Canadian Spy agency hid fact that their own source lied in terror case

[JohnyCanuck]

It's no secret that many DUers (not to mention Alex Jones' fans) believe the terror threat is greatly overblown in order to justify to the public government instituted repressive measures, the repeal of accustomed civil rights inherent in the western democratic tradition, and engagement in foreign wars for resources and geopolitical advantage. Well CSIS, the Canadian Security and Intelligence(????)Service just goes and ads more fuel to the fire by using as a witness in a terror case an informant who failed two lie detector tests and then they concealed this fact from the court for 7 years.

Note that in these types of trials the defendant's lawyers do not have the customary right to see all the evidence against their client (CSIS can presents this to the judge in private to protect the confidentiality of witnesses), or to cross examine the witnesses testifying for the government against their client.

Spy agency hid fact that source lied in Harkat case

Canada's spy agency concealed for seven years the fact that a secret source in the Mohamed Harkat terrorism case had failed a polygraph test, a Federal Court of Canada judge revealed Friday.

And in a letter that was publicized by Federal Court Judge Simon Noel, a top Canadian Security and Intelligence Service official said the agency's inexplicable gaffe has sparked an exhaustive internal review of how it handles human sources.

“The failure to include relevant information in the source matrix was inexcusable and is a matter of profound concern to the Service,” CSIS's senior counsel Michael Duffy said in the letter.

In a second letter that Judge Noel made public Friday, CSIS admitted having administered a polygraph to its source in the Harkat case in both 2002 and 2008, after his “activities and associations” came under suspicion.

SNIP

Norman Boxall, a lawyer for Mr. Harkat, said Friday that the polygraph results, “aren't just something that was sitting in a dusty corner. They buried them both. From what has been supplied to us, it's hard to imagine that there is anything other than a deliberate choice to be less than full and frank with the court.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/spy-agency-hid-fact-that-source-lied-in-harkat-case/article1171641/

[JohnyCanuck]

1. The anti-democratic nature of Canada's Security Certificate trials

Canada : Security Certificates -
Time for Reform

Five Muslim men face deportation – to countries where they are at risk of torture – following the issuing of “security certificates” naming them as national security threats in Canada. Four are currently in detention without charge, while another was recently released under stringent bail conditions. (The suspect on bail is Mohammed Harkat, the defendent in the proceedings discussed in the Globe and Mail article in the OP /JC)

Amnesty International is concerned that the security certificate process violates a number of fundamental human rights.

Security certificates are issued under the Immigration and Refugee Act and apply only to non-citizens (visitors, refugees or permanent residents). They must be signed by both the Minister of Citizenship & Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness. The “reasonableness” of the certificate is then reviewed by the Federal Court. During this process – which may extend for many months and even several years – any immigration proceedings involving the individual in question are suspended. Foreign nationals are automatically detained. Permanent residents may be also detained if a deemed a danger or likely to fail to attend court proceedings, which, in effect, means that most are also detained.

Much of the evidence in security certificate cases is heard in camera, with only the Federal Court judge and government lawyers and witnesses present. Detainees receive a summary of some of the evidence, however, the precise allegations and the source of the allegations remain unknown. Evidence may be presented in court in the absence of both the detainee and their lawyer, making the cross-examination of key witnesses impossible.

http://www.amnesty.ca/take_action/actions/canada_certificates.php