Al-Roj detention camp could be repatriated to Canada without her, or they could remain in the detention camp in horrendous conditions with her. Eventually, FJ’s children were brought to Canada without her, and separated among several foster families. This is despite Canada’s international obligation to uphold the best interests of children, which was clearly to avoid family separation and to allow for the repatriation of the children together with their mother to Canada.


Moreover, the rationale for denying the repatriation of FJ to Canada – that she allegedly posed an insurmountable security threat – was belied by the fact that Canada has already repatriated several Canadians who have either been placed under peace bonds or charged with criminal offenses. It also contradicts the RCMP’s own position expressed to the Minister of Public Safety in 2018 that: “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees Canadian citizens the right to return to Canada. Therefore, even if a Canadian engaged in terrorist activity abroad, the government of Canada must facilitate their return to Canada.”[1] This is compounded by the fact that the Canadian government has presented no evidence of the threat that FJ would allegedly pose.


FJ’s death in a Turkish deportation facility raises several unanswered, including:

  • What was communicated to her by Canadian officials during consular visits?
  • What did she express to those officials regarding her detention and trial?
  • Did the RCMP, as reported, visit and question FJ while in detention?
  • If so, why? And what was she told about potential charges?


These are only a few questions, which, along with the many raised in the Oct. 24 letter from the civil society delegation, require urgent investigation.


We also note with concern that FJ’s death came just after she had been acquitted of criminal charges relating to membership in an armed terrorist group by a three-judge panel in Turkey. This again raises serious concerns about the basis on which Canada refused to repatriate FJ, along with her children, months earlier, which would have avoided this appalling outcome.


It is imperative that your government take urgent and immediate action to investigate this matter, and provide answers to FJ’s children, and to all Canadians, about the circumstances leading to her death and how to avoid such a dreadful outcome in the future.


We also reiterate once again our call that you and your government take immediate action to repatriate all Canadians, and the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children, who remain in indefinite, life-threatening detention without possibility of release or trial in camps and prisons in northeast Syria. This is the only option in compliance with Canada’s Charter and international human rights obligations. Not one person more can be allowed to have their rights violated and to face abuse, torture or death in the name of national security.


We look forward to hearing from you further on this urgent matter. Source


UPDATED Canada must repatriate all Canadians detained in NE Syria + Initiate an independent investigation into the death of Canadian citizen FJ now!


Matthew Behrens: The feds refused to repatriate a Canadian citizen detained in Syrian prison. Then she died.


Supreme Court ‘signed my son’s death warrant,’ mother says of refusal to hear plea for men detained in Syria


Matthew Behrens: Supreme Court Rejects Reconsideration Request in Case of Canadian Detainees in Northeast Syria, Rubberstamping Their Banishment


ACTION “Canadians are dying": Free Jack Letts & 19 Canadian Kids, Women & Men in Syria


Iraq: People held in Al-Jed’ah Centre subjected to torture and enforced disappearance after arrests – new investigation

Canada’s terror list enables Israeli terror - Webinar featuring ICLMG's Tim McSorley

CFPI & Just Peace Advocates 29/10/2014 - In October 2024, the Trudeau government listed the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network as a terror entity. The move marks a major escalation in state directed efforts to suppress opposition to Canada’s complicity in Israel’s genocide and regional belligerence.


In light of Samidoun’s listing, the webinar will consider how the terrorist list works and its anti-Palestinian, pro-US empire, character.


Panelists:

  • Yavar Hameed, Hameed Law
  • Shane Martinez, International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP)
  • Tim McSorley, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG)

RCMP plans to go undercover online to trap violent extremists

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CBC News 03/11/2024 - The RCMP is planning to conduct undercover surveillance online using fake personas to investigate ideological extremists in Canada, says an internal strategy document.


Civil liberties advocates say they fear that having officers carry out undercover investigations online using fake personas could violate charter rights or lead people to take actions they otherwise might not take.


They point out that the RCMP ran afoul of Canada's privacy commissioner earlier this year with other online investigative activities. They're also calling for guardrails to cover undercover online surveillance. [...]


Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, said the RCMP's online operations have been problematic in the past. He cited the privacy commissioner's concerns and Mounties' use of fake Facebook profiles to monitor Black Lives Matter and Idle No More activists.


"It's good to see that the RCMP is working on a strategy to address [white supremacism] and recognizing that it is one of the leading threats to Canadians," he said. "We have concerns overall about how the RCMP and the government in general has tried to address violent "extremism" in the past and ensuring that civil liberties are protected." Read more - Lire plus

Tim McSorley: CSIS, Duty of Candour and Immunity for Illegal Activities

We launched our 20th anniversary publication "Defending Civil Liberties in an Age of Counter-terrorism and National Security" on Sept 11, 2024. You can read the full PDF or get a physical copy here. Over the next few months, we will be sharing two texts from the publication per News Digest to make sure they all get the attention they deserve.

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ICLMG 2024 - The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has a troubling history of skirting the law and engaging in unethical and even unlawful behavior in the course of its work, ranging from their complicity in the rendition, detention and torture of Canadians, harassing Muslims at school and in their workplace, surveilling environmental activists, or misleading the courts. Recently, there have been key revelations of ways that CSIS continues to engage in this troubling pattern.


Duty of candour and misleading the courts



In the past five years, multiple court rulings and reviews1 have found that CSIS has misled the courts and withheld important information from judges when applying for warrants, including that information used in support of these warrants was obtained illegally. This is known as breaching its “duty of candour” towards the courts – meaning CSIS has a duty to tell the truth to the courts, but didn’t. This is particularly important given that CSIS and government lawyers present information to the courts during hearings that are held in private. There is no one present to oppose the application, nor anyone apart from the judge to question the information being provided in support of these warrants – which is problematic in and of itself.


The most significant of these rulings was issued by Federal Court of Canada Justice Patrick Gleeson, in which the court reviewed multiple instances of CSIS breaching its duty of candour over several years. In an incredibly damning ruling, the Justice wrote, “The circumstances raise fundamental questions relating to respect for the rule of law, the oversight of security intelligence activities and the actions of individual decision-makers.”2 Following this ruling, and another from Justice O’Reilly revealing another breach just two months later, ICLMG wrote to the minister of Public Safety at the time, Bill Blair, demanding that he take immediate action to put an end to this abuse of power and hold the CSIS officers involved accountable.3 Alongside the letter, we launched an email action that resulted in more than 1,600 messages being sent to the Public Safety and Justice ministers.


This ruling also resulted in an in-depth review by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA), which found that deep-seated and persistent systemic issues were undermining CSIS’ ability to meet its obligations to the courts.


Despite the fact that the number of rulings and the importance of the issues raised necessitate, not just an immediate response from Canada’s domestic spy agency, but also accountability, the government has been slow to take clear action. The government’s commitment to reforms was significantly undermined when it appealed Justice Gleeson’s finding that the agency breached its duty of candour. The appeal decision led to mixed results. Disappointingly, the Federal Court of Appeal agreed with the government, and set aside the finding that CSIS had breached its duty of candour, despite all the evidence in support. At the same time, it upheld the lower court’s recommendation that, “a comprehensive external review be initiated to fully identify systemic, governance and cultural shortcomings and failures that resulted in CSIS engaging in operational activity that it has conceded was illegal and the resultant breach of candour.”4


Instead, the government should clearly demonstrate how CSIS staff and lawyers who misled the courts are being held to account, and what actions they are taking to change the culture at the spy agency that sees the warrant process as “a necessary evil.”5


We also wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, in 2021, asking this issue be made a priority in his mandate letter for the previous public safety minister, Marco Mendicino.6


Proposed bill from MP Salma Zahid


Liberal MP Salma Zahid has introduced private member’s Bill C-331, An Act to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act (duty of candour). The bill would, among other things, require the Public Safety Minister to annually table in the House of Commons unclassified information on the number of breaches of the duty of candour to the courts, a description of each breach, and any remedial action taken. It would also amend the Oath of Office sworn by the CSIS director and employees to include duties owed to the courts, such as the duty of candour. MP Zahid held public consultations on this issue which informed the language of the bill. We’ve submitted a written brief to MP Salma Zahid, met with her and her staff, participated in a Ottawa roundtable with her and MP Jenna Sudds, and joined MP Zahid at a press conference announcing the tabling of Bill C-331.7


The case of Shamima Begum


In August 2022, the press revealed that the human trafficker, Mohammed al-Rashed, who helped Shamima Begum, a 15-year-old British girl, and two other British girls aged 15 and 16, enter into Daesh (ISIS) controlled territory in Syria in 2015 was a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) asset.8 Following this news, we issued a statement9 regarding the case of Shamima Begum and CSIS, and wrote to the Prime Minister’s office to demand accountability. We also contacted the NSIRA regarding their review of the Shamima Begum case.


