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Why Is Canada Sacrificing the Rights of Its Citizen, Hassan Diab, for France's War on Terror?
Alternet 30/05/2016 - A supposed cradle of égalité, France has a proven track record of using information obtained through torture as evidence for judicial proceedings. The country has demonstrated "a willingness (even eagerness) to cooperate with foreign intelligence services in countries like Uzbekistan and Pakistan-notorious for abusive  practices, both in general and against terrorism suspects in particular," Human Rights Watch noted in a 2010 report. In a separate investigation published in 2008, HRW determined that France's overreaching counterterrorism laws and procedures require an unacceptably low standard of proof and undermine the most basic right to a fair trial, largely due to the close links between "special investigative judges and the intelligence services." Read more - Lire plus |
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Ottawa mulls 'super' oversight body for security agencies
The Globe and Mail 30/05/2016 - Ottawa is considering setting up a "super" Security Intelligence Review Committee that would provide oversight to a number of federal security departments and agencies, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says. He made the revelation Monday during testimony to a Senate committee studying oversight of the Canada Border Services Agency, suggesting that the creation of a "superSIRC" is one of several options to solve a problem at the border agency, which has no process in place to deal with  complaints about officer conduct. SIRC is the independent, external review body that reports to Parliament on the operations of Canadian Security Intelligence Service, ensuring that the spy agency uses its extraordinary powers to intrude on individuals' privacy legally and appropriately. Broadening its reach to include other departments and agencies - making a superSIRC - was first raised a decade ago by Justice Dennis O'Connor during the federal commission of inquiry into the Maher Arar affair. Upon learning that the agencies had been forging investigative partnerships that their watchdogs could not replicate, Justice O'Connor proposed a solution observers dubbed "superSIRC." Read moreLiberals unveiling new panel to oversee Canadian spy agencies |
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Spy agency accidentally shared Canadians' data with allies for years
The Globe and Mail 01/06/2016 - The CSE neglectfully shared logs of Canadians' phone calls and Internet exchanges with intelligence allies for years, according to a newly disclosed confidential watchdog's report obtained from court filings related to a lawsuit against the Canadian government. The report said software that was supposed to remove identifying information on Canadians from material CSE captured during international surveillance  operations had failed. This meant that Canada's intelligence allies received data that Canadian laws say they should not see. [...] "I am recommending that the National Defence Act be amended in order to clarify CSE's authority to collect, use, retain, share and disclose metadata," the CSE watchdog wrote in a letter to the Minister of National Defence last fall. Records show Mr. Sajjan has replied to say he accepted recommendations - but he did not commit to introduce new laws or directives. Read more - Lire plusMPs' private emails are routinely accessed by GCHQEU to enhance terrorism "threat assessments" as Counter Terrorist Group moves towards "real time information exchange"EU Advocate General: IP addresses are personal data |
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Canadian Salim Alaradi detained in the UAE, 'free at last'
CBC News 02/06/2016 - Salim Alaradi, a Canadian businessman who was detained in the United Arab Emirates for more than two years, is on a plane preparing to leave the country, according to his daughter Marwa Alaradi. Alaradi is a Libyan-Canadian businessman with family in Windsor, Ont.. He was acquitted of a charge of collecting donations without permission on Monday, but was not  immediately released from prison. After spending 17 months in a U.A.E. prison without being charged, Salim Alaradi was eventually charged with several terrorism-related offences in January 2016. Those charges were dropped in March. On Wednesday, a spokeswoman with Global Affairs confirmed to CBC News Salim Alaradi was not allowed to leave the country due to issues with his travel documents. But those issues appear to have been resolved. A video posted to the Twitter account @FreeSalimAlaradi Thursday afternoon shows Salim Alaradi on a plane with a message for his supporters before it taking off at 2:30 p.m. EST on Thursday. Read more - Lire plusICLMG welcomes the news of the release of Canadian citizen Salim Alaradi |
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As 1,000 Refugees Drown Under European Policies Last Week, Meet the Volunteers Who Are Trying to Save Lives
