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Revue de l'actualit� - News Digest 
10 d�cembre 2015 - December 10th, 2015 
Certificats de s�curit�
Security certificates


The ICLMG read the following statement today at a press conference on Parliament Hill.

ICLMG 10/12/2015 - Last August 2015, the federal government launched deportation proceedings against Mohamed Harkat, 20 years after he first arrived to Canada and claimed the refugee status. Mohamed Harkat was arrested on December 10, 2002 under a security certificate, and since he has been in a legal limbo. He stayed three years in jail, and after he was released, he was subjected to the strictest conditions of house arrest. This deportation decision would be the first step towards the removal of Mohamed Harkat from his peaceful life in Canada to torture and very likely disappearance and execution. The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that terror suspects can only be deported in "exceptional circumstances" to countries where they face a substantial risk of torture. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, grave violations of human rights are still common in Algeria. Can Canada really accept in good conscience the diplomatic assurances that would be given to deport Mohamed Harkat to Algeria? We do not believe it can. Today, we ask the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, to immediately stop the deportation procedures against Mohamed Harkat. We add: Does this government want to be remembered for sending a refugee back to torture or execution? ICLMG believes that Mohamed Harkat should be allowed to stay in Canada with his wife. After more than a decade of legal fights, secrecy, physical and emotional distress, it is time to give Mohamed his rights and his life back.

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Version fran�aise: L'expulsion de Mohamed Harkat doit �tre annul�e imm�diatement

Harkat calls on Liberal government to cancel his deportation

Mohamed Harkat risque d'�tre maltrait� s'il est renvoy� en Alg�rie, dit Amnistie
Vie priv�e
Privacy  

Ann Cavoukian: Encryption is crucial to our privacy and freedom   

The Globe and Mail 09/12/2015 - The aftermath of any major terrorist attack such as the recent tragedy in Paris appears to predictably include a call for new privacy-invasive policies that restrict freedom. After the attacks on 9/11, it was the passing of the USA PATRIOT Act; after the 2014 attack on Parliament Hill, it was the passing of Bill C-51. [...] The target is now the use of strong encryption. Before the Paris attacks, intelligence agencies and pro-surveillance politicians were already resisting the widespread adoption of encryption. A number of notable companies nonetheless enabled encryption by default to protect the data on mobile devices such as cellphones and tablets. After Paris, this resistance has grown into an uproar, calling for regulations restricting the use of encryption, and the introduction of mandatory backdoors into encrypted communications - all in the name of protecting us from terrorism. [...] We stand to gain far more from strengthening encryption than we do by curtailing it. Repressive regulations introducing backdoors would only serve to hamper the implementation of strong security controls that are absolutely essential in the digital world. We must stand against any government measure that would compromise or weaken encryption. Encryption is critical to protecting a wide swath of information and a vital component of preserving our privacy and freedom.

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Trevor Timm: How not to report on the encryption 'debate'

Why Silicon Valley won't enlist in anti-terror fight
R�flexions sur la guerre au terrorisme
Reflections on the war on terror


The Globe and Mail 10/12/2015 - [This week] Canada quietly disclosed in its annual Public Accounts report that it had paid $1.7-million to an Arab immigrant named Benamar Benatta - one of the first, and most egregious, victims of racial profiling after 9/11. [...] Mr. Benatta was being detained in the U.S. under the little-known "hold until cleared" rule implemented by then-attorney general John Ashcroft that allowed the government to detain immigrant suspects indefinitely until they were proven to be innocent of any ties to terrorism. In Mr. Benatta's case, he was cleared by the FBI a month after 9/11, but he continued to be held until a federal court ordered all charges dropped. The judge ultimately called the U.S. case against Mr. Benatta a "sham," a  "subterfuge" hiding the fact that he was detained and interrogated solely because of his religion and nationality. In 2006, Mr. Benatta was returned to Canada, where he was eventually granted asylum. He sued the Canadian government, claiming his illegal deportation to the U.S. was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Canadian government finally settled the case. [...] I spoke with Mr. Benatta this week, and he said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences in prison. "I was labelled a terrorist because I happened to be Muslim ... no question," he said. When I asked him about the racially charged rhetoric in the U.S. this week, he sighed and said: "I'm surprised to see this kind of hate speech getting such strong support ... After all the investigations about torture and everything else that went on in the U.S., I thought the public was having second thoughts about this kind of behaviour."

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How fear became the politician's weapon of choice

"I want a world of peace": In exclusive interview UK labour head Jeremy Corbyn opposes bombing Syria

Trevor Timm: Obama's speech reminded Americans that the war with Isis is still illegal

Defense contractors cite "benefits" of escalating conflicts in the Middle East

Asie centrale: Un terreau peu fertile pour les djihadistes
 
Autres nouvelles - More news
Anti-terror legislation
L�gislation anti-terroriste   
Attacks on human rights defenders
Attaques sur les d�fenseurs des droits  
Citizenship
Citoyennet�  
Criminalisation de la dissidence
Criminalization of dissent  
Drones 
Freedom of expression
Libert� d'expression 
Guantanamo 
"Guerre au terrorisme"
"War on terror"

TED Talk: A brief history of secret prisons in the United States

US military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq

Kunduz MSF hospital U.S. bombing survivor: "I want my story to be heard."