Al-Rashed became a CSIS operative following an appeal for asylum at Canada’s embassy in Jordan. Instead of granting him asylum, he was approached by a CSIS official, who recruited him to continue his illegal activities in exchange for citizenship.


How is this case linked to CSIS’s duty of candour? One of the areas where CSIS misled the courts was in its work with sources who engaged in illegal activity. CSIS withheld this information from the courts, thereby breaching its duty of candour.10


At the time in 2015, CSIS did not have clear legal authority to recruit and provide resources to someone engaged in supporting terrorism. That changed, though, with the passage of Bill C-59, the National Security Act, in 2019, which brought in rules that allow for CSIS agents and their sources to engage in certain designated unlawful activities.11 We opposed that change at the time, because it raised deep concerns around what unlawful activities CSIS could be supporting, and we do not believe that the safeguards the government put in place make up for the potential harm these powers can cause.


Regardless of it now being made legal, CSIS still lied to the courts at the time to cover up working with a human smuggler who helped secure passage for dozens of people, including minors, into Daesh territory. Like so much of the legacy of the war on terror, this is a case of impunity for security agencies, while other people face the dire consequences.


But beyond all this, it is imperative that we have an in-depth public conversation about the consistent failures of CSIS to follow the law and to be honest with the courts, and for the impact that Canada’s anti-terrorism activities have on human rights, civil liberties and systemic discrimination in Canada and internationally. A key aspect would be a public inquiry into these issues to then ensure accountability of government officials and national security agents, and to prevent such violations from happening again.


You can take action at iclmg.ca/csis‑not‑above‑law


Tim McSorley is the National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group Source


Version française : SCRS : l’obligation de franchise et l’immunité relative aux activités illégales

Tim McSorley: Confronting the CRA’s Prejudiced Audits

Le 11 septembre 2024, nous avons lancé notre publication 20e anniversaire « Défendre les libertés civiles à l’ère de la sécurité nationale et de la guerre au terrorisme ». Vous pouvez lire le PDF complet ou obtenir une copie papier ici. Au cours des prochains mois, nous partagerons deux textes de la publication dans chaque Revue de l'actualité pour nous assurer qu'ils reçoivent tous l'attention qu'ils méritent.

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ICLMG 2024 - In June 2021, the ICLMG released The CRA’s Prejudiced Audits: Counter‑Terrorism and the Targeting of Muslim Charities in Canada,1 a report detailing how a secretive division within the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) targets Muslim charities in Canada for investigation, audits and even revocation, based on prejudiced and unsupported allegations of a risk of terrorist financing.


The report reveals how, as Canada ramped up attempts to counter terrorist financing after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the CRA and its Charities Directorate were enlisted to monitor the work of Muslim charities in Canada under the unsupported premise that they pose a significant terror financing risk. This work has been carried out largely in secret, with little to no outside review or public substantiation of the so-called risk posed by Muslim charities, allowing for the profiling and targeting of Muslim charities to go largely unnoticed and unchallenged.


The report demonstrates how the Review and Analysis Division (RAD), a little-known division of the CRA, in conjunction with other departments and agencies, targets Muslim charities:


  • The Canadian government’s National Risk Assessment (NRA) for terrorism financing in the charitable sector focuses almost exclusively on Muslim charities, and entirely on charities based in racialized communities, with little to no public substantiation of the risk;
  • This risk assessment is used to justify surveillance, monitoring and audits of leading Muslim charities on questionable grounds;
  • RAD operates largely in secret, in tandem with national security agencies, with little to no accountability and no independent review;
  • Between 2008 and 2015, 75% of all charities revoked by RAD following these secretive audits were Muslim charities, harming the sector and impacting the larger Muslim community in Canada. The number of audits and revocations before and after that period are unknown because they have never been made public.


The report recommended the following:



  1. That the federal government refer this issue to review by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) in order to examine the CRA’s RAD processes overall, and specifically its selecting of Muslim charities for audit, so as to ensure organizations are not being targeted due to racial or religious prejudice;
  2. That the Minister of National Revenue declare an immediate moratorium on targeted audits of Muslim charities by RAD until the review has concluded;
  3. That the Ministry of Finance revisit the anti-terror regulatory, policy and legislative landscape, particularly the 2015 NRA and its impact, particularly on the Muslim community;2
  4. That the federal government amend the NSIRA Act to allow for complaints from the public regarding the CRA’s national security-related activities; and
  5. That NSIRA and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) coordinate to carry out regular reviews of the CRA’s anti-terrorism activities – including the Charities Directorate and RAD – going forward.


The release of our report, combined with our public launch (recorded online)3, led to substantial public interest and advocacy work. Our letter writing campaign4 resulted in more than 2,400 emails sent to government officials calling for action, and we organized a joint letter5 to the Prime Minister that was signed by more than 130 groups supporting our recommendations. The report made a lot of waves in the media, leading to the publication of more than 75 news articles and op-eds. The Prime Minister was forced to respond immediately with concern, saying he “realized that systemic discrimination exists throughout every institution.”6


This issue was a key point at the July 2021 National Summit on Islamophobia, and resulted in the Trudeau administration tasking the taxpayers’ ombudsperson François Boileau with investigating concerns of charities around systemic discrimination, with a particular focus on Muslim charities and other charities led by people of colour. The ombudsperson was also to examine the revenue agency’s efforts to root out discrimination. We raised concerns in the media, and were quoted extensively about worries that the ombudsperson’s mandate may be too narrow to examine this system in its entirety.


Although this investigation was not what we had asked for, we were initially optimistic given the government had reacted quickly. We were also in frequent communication with the office of the ombudsperson to offer support, advice and keep up with the investigation. This is why an update on the review in February 2022 left us surprised and disappointed as it did not even mention Islamophobia once, promised to review ‘fairness’ overall rather than examine specific concerns and added that the office will not investigate the role of Canada’s national security agencies in this issue. We sent an open letter to the Trudeau government sharing these concerns and naming important elements that the review should include moving forward.7


In November 2022, the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson testified at the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights (RIDR) that his office is working with one hand tied behind its back, and that the ensuing report will have gaps, as they cannot access critical information. We responded to this by meeting with the Ombudsperson regarding his revelation, publishing an op-ed8 on the troubling developments and following up with the ministry of Finance regarding updating risk assessment policies for the charitable sector. In response to the significant concerns raised about the Ombudsperson’s investigation, the NSIRA launched its own review of the issue in March 2023 – which was one of our original recommendations in June 2021!


The Ombudsperson’s report, published later that same month, reflected the concerns he expressed at the Senate. Despite his diligence, it did not address the central concerns we had raised. We responded by calling on the government, once again, to suspend the work of RAD and ongoing audits until the NSIRA finishes its review and legislative changes are made.9


You can read more about this issue and take action at iclmg.ca/prejudiced-audits


Tim McSorley is the National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group Source


Version française : Les vérifications préjudiciables de l’Agence du revenu du Canada

Palestinian-Canadians Take Federal Government to Court for Genocide Convention, Charter Rights Violations

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ICJP 06/11/2024 - Representing two Palestinian-Canadian plaintiffs, the Legal Centre for Palestine, alongside a coalition of Canadian legal advocates, has today commenced proceedings in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the Attorney General of Canada, alleging Canada‘s failure to act to prevent genocide is a violation of its legal obligations under the Genocide Convention (1948) and of the plaintiffs’ rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.


The plaintiffs, Hany el Batnigi and Tamer Jarada, have experienced unimaginable loss due to Israel’s year-long assault on the civilian population of Gaza. They are represented by the ‘Coalition for Canadian Accountability in Gaza’, which consists of lawyers from the Legal Centre for Palestine (LCP), the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) – Canada, Hameed Law and Dimitri Lascaris. The Coalition is supported by Justice 48, ICJP’s central office in London, UK,, and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.


As relief, the plaintiffs seek a declaration that Canada has a duty to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide, and that Canada has violated that duty. They also seek a declaration that Canada’s acts and omissions have violated the plaintiffs’ Charter rights to security of the person (section 7) and to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination (section 15).


