Please visit the website link below and sign on behalf of the three detainees. Also, read Thomas Walkom's article from the Toronto Star regarding this issue.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/end-solitary-confinement-and--respect-the-right-of-detainees.html
Sunday, November 25, 2007
A Weekly Visit that Never gets Easier... Dr Tariq Haleem
Excerpted from Captive in Canada (http://captiveincanada.com/wp/).
Written by Dr Tariq Haleem
Saturday, for most people, is a great day. They sleep in and start the day after a late breakfast, and then plan for the rest of it. They look forward to: shopping, visiting, eating out- all kinds of nice moments to look forward to. Except for me, it isn’t such a great day. It is, in the matter of fact, a day of pain and desperation. It is the day of my scheduled visit to my son, Shareef, in Maplehurst correctional center; where he is detained awaiting the trial.
I go to sleep the day before with the sad expectations of the next day. I wake up thinking of the visit. I haven’t see my son for a week. I want to make sure he is still holding himself together, and that he did not collapse or get a nervous breakdown.
I schedule my day around this event. No matter what other matters I have to attend to, it is paramount to break it at exactly 1:15pm and head to Milton.
I take the drive thinking of what happened. How did we get to this point; why do I have to drive to a jail every week? Is it possible to retract the events and reverse the time to start all over? Why my son? Why me? How my life could have been without such a crisis? How long will this take to go away? When can his life go back to normal? Is he going to get out while I am still alive? Or, will I just spend the last few hours of my life lying on my bed longing to see him standing in front of me holding my hand and helping me at a time where we need our kids most?
Many questions come to my mind in that half-hour trip, every week. They just go unanswered. They stop when I take the turn to the facility, facing the aluminium doors of the front gate. I step out of the car, take off my jacket, check my pockets for metal stuff, go through the doors, and head to the front desk. Behind thick glass, two workers sit in a uniform to register the visitors and take cafeteria cash for the inmates.
It is interesting to watch the faces in that medium size hall, with rows of iron seats. Parents, young wives with kids, friends, and girl friends are waiting their turn to go in. Some look concerned about the visit, and some act as if they are visiting the loved one in the comfort of his own place! Some carry bags for clothes exchange.
After registration and signing in, I sit with my eyes on the wall clock watching for every moment going, and waiting for one of the desk workers to wave me in.
Time goes by very slowly. My mind wonders back to the same thoughts. Many times my eyes get wet. Again, what am I doing here in this room? How come my son, Shareef, the funny, good hearted, professional person ended up in such a mess? Why did they pick him up for such a fake case? I know he is very naïve, and…oh, I finally get the wave from the disk worker to go in.
The door clicks and I go in to a search room, where I empty my pockets and go through a metal detecting frame. After this ritual, I go to a smaller room to wait for a guard to guide me and others through a corridor between two automatic sliding doors, leading to a hall where I take the steps up to the unit K visiting room.
I wait again for a click to go through a door that leads to a room with 8 steel seats facing a double glassed partition which looks over a matching room where, normally I see my son sitting on a seat, wearing this awful orange jumper. My heart breaks, every time I see him this way, I wish I could disappear from the face of Earth. I sit and pick up the phone and start talking.
When the time comes to leave, I feel my life is worthless. I can’t help my own son. No one can, except Allah swt(God Almighty). I know this is his fate and mine. We can’t escape it. I know we have to accept it, as this is a test from Him. No matter what we do, things have to take their own course, and end as was meant. But, the hardest test is the one that involves our own children.
Only those who have gone through it know what I mean. Others only guess.
I go back to my car, driving back to the house. It takes the rest of the day to recover from the pinch I have in my heart. And I start worrying about the next visit!
By the way, I've gone through this 112 times so far..
Written by Dr Tariq Haleem
Saturday, for most people, is a great day. They sleep in and start the day after a late breakfast, and then plan for the rest of it. They look forward to: shopping, visiting, eating out- all kinds of nice moments to look forward to. Except for me, it isn’t such a great day. It is, in the matter of fact, a day of pain and desperation. It is the day of my scheduled visit to my son, Shareef, in Maplehurst correctional center; where he is detained awaiting the trial.