Democracy Now! 01/06/2016 - Up to 1,000 refugees are feared to have drowned in recent days while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The United Nations say this marks one of the highest weekly death tolls since the migrant crisis began in 2014. UNICEF says many of the victims were youth fleeing war and violence in their home countries. Under a European Union plan enacted in April, all refugees arriving in Greece are deported back to Turkey,  forcing people to attempt the more dangerous route between Libya and Italy. On Monday, a photo of a German volunteer from the group Sea-Watch holding the body of a drowned child became the latest symbol of the migration crisis. We speak with Ruben Neugebauer, crew member and spokesperson for Sea-Watch, a German volunteer group that was formed to help migrants stranded at sea. "Thus far, 2016 is proving to be particularly deadly. Some 2,510 lives have been lost so far, compared to 1,855 in the same period in 2015 and 57 in the first five months of 2014. On a Mediterranean-wide basis, the odds of being among the dead are currently one in 81." Read more - Lire plusRefugee crisis: 13,000 people rescued in Mediterranean in one weekInside the perilous journey out of SyriaItaly plans a cemetery for refugees drowned at seaUK - Pregnant women in detention centres kept hidden by the Home OfficeParis aura un camp humanitaire pour accueillir les réfugiés |
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Autres nouvelles - More news
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Event
NEW! Livestreaming
The Rule of Law in an Age of Fear: A talk with Dennis Edney, Omar Khadr's lawyer
This event, presented by ICLMG, InterPares and Octopus Books, is free and open to everyone.  When: Saturday, June 4, 2016, 4-6pm Where: Octopus Books, 251 Bank Street, 2nd floor, Ottawa What: Dennis Edney will speak about Omar Khadr's case and the climate of fear surrounding the war on terror and how it has affected and continues to negatively affect human rights, due process, and the rule of law. If you can't make it in person, watch it live or later hereMore detailsFacebook event
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ICLMG - Canada's numerous national security agencies - including CSEC, CSIS, the RCMP and CBSA - have inadequate or simply no oversight or review mechanisms. This has led to human rights violations such as the rendition to torture of Canadiancitizens Maher Arar,
Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El-Maati and Muayyed Nurredin, among others. In 2006, Justice O'Connor concluded the Arar Commission with several recommendations to prevent such atrocities from happening again: Canadian national security agencies must be subjected to robust, integrated and comprehensive oversight and review. Years have passed and the federal government has yet to implement the recommendations.
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Action
Free Huseyin Celil
Amnesty International - Huseyin has been in prison for 10 years after an unfair trial.  Take action now to ensure that Huseyin is not subject to another 10 years of unfair treatment.
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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!
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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.
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Amnistie internationale - En juillet 2014, l'avocat spécialiste des droits humains Waleed Abu Al Khair a été condamné à 15 ans d'emprisonnement après des années de harcèlement, d'arrestations, de menaces et de procès. Au travers de ses activités  professionnelles, cet homme dénonçait les atteintes aux droits humains en Arabie saoudite. Waleed Abu Al Khair représente bon nombre de militants pacifiques, y compris son beau-frère Raif Badawi, blogueur emprisonné et condamné à 1 000 coups de fouet.
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Action
Stop stingray surveillance!
OpenMedia - Stingrays (also known as "IMSI-catchers") are surveillance devices that can suck up every piece of sensitive, personal info in our cell phones. Every call, email, and text - our most intimate moments. You don't have to do anything wrong to be a victim. Stingrays CAN'T target one  person. They CAN vacuum up an entire neighbourhood, or up to 10,000 people's private data at once. We know they're being used in countries including the U.S. and Australia, and other governments are fighting to keep their use a secret. We must rein this in. Tell law-makers: It's time to put a stop to invasive Stingray cellphone surveillance.
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Action
Sign the Voices-Voix Declaration!
Voices-Voix - "We believe that to protect rights and promote a healthy environment for debate, dissent, diversity and democracy, Canada needs transformative change to our laws, institutions, priorities, and political culture. The federal government must mainstream human rights across  all of its policies and programs and honor its commitments under international law. We must create conditions that ensure social justice and allow all Canadians to enjoy their rights, from access to basic needs such as food, water and shelter and a safe, sustainable environment, to exercising their freedoms of liberty, expression and association."
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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
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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. +++
La revue de l'actualité est notre publication hebdomadaire de nouvelles, d'évènements, d'appels à l'action, et beaucoup plus, entourant la sécurité nationale, la lutte au terrorisme, et les libertés civiles. La CSILC est une coalition nationale de 43 organisations de la société civile canadienne qui a été créée suite aux attentats terroristes de septembre 2001 aux États-Unis.
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information as of this month after Canada's information commissioner found the practice to be "arbitrary and unnecessary." The government "has breached its duty to assist requesters without regard for their identity," concludes the report of the commissioner's year-long probe, which responded to complaints by CBC News.