The Plaintiffs:


Born in Gaza, Hany el Batnigi fled Palestine with his family during the 1967 war. Following his first return to Gaza, in September 2023, Hany was trapped under the Israeli bombardments commencing on October 8th, and was forcefully displaced several times, without help and crossing a war zone. During the entirety of his time trying to survive Israel’s bombardment, Canada took no action to exert influence over Israel. In fact, it continued to allow arms exports to Israel, and took no enforcement action to stop the illegal recruitment of volunteers for engagements with the Israeli military. Canada also actively engaged in military-to-military cooperation with Israel under the Canada-Israel Strategic Partnership, and allowed Canadian charities to funnel money to the benefit of Israel’s Ministry of Defense.


Hany had to make four attempts to cross the border into Egypt. During one of the attempts he was injured in a bomb blast. Although he was able to evacuate on or around November 7, over the subsequent weeks members of his family were killed by Israeli attacks. While many members of his family remain in Gaza, Hany was denied eligibility to sponsor them under Canada’s Gaza Special Measures temporary resident visa program due to his ‘financial situation as a pensioner’.

Tamer Jarada, born in Gaza in 1986, has resided in Canada since 2011. 


When Israel’s bombardments commenced, Tamer’s parents, sisters, uncle, aunt, and other family members sought shelter in an empty apartment owned by Tamer in Gaza City. The entire building was destroyed by an airstrike on 25th October 2023, claiming the lives of Tamer’s father, uncle, aunt, two sisters, nephews, cousins and many other extended family members, while others have been killed in the months since. Those who remain alive endure starvation and medical complications. While some were refused evacuation, members of Tamer’s family (including his sister and her children, his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law) successfully evacuated to Egypt. Tamer’s attempts to sponsor his relatives for safe haven in Canada under the Gaza Special Measures program have been unsuccessful due to administrative dysfunction and elevated security assessments and other limitations not imposed in similar programs for those fleeing conflicts in other regions.


The complaint:


On behalf of these clients, the advocates’ case claims that Canada has failed in its duty to prevent genocide, including by allowing military exports from Canada to Israel, and by refusing to exercise Canada’s influence over Israel. The filing alleges that the Canadian government has failed to deploy available tools, including imposing sanctions against Israeli leaders; preventing Canadian citizens from serving in units of the Israeli military; curtailing Canadian charities’ support for illegal acts in Israel; halting military cooperation with Israel; or suspending the memorandum on the Canada-Israel Strategic Partnership, among other omissions. 


Additionally, the complaint alleges that the Gaza Special Measures program has failed to assist persons in fleeing Gaza.


As regards their Charter rights, the complaint alleges that Canadian authorities’ failure to fulfill its duty to prevent genocide, including its failure to exert any influence over Israel to restrain its bombardment of Gaza, contributed to a violation of Hany’s security of the person, contrary to section 7 of the Charter. It further alleges that Canada’s failure to fulfill this duty, and specifically its failure to provide the Plaintiffs with the governmental assistance they could reasonably expect, is based on their race, religion, and national and ethnic origin as Palestinian-Canadians from Gaza, and that this constitutes discrimination under section 15 of the Charter. Source


The Legal Centre for Palestine: Read our Statement of Claim against the Canadian Government


Over 50 states have called for an immediate arms embargo against Israel


‘Entire population of north Gaza at risk of dying,’ warns UN’s top humanitarian official


UN rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories says she was ‘snubbed’ by Canadian government


Canada’s IHRA Handbook Threatens Both Palestinians and Jews


NEW Ottawa Children's March for Palestine and Lebanon, Sat Nov 9 at 2pm


NEW Tell Canada: Stop building the F-35s that Israel is using to commit genocide


NEW Tell the World’s Governments to End the Genocide

Yves Engler: If it is bad for India to kill ‘terrorists’ abroad, why isn’t it for Israel?

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Spring 07/11/2024 - What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander. If one follows Justin Trudeau’s logic on Israel, India had the right to assassinate Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other Canadians New Delhi labels “terrorist”.


Canadian politicians and media have rightly denounced India’s assassinations in Canada. Recently the RCMP accused Indian diplomats of engaging in clandestine homicides and intimidation campaigns of Sikh dissidents. The revelations are part of an investigation into the June 2023 killing of Nijjar in Surrey, BC. Canadian police say India was responsible for the assassination of the prominent Sikh separatist.


While the Indian government technically denies its role in the killing, they simultaneously justified it. They labeled Nijjar a “terrorist” in 2020 and accused him of participating in “terror training camps” and violent separatist politics. Partly legitimating India’s claims, Ottawa put Nijjar on a no-fly list and froze his bank accounts. The Indian government blames the Khalistani movement for a wave of violence in the 1980s. Reportedly, the bulk of Indians are hostile to Khalistani politics and sympathetic to extreme government measures aimed at weakening it.


Irrespective of Indians’ perspective or any opinion they may have about Sikh separatism, Canadian political leaders rightly oppose the Indian government assassinating Canadians. Just because the Indian government labels someone a terrorist and most of that country’s public is hostile to it doesn’t make it okay to assassinate them internationally. Why doesn’t that logic apply to Palestinians or Lebanese?


Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Trudeau called Israel’s killing of Yahya Sinwar, who grew up in a refugee camp after his family was displaced by Zionist forces, “a measure of justice”. The prime minister said, “the brutal leader of the terrorist organization Hamas, has been eliminated by the IDF.” He added that the assassination “delivers a measure of justice” and “Sinwar’s death ends a reign of terror.”


Two weeks earlier Trudeau made a similar declaration when Hassan Nasrallah was killed during an Israeli bombing in Beirut that killed dozens. “He was the leader of a terrorist organization that attacked and killed innocent civilians, causing immense suffering across the region”, posted Trudeau. Why is it okay for Israel to kill those it labels “terrorists” but not India? Why is Israel granted special rights to label basically everybody it targets as “terrorists”, even UN agencies?


Ottawa’s support for Israel’s terrorist claims has reached the point where Ottawa followed Israel in labeling a Vancouver-based Palestinian prisoner solidarity group a “terror” entity even though no one claims it has engaged in any violence. If we don’t break the pattern, Ottawa may even follow Israel’s recent labeling of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA as a terror entity.


The horrible irony in the politics of terror is that few groups/states have perpetrated as much terror in human history as Israel (certainly for its size and short history). The discrepancy in Canada’s response to recent Israeli and Indian assassinations of “terrorists” reveals a great deal about geopolitics, race and nationalism as well as Israeli exceptionalism. Source

Human Rights Groups Alarmed that Former Deputy Chief of VPD Selected to Investigate Allegations of Illegal Mass Surveillance and Excessive Use of Force Complaint

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BCCLA 01/11/2024 - Yesterday, the Vancouver Police Board considered two complaints filed by Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association in September 2024 about the excessive use of force, discriminate treatment and surveillance of Pro-Palestinian protestors. The Police Board determined that the excessive use of force complaint would be deferred, and that the surveillance complaint would be resolved through an investigation pursuant to s. 171(1)(c), of BC’s Police Act, RSBC, 1996, c. 367.  


The Police Board recommended that a former Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officer who served in the department for many decades, retiring in 2010 as Deputy Chief Constable be appointed as an external investigator. No timeline or assurance of an investigation independent of pro-police bias was provided, nor was any assurance that the challenged surveillance practices would be immediately suspended.  

Meghan McDermott, Policy Director of the BCCLA, who made a public delegation at yesterday’s meeting, says:  

“It’s absurd to expect that a former Deputy Chief of the VPD can impartially investigate the serious allegations of mass surveillance that we have put forward in the complaint. It’s incomprehensible that the Board made such an inappropriate selection after listening to our calls for a robust and unbiased investigation. We are strongly opposed to this appointment, which we think makes a mockery of the civilian oversight model for municipal police in BC.”  

Simone Akyianu, Staff Lawyer at Pivot Legal Society, says: 

“BC’s policing accountability systems are wrought with systemic and other structural barriers, including police bias, that block marginalized groups from achieving any meaningfully accountability. We are dismayed, yet unsurprised by the Vancouver Police Board’s decision to appoint an investigator without any expertise in human rights, and more specifically in addressing anti-Palestinian racism, which includes pervasive forms of anti-Indigenous and anti-Arab animus. The Police Board’s refusal of Pivot’s delegation request demonstrates continued barriers in allowing marginalized members of the public, and human rights organizations that work in community, to achieve any meaningful accountability in respect of the use of discriminate and excessive force against people exercising protected political expression relating to an internationally recognized genocide in Gaza.” 