Every nation backing this war-including US-must answer for clinic bombing: MSF

'Perpetrators can't also be judges': War crime probe demanded at White House gate

A legal map of airstrikes in Syria (part 2)

Statements by US Air Force officials indicate service is dropping so many bombs in war on ISIS that it's scrambling to find more

NATO says won't send ground troops to fight IS: report Read more at Reuters

EU ups its fight against terrorist financing

US & Russia to present joint anti-terror finance UNSC resolution

CIA runs shadow war with Afghan militia implicated in civilian killings

Japan to launch international anti-terrorism information unit
Privacy
Vie priv�e
Torture 
Miscellaneous
Divers
CETTE SEMAINE / THIS WEEK
 

That is the question that the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly is trying to answer in his next report. Mr. Maina Kiai organized an expert meeting in  Florence, Italy to reflect on that particular issue and suggest some answers. The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group is the organization representing Canada. Read our National Coordinator Monia Mazigh's thoughts on the question.

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Action   

PM Trudeau: Call on the UAE to free Canadian citizen Salim Alaradi now!   

ICLMG - Salim Alaradi, a Canadian citizen and father of 5 young children, has been detained without charge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since August 2014. We are also worried that he was tortured. His health is deteriorating quickly as his family has informed us this week. Write to Prime Minister Trudeau to urge him to call on the UAE to free Salim Alaradi now!


Action   

Tell Prime Minister Trudeau to consult with Canadians now, while there's still time to undo C-51  

OpenMedia - Prime Minister Trudeau has said C-51 is a top priority,1 but we must ensure Canadians are at the centre of the process. If we aren't consulted, we could miss our chance to fully repeal the dangerous powers in this bill.
C-51 was rammed into law without meaningful public consultation. Its unprecedented new spy powers are too far-reaching to address behind closed doors. Over 300,000 Canadians have spoken against the reckless, dangerous, and ineffective bill. If we don't act quickly, we'll lose our chance. ACT NOW: Tell Prime Minister Trudeau to launch a public consultation.

Action   

Let Khaled leave Egypt!  

Free Khaled Al-Qazzaz - Write to your MP to ask them to urge the Egyptian authorities to remove the travel ban on Canadian resident Khaled Al-Qazzaz so he can finally be free after being detained without charges for a year and a half and released since January 2015 but prevented from leaving the country.


Report


Critical areas where the Canadian government needs to demonstrate commitment to upholding human rights in national security policies and activities were outlined today in a report on the anniversary of the October 2014 "Arar +10" conference. Convened at the University of Ottawa on October 29, 2014 by Amnesty International and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, along with the university's Human Rights Research and Education Centre and Centre for International Policy Studies, "Arar +10" reviewed the state of national security and human rights in Canada a decade after a public inquiry was established to investigate the rendition to Syria and torture of Canadian citizen Maher Arar. From a range of panels key recommendations emerged. The conference's recommendations are particularly timely as the new federal government prepares to introduce legal and other reforms reversing or revising national security and citizenship laws and practices.

Report


ICLMG & MiningWatch Canada - In summary, the report observes that it is becoming ever more dangerous and difficult for affected communities and organizations who are fighting for Indigenous rights, self-determination and environmental justice in the Americas to speak out and do their work. As this situation worsens, the Canadian government has increasingly dedicated its diplomatic services, aid budget, and trade and investment policy to promote and favour the interests of Canadian mining companies and to influence decisions over extractive projects and related policies. The trend of repression and deregulation in Canada to favour mining, oil, and gas projects is consistent with the model that the Canadian government promotes abroad. Concluding with a series of ideas and recommendations for discussion, the report seeks to spur debate and foster creative action to protect dissent in defence of land and the environment, and to question Canada's role in promoting the underlying economic development model that is putting communities at such a deadly disadvantage.

Action   

Saudi Arabia: Stop the execution of juvenile activist Ali al-Nimr

Amnesty International - Two courts have upheld the death sentence against a Shi'a activist. He has exhausted his appeals and may be executed as soon as the King ratifies the sentence. Ali al-Nimr was sentenced to death on 27 May 2014 for offences  he is alleged to have committed when he was 17 years old. The court seems to have based its decision on "confessions" which Ali al-Nimr has said were extracted under torture and other ill-treatment and has refused to look into this allegation. When Ali al-Nimr was arrested in February 2012 he was not allowed to see his lawyer. He has said that GDI officers tortured him to make him sign a "confession". Read more and sign the petition now!


Action   

Signez la p�tition pour lib�rer le blogueur saoudien Raif Badawi  



Amnistie internationale - Raif Badawi, prisonnier d'opinion en Arabie saoudite, risque la mort pour avoir offert un d�bat sur la libert� religieuse.
Exigeons des autorit�s saoudiennes que les coups de fouet cessent imm�diatement, que Raif soit lib�r� sans condition, et qu'il soit r�uni avec sa famille r�fugi�e au Canada.
Exigeons de cet �tat qu'il respecte ses obligations en mati�re de droits humains et qu'il abolisse la flagellation.



English petition

Les opinions exprim�es ne refl�tent pas n�cessairement les positions de la CSILC - The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions of ICLMG

What is the News Digest? Qu'est-ce que la Revue de l'actualit�?

The News Digest is ICLMG's weekly publication of news articles, events, calls to action and much more regarding national security, anti-terrorism, and civil liberties. The ICLMG is a national coalition of 43 Canadian civil society organizations that was established in the aftermath of the September, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
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La revue de l'actualit� est notre publication hebdomadaire de nouvelles, d'�v�nements, d'appels � l'action, et beaucoup plus, entourant la s�curit� nationale, la lutte au terrorisme, et les libert�s civiles. La CSILC est une coalition nationale de 43 organisations de la soci�t� civile canadienne qui a �t� cr��e suite aux attentats terroristes de septembre 2001 aux �tats-Unis.