Meena Dhillon, Managing Lawyer South Asian Legal Clinic of BC, says: 


“We recommended that the Vancouver Police Board appoint an external examiner with expertise in human rights. Instead, the Board appointed former Deputy Chief of the VPD. This is appointment does not meet the requirements of an impartial third-party examiner. It is imperative that an examiner with an intersectional lens and human rights experience investigate this complaint.” Source

Redeye Podcast: Complaints brought against VPD for violence and surveillance at protests

CSIS agent who briefed minister says he has no idea why Abdelrazik was denied travel document

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CBC News 07/11/2024 - A former Canadian Security Intelligence Service agent says CSIS had very little information to indicate whether Abousfian Abdelrazik was a national security threat during his final years in Sudan — information that was shared with the federal government, which is now being sued for denying the Montreal man passage back to Canada. The CSIS agent — identified in Federal Court only as 'T' — testified Wednesday and Thursday as part of Abdelrazik's $27 million lawsuit against the government and former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon.


Abdelrazik, who was born in Sudan and became a Canadian citizen in 1995, was arrested in Sudan during a 2003 trip and interrogated while in custody by CSIS officials about suspected extremist links. The Montreal-based father has denied any involvement with terrorism. Abdelrazik alleges the Canadian government abandoned him in Sudan for six years before the Federal Court ruled in June of 2009 that Ottawa had breached his constitutional rights and ordered him home. Abdelrazik, who has never been charged with any terrorism-related offences, says he was tortured during two periods of detention by the Sudanese intelligence agency. 'T' worked in counterterrorism for CSIS and was involved in Abdelrazik's file for years. The trial has heard already how CSIS first took an interest in Abdelrazik in 1996 due to his association with people suspected of being national security threats.


The CSIS witness testified — off-screen and with voice modulation — about a meeting with Cannon, who was under pressure to grant Abdelrazik an emergency travel document so he could fly back to Canada. The witness told federal lawyers they could not remember the date of the meeting. "From memory, the assessment would be that since Mr. Abdelrazik had travelled to Sudan, the service did not possess new intelligence or significant intelligence to determine if Mr. Abdelrazik, in fact, remained a threat to national security," they said, responding to a question from Paul Champ, the plaintiff's lawyer. The witness testified they also told Cannon that, between 1998 and 2003, CSIS did believe Abdelrazik posed a security threat, and said that belief was sufficient to get the Federal Court to approve a warrant to follow his activities. 


Officials felt Cannon ignored advice: document 


The courtroom has already heard details of the struggle to get Abdelrazik out of Khartoum. He was placed on a UN list of individuals associated with al-Qaeda; that listing prevented member states from providing him transit or entry. That meant commercial airlines would not fly him to Canada.

Starting in 2007, his lawyer Yavar Hameed began petitioning the government to support a request to have him removed from the UN blacklist. According to an agreed statement of facts, CSIS and the RCMP were asked by Foreign Affairs officials if they had any "current and substantive information to support Mr. Abdelrazik's continued listing."


Then CSIS director Jim Judd and RCMP Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell responded with letters in November 2007 indicating that neither agency had current and substantive information regarding Abdelrazik, according to the agreed statement of facts. T testified that CSIS did not have any new intelligence to say whether Abdelrazik was a threat when Cannon denied him an emergency passport in 2009. Emails shown to the witness Thursday showed that Foreign Affairs officials had advised Cannon to approve the travel document. Cannon denied Abdelrazik an emergency passport on April 3, 2009. A Foreign Affairs official felt the minister had "ignored" the advice, according to the email exhibit. Champ asked the CSIS witness if he felt his briefing played a role in Cannon's decision. "I have no idea why Mr. Cannon made the decision he did," said T, speaking in French. Cannon is expected to testify next month.


Abdelrazik was removed from the UN Security Council terrorism blacklist in 2011. Although it was filed in 2009, Abdelrazik's claim is only now being heard in Federal Court after a lengthy delay over the use of sensitive documents. Federal lawyers originally moved a motion to bar the public and media from the courtroom when protected witnesses were called "to avoid injury to Canada's international relations, national defence and/or national security." Federal Court Justice Patrick Gleeson refused and instead agreed to put in measures to protect witnesses' identities from disclosure. CBC News also intervened in the case, arguing the government lawyers' original request "would unjustifiably limit the open court principle and infringe upon the freedoms of expression and of the press." Source


Former foreign ministry official recalls fear that Abdelrazik would end up in Guantanamo


Canada's former peace envoy to Sudan says she believes Canadian was 'tortured badly' in custody

New Podcast: The Copernic Affair (Official Trailer)

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Canadaland 04/11/2024 - A sociology professor’s quiet life in Canada gets turned upside down when he is accused of carrying out a 1980 bomb attack on a synagogue in Paris. Hassan Diab says he is innocent — but French investigators are determined to prove otherwise.


The Copernic Affair is coming January 22nd. Listen - Écoutez


ACTION Canada must take immediate action to end the injustice against Dr. Hassan Diab

RCMP national security unit monitored 'threats' linked to Wet'suwet'en anti-pipeline activism, records show

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CBC News 07/11/2024 - An RCMP national security unit monitored First Nations-led anti-pipeline activism for "potential threats" to the energy, transportation and banking sectors between 2021 and 2022, internal police documents show.


Records obtained by CBC Indigenous reveal Ottawa-based federal policing groups tracked and analyzed protests against TC Energy and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), citing concerns about "anarchist groups" or "fringe environmentalists" sabotaging infrastructure or targeting executives in solidarity with Wet'suwe'ten hereditary chiefs.


It's a concern one of those chiefs feels is unfairly used to justify surveillance of Indigenous rights-based activism. "This really isn't news to us," said Na'Moks (John Ridsdale), a leader of the Tsayu, or Beaver, clan. "It's disturbing, but it's really not unexpected."


The hereditary chiefs have long opposed construction of the now-complete Coastal GasLink pipeline in their unceded northern British Columbia territory, a resistance that included blockades the Mounties raided three times between 2019 and 2021 to enforce a court injunction. In recent years, Na'Moks and others turned their advocacy toward the corporate bottom line, campaigning against RBC for its funding of the pipeline owned by Calgary-based TC Energy.


The documents, released under access to information law after a two-year wait, suggest this caused concern among units like the National Critical Infrastructure Team. "There is a potential for incidents of mischief and/or sabotage to both the energy and transportation sectors, in addition to RBC, carried out by either anarchist groups in solidarity or by fringe environmentalists if tensions continue to escalate or there is an RCMP action that could be perceived as unjust by the activists," the unit warned in October 2022. This assessment appears in an unclassified intelligence report titled "Potential Threats to Energy and Transportation Critical Infrastructure."


The report warns that "adversaries of TC Energy's Coastal GasLink" had called for a day of action following a webinar on Oct. 19, 2022. Na'Moks was one of the "adversaries" who addressed the webinar. He says such labelling won't deter him, but he does feel it's undemocratic. "We want to go berry picking, get our salmon, be who we are, practise our culture, be able to be who we are, and we're being restrained, which is basically the goal of a police state," said Na'Moks. "And when you get into the police saying what you can and cannot do, where you can and cannot go, then you're absolutely into a petrol state. So who are really the bosses here? Is this truly democratic?"


Sociologists raise concerns


Two sociologists say the records raise questions about civil liberties. According to the RCMP, the critical infrastructure unit is responsible for "capturing intelligence and assessing physical and cyber criminal threats." It collaborates with various other entities, including the private sector.


For Tia Dafnos, an associate professor at the University of New Brunswick, the records reinforce, at minimum, the optics that national security police resources are being used to protect corporations and their financial interests. What makes a piece of infrastructure "critical" is not well defined, and that looseness gives national security units broad discretion to "pre-emptively keep an eye on people," she says. "That power of discretion is significant because there's always a way to just end up justifying that surveillance," she said.


Jeffrey Monaghan, an associate professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, said he feels the records show an RCMP interest in controlling dissent that could spark bad publicity.

In the "background" section of its threat assessment, the infrastructure group discusses the "nationwide activist movement" that led to over 40 blockades across the county in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en in 2020. Monaghan suggests the Mounties were caught flat-footed then but clearly don't want to be again. "They don't want to look bad. I think they're sick of looking bad," he said. "I think that all three major Wet'suwet'en raids have resulted in the RCMP looking like a bunch of colonial meathead militaristic goons."


Monaghan singled out a different report: a heavily censored, secret-marked report from the Federal Policing Threat Assessment Section dated Nov. 25, 2022. "On 2022/11/12 a group of seven (7) individuals participated in a climate march in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en people who are opposing the pipeline project [that] took place for a couple of hours in Montreal, QC," it reads. "The group gathered outside Cabot Square Park before walking to C Division RCMP Headquarters and then to RBC Westmount Branch. Although the demonstration was reported peaceful, the speeches during the protest was described as having an aggressive tone as the group held megaphones, posters and banners." Monaghan said, "This is getting into a serious grey zone around freedoms of expression and freedoms of assembly, having police presence there noting down when aggressive bad language is used." Read more - Lire plus


RCMP officer says he was told not to take notes during enforcement at Wet'suwet'en blockade


Amnesty International: Incoming British Columbia government must stop criminalization of Indigenous land defenders

CCLA Condemns Government of Ontario’s Proposal to Imprison the Innocent

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CCLA 28/10/2024 - Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, made the following statement:


Ontario’s proposal to eliminate bail in all cases for certain offences is a direct attack on due process and a violation of the Charter.


A charge is not a conviction. This proposal would send innocent people to jail for years for crimes they did not commit.

To be clear: Ontario is proposing that a person with no criminal record facing a weak case should now be sent directly to jail until a trial takes place – a process that could take up to three years.


As the recent acquittal of Umar Zameer on murder charges made clear, even a serious charge can rest on flimsy evidence and result in an acquittal. It is also deeply concerning that police associations have publicly endorsed the government’s call for the suspension of Charter rights for people in Canada. Source

La désobéissance civile au service des droits humains

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LDL 24/10/2024 - La Ligue des droits et libertés (LDL) considère que les actes de résistance et de désobéissance civile, comme l’action menée au pont Jacques-Cartier le 22 octobre dernier par le Collectif Antigone et Last Generation Canada, sont des modes d’action légitimes et nécessaires pour défendre les droits humains.


Il existe des liens innombrables et étroits entre l’environnement et l’ensemble des droits humains. L’interdépendance des droits met en lumière l’urgence d’agir pour freiner les changements climatiques et les autres crises environnementales, qui mettent en péril les droits à la vie, à la sécurité, au travail, au logement, à la santé, et le droit à un environnement sain, notamment. Or, il s’avère que malgré les mouvements sociaux et les faits scientifiques mis de l’avant depuis des décennies à ce sujet, les gouvernements échouent à mettre en place les mesures nécessaires pour assurer une transition écologique porteuse de justice sociale.


La LDL estime que certaines actions, bien qu’illégales, peuvent s’avérer légitimes et nécessaires pour éveiller les consciences et faire bouger les dirigeant-e-s.


Celles et ceux qui font le choix stratégique d’utiliser la désobéissance civile le font après en être arrivé-e-s au constat que les moyens d’action traditionnels – manifestations, pétitions, campagnes de sensibilisation et autres – ne suffisent pas pour obtenir des changements concrets. Bien qu’ils soient souvent illégaux, les actes de résistance non-violents, décidés en toute conscience politique pour forcer l’éveil de la population et amener les gouvernements à agir, sont essentiels et légitimes pour revendiquer la protection des droits humains.


Dans l’histoire des luttes pour les droits humains, il est arrivé de nombreuses fois que la désobéissance civile contribue à les faire progresser. Pensons au mouvement de grève étudiante et aux manifestations du printemps 2012 pour le droit à l’éducation au Québec, aux luttes pour le droit de vote des femmes ou pour la fin de la ségrégation raciale.


« Les gouvernements ne prennent pas leurs responsabilités en matière de climat. Au contraire, ils participent activement à la détérioration de l’environnement, avec tous les impacts que l’on connaît sur les droits humains et les écosystèmes. Devant cette réalité, les actions directes non-violentes et actes de désobéissance civile deviennent nécessaires pour alerter la population. Il convient de se demander qui représente la plus grande menace en matière d’environnement et de justice : l’inaction des gouvernements ou les actions des activistes maintenant détenu-e-s? », déclare Laurence Guénette, porte-parole de la LDL. Source


Manifestation contre les conditions « dystopiques » imposées aux grimpeurs du pont Jacques-Cartier


Vidéo: Un grimpeur du pont Jacques-Cartier dénonce la criminalisation de l’activisme écologiste

La "frénésie" autour de l'ingérence étrangère jette une ombre sur la communauté chinoise

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Pivot 31/10/2024 - Devant la Commission sur l’ingérence étrangère, des représentant·es de la communauté chinoise au Canada réitèrent que l’enquête ne doit pas se faire au détriment de la communauté. Le sénateur Yuen Pau Woo pointe une « frénésie » autour de l’ingérence étrangère qui mène les autorités et les médias à cibler injustement des personnes chinoises sans fournir de preuves solides, menaçant leurs droits fondamentaux en plus de semer insécurité et division autour d’elles.



Lors d’une série d’audiences publiques de la Commission sur l’ingérence étrangère, qui vient de se conclure à la fin octobre, des représentant·es de la diaspora chinoise ont exprimé leurs préoccupations quant aux répercussions de l’enquête en cours sur l’ingérence étrangère dans les processus électoraux et les institutions démocratiques au niveau fédéral.


La Commission a été créée par le gouvernement du Canada en septembre 2023 afin d’examiner les nombreuses allégations d’ingérence étrangère soulevées notamment par des autorités fédérales comme la Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) et par divers médias. La commissaire Marie-Josée Hogue présentera son rapport final d’ici la fin de l’année.


En audience, Wawa Li, membre de la communauté chinoise montréalaise, déplore que des accusations hâtives et non justifiées ont été lancées contre des personnes et des groupes qui en paient aujourd’hui le prix.


Elle affirme que la manière dont l’enquête et les débats ont été menés menace l’existence même d’organismes et d’institutions au service des membres vulnérables de la communauté chinoise. Elle dénonce aussi la « chasse aux sorcières » ciblant les figures politiques et les universitaires d’origine chinoise.


En entrevue, elle insiste : « S’il y a de l’ingérence étrangère, on veut que le gouvernement la gère en bonne et due forme, mais ça ne doit pas se faire au détriment de la communauté. »


« La perspective que j’ai apportée à l’audience a été complètement marginalisée dans la conversation », affirme Wawa Li. « Malgré le fait qu’elle n’a pas été beaucoup représentée, elle n’est pas moins présente, elle n’est pas moins importante. »


En effet, plusieurs figures politiques et groupes de défense de la communauté chinoise au Canada avaient sonné l’alarme sur le caractère raciste de l’enquête en cours et des discussions qui l’entourent, dont le sénateur indépendant Yuen Pau Woo.


« Une grande partie de l’attention s’est portée sur l’ingérence de la Chine et a injustement ciblé de nombreux membres de la communauté chinoise », dit-il en entrevue.


Il souligne une « frénésie » autour de l’ingérence chinoise, alimentée par une mentalité présentant la Chine comme une menace majeure pour le Canada. « On est tellement enclin à chercher à l’extérieur la cause des problèmes de notre société qu’on a utilisé l’influence et l’ingérence étrangères comme le prisme à travers lequel on tente de résoudre les problèmes. »


Le sénateur Woo se dit contre toute forme d’ingérence étrangère, mais craint que « des réactions excessives et des allégations fallacieuses fassent en réalité plus de mal que de bien ». [...]


« Le pire encore à venir »


Si les allégations d’ingérence étrangère non fondées ont été préjudiciables à la réputation et à la santé mentale de plusieurs membres de la communauté, le sénateur Woo craint « que le pire soit encore à venir ».


Il parle de la loi C-70 sur la lutte contre l’ingérence étrangère, qui vient d’être adoptée en juin dernier. « Il s’agit d’une loi sérieuse, mais mal définie, qui pourrait donner lieu à des abus. »


Selon la nouvelle loi, explique-t-il, « toute personne perçue comme étant associée à une entité étrangère, exprimant une opinion qui semble s’aligner avec une entité étrangère plutôt qu’avec le Canada, et qui participe ensuite à un processus politique pourrait être identifiée comme quelqu’un qui intervient au nom d’une entité étrangère et poursuivie, avec une peine maximale d’emprisonnement à perpétuité ».


« C’est le grand danger auquel on fait face aujourd’hui. C’est une trahison majeure des valeurs internationalistes que le Canada prétend défendre, de notre croyance proclamée en la liberté d’expression et d’association, en le respect de la justice et de l’équité. »


Le sénateur avait averti que le projet de loi C-70 pourrait avoir un effet dissuasif sur l’engagement civique, en particulier pour les communautés de la diaspora au Canada.


En tant que jeune impliquée dans sa communauté, Wawa Li exprime sa profonde inquiétude pour l’avenir de sa génération face à la stigmatisation des politicien·nes et des universitaires d’origine chinoise dont elle témoigne aujourd’hui. Elle souligne que cela fait écho à l’histoire d’exclusion que la communauté a vécue il y a cent ans, lorsque la loi de l’immigration chinoise interdisait l’arrivée de pratiquement tou·tes les immigrant·es chinois·es et obligeait toute personne d’origine chinoise à s’enregistrer auprès du gouvernement canadien. Read more - Lire plus

Kenya: Security Forces Abducted, Killed Protesters

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Human Rights Watch 06/11/2024 -  Kenyan security forces abducted, arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and killed perceived leaders of the anti-Finance Bill protests between June and August 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. Security officers held abductees, who they had detained without respecting their legal rights, in unlawful detention facilities, including in forests and abandoned buildings, and denied them access to their families and lawyers.


The protests, organized largely by people between the ages of 18 and 35, began weeks earlier but gained momentum after the introduction of the Finance Bill 2024 in parliament on June 18, as protesters expressed outrage over provisions that would raise taxes on essential goods and services to meet International Monetary Fund revenue targets. On June 25 at about 2:30 p.m., a crowd estimated by the security team at parliament to have been between 3,000 to 4,000 people broke through the parliament fence, where they encountered anti-riot police officers, who shot directly at the crowd, killing several. The protesters overpowered the police and entered parliament through the back entrance, destroying furniture and other items.


“The ongoing deadly crackdown on protesters further taints Kenya’s already dismal human rights record,” said Otsieno Namwaya, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should end the abductions, publicly denounce rhetoric that attempts to criminalize peaceful protests, and ensure prompt investigation and fair prosecution of security officers credibly implicated in the abuses.” President William Ruto described the protesters’ action as an “invasion” and treason. On June 26 the president withdrew the bill, but police continue to track and abduct social media activists believed to be protest leaders and protesters whose faces were caught on CCTV cameras at parliament.


Between August and September, Human Rights Watch interviewed 75 people in the Mathare, Kibera, Rongai, Mukuru Kwa Njenga, and Githurai neighborhoods of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. They included former abductees, witnesses, journalists, parliamentary staff, relatives of abducted and missing people, other protesters, human rights activists, and police officers. The interviewees described how, several weeks after the protests, security officers in civilian clothes with their faces concealed were still hunting down, forcibly disappearing, and killing perceived protest leaders. Witnesses and survivors of abductions said abductors drove unmarked cars whose registration plates were repeatedly changed, making it difficult to trace the owners. Human Rights Watch research shows that the officers were largely drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, supported by the Rapid Deployment Unit, military intelligence, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, and the National Intelligence Service.


The abductees said they were seized from their homes, jobs, and the street, and detained for prolonged periods without being charged, even though Kenyan law requires arraignment of suspects in court within 24 hours. A 28-year-old protester said he was picked up during the protests on June 27 by men in civilian clothes with covered faces. He was detained briefly at Nairobi’s central police station, then taken with other people to an abandoned building at a location he did not recognize. “The place looked like it was used for torture, with blood stains on the floor,” he said. “About eight armed officers threw me on the floor and beat me with their gun butts on my ribs and kicked me for like two hours until I bled. They threatened to kill me while asking ‘Who is funding this thing? Who is supporting you, protesters?’”


In August, the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said it had documented at least 73 abductions. But three senior staff told Human Rights Watch that they stopped public updates due to threats and pressure from senior government officials. While some of those abducted have been released, worried relatives of other missing people, who they suspect to have been abducted by security forces, continue to search for them. Bodies of some of those reported missing have been found in rivers, forests, abandoned quarries, and mortuaries; showing signs of torture, with some mutilated and dismembered. Multiple people interviewed by Human Rights Watch, including former detainees, said the police accused them of attempting to overthrow the government and threatened to kill them if they did not disclose the identities of protest leaders and funders.


Several victims said that police officers punched, slapped, kicked, and beat them with rubber whips, sticks, plastic pipes, and in some instances butt stocks of firearms. At least two people said police officers used pliers to pull out their pubic hair and nails during interrogation. Nearly all people previously detained said police denied them food and water, and asked families to pay between Ksh3,000 (US$23) and Ksh10,000 ($76.9) in bribes for their release. Some family members who witnessed abductions said they could not locate relatives abducted by people they believed to be police in civilian clothes. Others said they saw police who shot their relatives dead taking the bodies away. Read more - Lire plus

Law to ban UNRWA amounts to criminalization of humanitarian aid

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Amnesty International 29/10/2024 - Reacting to the news that the Israeli parliament has passed a law to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating inside Israel, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said:  


“This unconscionable law is an outright attack on the rights of Palestinian refugees. It is clearly designed to make it impossible for the agency to operate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by forcing the closure of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem and ending visas for its staff. It amounts to the criminalization of humanitarian aid and will worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.


“UNRWA has played an indispensable role in offering, food, water, medical aid, education and shelter to the nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who have been forcibly displaced, subjected to an engineered famine, and stand at serious risk of genocide as a result of Israel’s relentless offensive in the last 12 months. This law flies in the face of the International Court of Justice order to Israel to ensure sufficient humanitarian assistance and facilitate basic services.


“UNRWA has been a lifeline for Palestinian refugees in the occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank and in neighbouring countries throughout the 75 years since its foundation. The plight of the Palestinian people would be even more severe if not for UNRWA’s tireless work over the last three quarters of a century.


“This appalling, inhumane law will only exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians, who have endured unimaginable hardship and whose need for global support is greater than ever. The international community must be quick to condemn it in the strongest possible terms and exert any influence they have on the Israeli government to repeal it.”


Background


Founded in 1949, the UNRWA is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. It is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States. 


UNRWA has defined Palestine refugees as “persons whose regular place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.”


At a time when Israel, the occupying power, continues to flagrantly violate its obligations vis-à-vis Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, UNRWA has long served as a sole lifeline, offering indispensable humanitarian aid, education and shelter. The agency also provides desperately needed aid for millions of other Palestinian refugees living in neighbouring Arab countries.


In January 2024 over a dozen states and the European Union announced the suspension of funding to UNRWA, following allegations that individual staff members were involved in the 7 October attacks carried out by Hamas and other armed groups in southern Israel. UNRWA immediately dismissed nine employees over the allegations at the time.


Almost all of the states that had previously suspended funding for UNRWA have since reinstated their financial support, aside from the United States, where funding remains frozen until at least March 2025. Source


Joint Statement: Defend UNRWA from Israeli Ban and Prevent Catastrophic Consequences for Palestinians


Israeli ministries suspend ties with daily Haaretz over 'freedom fighters' comment: ‘If it looks like ethnic cleansing, it probably is,’ said Haaretz in editorial on Israel's recent offensive in northern Gaza


They Got 60 Days in Jail for Protesting Israel’s Largest Arms Maker — and Say That’s a “Huge Victory”


Project 2025 Creators Have a Plan to 'Dismantle' Pro-Palestine Movement


Cops arrested a Jewish-Israeli professor opposed to Israel’s genocide under a UK anti-terrorism law – but people are not having it


Palestinian student stripped of UK visa after Gaza remarks wins human rights appeal

ACLU Asks Supreme Court to Hear Guantánamo Attorney’s Lawsuit Challenging CIA’s Excessive Secrecy

This cert petition in Connell v. CIA follows an appeals court ruling that allowed the CIA to continue abusing Glomar responses to evade accountability

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ACLU 04/11/2024 - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of the District of Columbia are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review Connell v. CIA, a case that could place important limits on the government's ability to hide behind "neither confirm nor deny" responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests when public evidence makes clear that requested records exist.


The case stems from a 2017 FOIA request by James G. Connell III, an attorney for one of the men detained at the Guantánamo Bay military prison who was subjected to the CIA torture program and sent, along with other “high-value detainees,” to the Camp VII facility at the prison. Mr. Connell filed a FOIA request with the CIA seeking information about the agency’s “operational control” over that detention facility. Despite extensive public evidence of the CIA's role there — including a Senate Intelligence Committee report, military commission testimony, and declassified government documents — the CIA produced some records but issued a so-called “Glomar response,” refusing to confirm or deny whether any other responsive records exist.


“The CIA’s claim to secrecy in this case is as extreme as it is absurd, given the extensive public record about the CIA’s connection to Camp VII,” said Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney with ACLU’s Center for Democracy. “The CIA has once again stretched Glomar past its breaking point, and the courts should not be roped into endorsing a patent secrecy charade like this one. We hope the Court takes this rare opportunity to break the CIA’s bad habit of using and abusing Glomar to evade crucial transparency and accountability.”


Mr. Connell represented himself in the district court, and the ACLU became counsel on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In August 2024, the D.C. Circuit ruled for the CIA, concluding that courts can only consider the CIA's own official statements when evaluating the legality of Glomar responses. The ACLU’s cert petition asks the Supreme Court to resolve a split between the D.C. Circuit and the Second Circuit, which has held that courts must consider all relevant evidence, regardless of its source, when assessing the plausibility of a Glomar response. As the ACLU’s petition explains, the D.C. Circuit's rule effectively requires judges to "bury their heads in the sand," ignoring even official government documents that contradict an agency's secrecy claims.


The cert petition emphasizes that Congress intended FOIA to end what it called a "period of selective disclosures, managed news, half-truths, and admitted distortions" by those in power. The ACLU argues that the D.C. Circuit's decision instead gives agencies free rein to maintain such distortions through implausible secrecy claims. If left unchecked, this ruling threatens to further gut FOIA's effectiveness as a tool for public oversight of government activities. Source


‘He never found peace’: Former Guantanamo detainee from Pakistan dies after years of suffering


After Plea Deals Revived, Biden Urged to Transfer Uncharged Men at Guantánamo


US war court appeals panel agrees to review the 2010 conviction by guilty plea of the Canadian "child soldier" Omar Khadr

COURT DISPATCH: 'Ecoterrorism' Bail Hearing in Pennsylvania Mink Farm Case

Unicorn Riot 05/11/2024 - Unicorn Riot reported on Monday, November 5, 2024 from the Northumberland County Courthouse in Sunbury, PA. Two defendants are being held on bail, $150,000 each, hit with a wide range of charges - including 'ecoterrorism' - for allegedly releasing 683 mink from the Richard Stahl & Sons fur farm on Oct. 19.


According to media statements by Mark Stahl of the Stahl mink farm, each mink was valued at $50 each, placing the total value of mink initially freed (most were recovered) at under $35,000 - making the total $300,000 bail for the 2 defendants over 8 times this amount.


Judge Paige Rosini said she’ll decide in next few days re: request for reduced bail by defense counsel for Celeste Legere and Cara Mitrano - both face 14 charges & decades in prison for their alleged role in the Oct. 19 release of 683 mink from the Stahl & Sons fur farm.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan urges government to scrap anti-terror bill

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The Express Tribune 04/11/2024 - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Sunday expressed concern over the recently introduced Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2024 which seeks to grant military and civil armed forces the authority to keep individuals facing terrorism charges in 'preventive' detention for up to three months.


In a statement, the human rights watchdog said the bill will authorise the state to detain individuals for 'inquiry' for up to three months merely based on 'credible information' or 'reasonable suspicion' without judicial oversight on the presumption that they pose a threat to national security or public order.


Given the recent upsurge in militancy and significant loss of life, HRCP stressed the urgent need to address the country's "deteriorating security and law and order". "Preventive detention is not, however, the solution as such powers are liable to be abused," the HRCP asserted. It regretted that the state has "a poor track record of using such mechanisms fairly, transparently or judiciously". This, it pointed out, was evident from the long incarceration of climate justice activist Baba Jan and former legislator Ali Wazir on "trumped-up charges of inciting terrorism, and more recently, the inclusion of rights activist Mahrang Baloch in the Fourth Schedule". In the current political climate, there is also the fear that preventive detention may be used against political rivals, the body warned.


"Of deep concern is the fact that the bill also empowers the armed forces to detain individuals on mere suspicion and without civilian or judicial oversight." It alleged that this was tantamount to legalising the use of enforced disappearances and internment centres, with scant regard for the right to due process and fair trial as protected by Articles 10 and 10A of the Constitution. Additionally, it noted that the grounds for such detention are imprecise and subjective and do not meet the threshold for the derogation of rights under Article 4, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. "As such, the amendment is open-ended rather than referring to temporary or exceptional circumstances." HRCP strongly urged the government to withdraw this bill and formulate legislation and a plan of action that cannot be abused as a means of violating citizens' fundamental rights. Read more - Lire plus


Imaan Mazari, husband’s detention in terrorism case violation of rights to due process: Amnesty


HRCB condemns targeting of activists and political leaders in Balochistan

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OTHER NEWS - AUTRES NOUVELLES

Artificial intelligence

Intelligence artificielle


The dangerous acceleration of remote-controlled warfare


Meta to let US national security agencies and defense contractors use Llama AI


U.S. Military Makes First Confirmed OpenAI Purchase for War-Fighting Forces

Attacks on dissent

Attaques contre la dissidence


Militarization in Palo Quemado, Ecuador, to facilitate Canadian mining activities


USW: Labour unions express concerns about proposed free trade agreement with Ecuador


Submission to 5-year review of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise

Criminalization of dissent

Criminalisation de la dissidence


Civil society support to refugees and other migrants in Europe: The need to end the backlash on civil society space


Santa Marta Community and International Allies Call on Appeals Court to Reaffirm the Innocence of the Five Salvadoran Water Defenders

Criminalization of the opposition

Criminalisation de l'opposition


Hundreds protest in Turkey against mayor's arrest over alleged terror links

Encryption

Cryptage


Encrypted Chat App ‘Session’ Leaves Australia After Visit From Police

Freedom of speech

Liberté d'expression


Netflix Wiped Most of Its “Palestinian Stories” Collection — and Erased the Whole Thing in Israel

Freedom of the press

Liberté de la presse


'An Outright Assault On Journalism': Former Conservative MP and Harper-era cabinet minister Christopher Alexander accuses without proof journalist David Pugliese of being a Russian agent


Experts: Apple’s removal of news apps in Russia sets 'dangerous precedent'

Islamophobia

Islamophobie


Amira Elghawaby: Statement — Meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada on the ongoing threat to belonging and inclusion of Canadian Muslims

Migrant and refugee rights

Droits des migrant.es et réfugié.es


Concern mounts over how immigration cuts will hit slow-moving program for Sudanese war refugees


ICE is Training Civilians to Conduct Violent Raids on Immigrants


EFF Lawsuit Discloses Documents Detailing Government’s Social Media Surveillance of Immigrants


EU leaders: Change course and end your war on migrants

Police


LDL: Les interceptions routières sans motif sont sources de profilage racial


Why is Montreal appealing a historic ruling on racial profiling by its police?


Montréal paye-t-elle systématiquement les frais d’avocats des policiers impliqués dans des décès?


UK Police push to make it harder to prosecute officers after Chris Kaba shooting

Privacy and surveillance

Vie privée et surveillance


EU: Member States Should Vote ‘No’ on UN Cybercrime Treaty


The Enemy Within: How the Government spent decades spying on Kiwi activist


Sandvine must make good on its commitments and stop harming human rights


Armenia: Surveillance Bill Threatens Rights

Torture


Abu Ghraib Torture Trial Against Virginia-Based Defense Contractor Begins Again

Miscellaneous

Divers


Webinar: Should Hate Speech Be Dealt with through Human Rights Law?


Sudan’s civil war has left at least 62,000 dead by our estimate − but the true figure could be far higher


Arrestation d’un doctorant français en Tunisie


Weaving Liberation: A vision for digital justice organising in Europe


Peace Activism on November 11th

ICLMG ACTIONS DE LA CSILC

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Canada: Abolish rights-violating terrorist entities list!

On October 15, 2024, the Canadian government placed the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network on Canada’s terrorist entities list. While ostensibly a tool to protect the safety and security of people in Canada and internationally, the list is an arbitrary political tool that undermines freedom of association, of expression and due process in the courts. Its effectiveness as a national security tool has never been demonstrated in a manner that justifies its use.


Due to these deep flaws, and more, the ICLMG has consistently called for the list to be abolished since the Canadian coalition’s founding in 2002. Please join us in urging the Canadian government to abolish the rights-violating terrorist entities list once and for all. Thank you!

ACTION

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Le Canada doit abolir la liste des entités terroristes! & partagez sur Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

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Uphold rights and liberties at protests and encampments across Canada!

Please join us in calling for the following:

  • Officials must stop equating Charter-protected expression and dissent with “support for terrorism,” and refrain from calling for law enforcement to forcibly end or prevent protest activities.
  • Law enforcement agencies must refrain from acting against protesters exercising their Charter-protected rights, including at encampments.
  • The Ontario legislature must immediately reverse the keffiyeh ban.
  • Canada must call for a permanent ceasefire and to halt all arms sales, transfers and military aid to Israel.
ACTION
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Canada: Remove the national security exemptions from Bill C-27!

Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, has been introduced by the federal government with the promise that it would enhance privacy protections, adequately regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and protect human rights. The bill, however, is not up to the task. Please join us in denouncing the dangerous national security related exemptions in the bill.

ACTION
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Canada: Do not purchase armed drones

The ICLMG is a member of the No Armed Drones campaign

In the government's proposal seeking bids for its drone program it laid out disturbing scenarios for Canadian military drone use: One scenario described drones being used to surveil activists protesting a (theoretical) G20 Summit in Quebec, helping the security team intercept and identify the occupants of a vehicle, who are “anti-capitalist radicals” intending to “hang a banner concerning global warming.” Another scenario modeled after US drone strike programs features a drone bombing “Fighting Age Males” in the Middle East after spotting one of them “holding a small radio or cell phone." The initial cost estimate is $5 billion with billions more to operate the drones over their 25-year lifespan.

ACTION
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CSIS isn't above the law!

In recent years, at least three court decisions revealed the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) engaged in potentially illegal activities and lied to the courts. This is utterly unacceptable, especially given that this is not the first time these serious problems have been raised. CSIS cannot be allowed to act as though they are above the law.



Send a message to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino demanding that he take immediate action to put an end to this abuse of power and hold those CSIS officers involved accountable, and for parliament to support Bill C-331, An Act to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act (duty of candour). Your message will also be sent to your MP and to Minister of Justice David Lametti.

ACTION

Canada must protect Hassan Diab!

Send an email using ICLMG’s one-click tool and share widely!

Letter in English + Lettre en français


Sign and share the LeadNow petitions to protect Hassan from further injustice

Petition in EnglishPétition en français


For more information on the case of Hassan Diab, read our webcomic, watch our animated version of the comic, or visit justiceforhassandiab.org.

Canada must repatriate all Canadians detained in NE Syria now!

On January 20, 2023, Federal Court Justice Henry Brown ruled that Canada must repatriate Canadians illegally and arbitrarily detained in northeast Syria. On February 6, 2023, the Canadian government filed an appeal and asked that the Brown ruling be set aside and placed on hold while the appeal plays out. This is unacceptable. 


Every day the government fails to bring these Canadians home, it places their lives at risk from disease, malnutrition, violence, and ongoing military conflicts, including bombing by Turkey’s military. United Nations officials have even found that the conditions faced by Canadians in prison are akin to torture. Please click below to urge the federal government to repatriate all Canadians illegally & arbitrarily detained in northeast Syria without delay.

ACTION

Please share on Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

21 years of fighting deportation to torture: Justice for Mohamed Harkat Now!

December 10, 2023 - ironically Human Rights Day - marked the 21st "anniversary" of the arrest of Mohamed Harkat under Canada's rights-violating security certificate regime. For Mr. Harkat, it's been two decades of fighting deportation to torture, 16 years of harassment and intrusive surveillance, arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, secret trials, PTSD: enough is enough! We call for justice for Moe Harkat now! Watch - Visionnez


TAKE ACTION: Stop Moe Harkat's deportation to torture!


ACTION: Arrêtez la déportation vers la torture de Mohamed Harkat!

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Reform Canada's extradition law now!

Canada’s extradition system is broken. One leading legal expert calls it “the least fair law in Canada.” It has led to grave harms and rights violations, as we’ve seen in the case of Canadian citizen Dr Hassan Diab. It needs to be reformed now.



Click below to send a message to urge Prime Minister Trudeau, the Minister of Justice and your Member of Parliament to reform the extradition system before it makes more victims. And share on Facebook + Twitter + Instagram. Thank you!


Version française: Le Canada doit réformer la loi sur l'extradition! + Partagez sur Facebook + Twitter + Instagram


Phone PM Justin Trudeau


TAKE ACTION: Justice for Hassan Diab!


Just Peace Advocates' action: Write a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau: Say “No" to a second extradition of Hassan Diab

ACTION

Canada must protect encryption!

Canada’s extradition system is broken. One leading legal expert calls it “the least fair law in Canada.” It has led to grave harms and rights violations, as we’ve seen in the case of Canadian citizen Dr Hassan Diab. It needs to be reformed now.



Click below to send a message to urge Prime Minister Trudeau, the Minister of Justice and your Member of Parliament to reform the extradition system before it makes more victims. And share on Facebook + Twitter + Instagram. Thank you!


Regardez la vidéo avec les sous-titres en français + Agir

ACTION
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Protect our rights from facial recognition!

Facial recognition surveillance is invasive and inaccurate. This unregulated tech poses a threat to the fundamental rights of people across Canada. Federal intelligence agencies refuse to disclose whether they use facial recognition technology. The RCMP has admitted (after lying about it) to using facial recognition for 18 years without regulation, let alone a public debate regarding whether it should have been allowed in the first place. Send a message to Prime Minister Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair calling for a ban now.

ACTION

December to June 2024 - Décembre à juin 2024

Thanks to the support of our members and donors, so far in 2024 we have been able to work on the following:


  • Bill C-20, Public Complaints and Review Commission Act - which would FINALLY create an independent watchdog for CBSA
  • Bill C-27, Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022 - which includes the very problematic Artificial Intelligence and Data Act
  • Advocating for the protection of international assistance from anti-terrorism laws after the adoption of Bill C-41
  • Bill C-63: The very concerning Online Harms Act
  • Bill C-70: The new and highly controversial Foreign Interference legislation
  • Parliamentary study on Transparency of the Department of National Defence
  • Biometrics guidance & other privacy issues with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
  • Palestine and the right to dissent
  • Combatting Racism & Islamophobia
  • Repatriation of all Canadians detained in Northeastern Syria
  • Justice for Dr Hassan Diab
  • Mohamed Harkat & Security certificates
  • Canada’s 4th Universal Periodic Review
  • Work with the international Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism
  • The UN Counter-terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) Canada assessment
  • The UN Cybersecurity Treaty & the EU AI Convention


What we have planned for the rest of 2024!


  • Pressuring lawmakers and officials to protect our civil liberties from the negative impact of national security as well as opposing the discourse of “countering terrorism” to repress dissent, such as protests and encampments in support of Palestinian rights and lives.
  • Opposing the weaponization of concerns around foreign interference to unnecessarily increase national security powers, which will greatly affect rights and liberties of Canadians, and will most likely lead to more harassment and xenophobia
  • Ensuring that the Canadian government’s proposals on “online harms” do not violate fundamental freedoms, or exacerbate the silencing of racialized and marginalized voices
  • Protecting our privacy from government surveillance, including facial recognition, and from attempts to weaken encryption, along with advocating for good privacy law reform
  • Addressing the lack of regulation on the use of AI in national security, including proposed exemptions for national security agencies
  • Fighting for Justice for Mohamed Harkat, an end to security certificates, and addressing problems in security inadmissibility
  • Ensuring Justice for Hassan Diab and reforming Canada’s extradition law
  • The return of the rest of the Canadian citizens and the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children indefinitely detained in Syrian camps
  • The end to the CRA’s prejudiced audits of Muslim-led charities
  • Greater accountability and transparency for the Canada Border Services Agency
  • Greater accountability and transparency for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
  • Advocating for the repeal of the Canadian No Fly List, and for putting a stop to the use of the US No Fly List by air carriers in Canada
  • Keeping you and our member organizations informed via the News Digest
  • Publishing a collection of essays written by amazing partners on the work of the ICLMG for our 20th anniversary
  • And much more! Read more - Lire plus


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Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement les positions de la CSILC - The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions of ICLMG.

THANK YOU

to our amazing supporters!


We would like to thank all our member organizations, and the hundreds of people who have supported us over the years, including on Patreon! As a reward, we are listing below our patrons who give $10 or more per month (and wanted to be listed) directly in the News Digest. Without all of you, our work wouldn't be possible!


James Deutsch

Bill Ewanick

Kevin Malseed

Brian Murphy

Colin Stuart

Bob Thomson

James Turk

John & Rosemary Williams

Jo Wood

The late Bob Stevenson


Nous tenons à remercier nos organisations membres ainsi que les centaines de personnes qui ont soutenu notre travail à travers les années, y compris sur Patreon! En récompense, nous nommons ci-dessus nos mécènes qui donnent 10$ ou plus par mois et voulaient être mentionné.es directement dans la Revue de l'actualité. Sans vous tous et toutes, notre travail ne serait pas possible!



Merci!