I go to sleep the day before with the sad expectations of the next day. I wake up thinking of the visit. I haven’t see my son for a week. I want to make sure he is still holding himself together, and that he did not collapse or get a nervous breakdown.
I schedule my day around this event. No matter what other matters I have to attend to, it is paramount to break it at exactly 1:15pm and head to Milton.
I take the drive thinking of what happened. How did we get to this point; why do I have to drive to a jail every week? Is it possible to retract the events and reverse the time to start all over? Why my son? Why me? How my life could have been without such a crisis? How long will this take to go away? When can his life go back to normal? Is he going to get out while I am still alive? Or, will I just spend the last few hours of my life lying on my bed longing to see him standing in front of me holding my hand and helping me at a time where we need our kids most?
Many questions come to my mind in that half-hour trip, every week. They just go unanswered. They stop when I take the turn to the facility, facing the aluminium doors of the front gate. I step out of the car, take off my jacket, check my pockets for metal stuff, go through the doors, and head to the front desk. Behind thick glass, two workers sit in a uniform to register the visitors and take cafeteria cash for the inmates.
It is interesting to watch the faces in that medium size hall, with rows of iron seats. Parents, young wives with kids, friends, and girl friends are waiting their turn to go in. Some look concerned about the visit, and some act as if they are visiting the loved one in the comfort of his own place! Some carry bags for clothes exchange.
After registration and signing in, I sit with my eyes on the wall clock watching for every moment going, and waiting for one of the desk workers to wave me in.
Time goes by very slowly. My mind wonders back to the same thoughts. Many times my eyes get wet. Again, what am I doing here in this room? How come my son, Shareef, the funny, good hearted, professional person ended up in such a mess? Why did they pick him up for such a fake case? I know he is very naïve, and…oh, I finally get the wave from the disk worker to go in.
The door clicks and I go in to a search room, where I empty my pockets and go through a metal detecting frame. After this ritual, I go to a smaller room to wait for a guard to guide me and others through a corridor between two automatic sliding doors, leading to a hall where I take the steps up to the unit K visiting room.
I wait again for a click to go through a door that leads to a room with 8 steel seats facing a double glassed partition which looks over a matching room where, normally I see my son sitting on a seat, wearing this awful orange jumper. My heart breaks, every time I see him this way, I wish I could disappear from the face of Earth. I sit and pick up the phone and start talking.
When the time comes to leave, I feel my life is worthless. I can’t help my own son. No one can, except Allah swt(God Almighty). I know this is his fate and mine. We can’t escape it. I know we have to accept it, as this is a test from Him. No matter what we do, things have to take their own course, and end as was meant. But, the hardest test is the one that involves our own children.
Only those who have gone through it know what I mean. Others only guess.
I go back to my car, driving back to the house. It takes the rest of the day to recover from the pinch I have in my heart. And I start worrying about the next visit!
By the way, I've gone through this 112 times so far..
Accused Terrorist gets Bail
After being granted bail yesterday, following 17 months in jail – many of them in solitary confinement – accused terrorist Qayyum Abdul Jamal spent his first minutes of freedom locked in an embrace with his four sons and wife in a Brampton courthouse.
"I'm grateful to Allah, to see my kids and to my community that came forward for me," the emotional 44-year-old said outside, as family and friends stood nearby.
"Hopefully I'll be found innocent."
Jamal, eldest of the 18 arrested in a massive police sweep in June 2006 for allegedly belonging to a terror cell plotting to detonate truck bombs and storm Parliament Hill, was released after the most serious charge against him was dropped.
"I'm elated," said defence lawyer Anser Farooq, shortly after Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson delivered his decision, much of it protected by a publication ban.
"It's taken a long time to get to this point and we're looking forward to the ultimate trial," he said, adding it could be years before the case winds through the courts.
Now charged with participating in a terrorist group, and receiving/providing terrorist training, Jamal faces 10 years in prison if found guilty. An additional bomb charge was dropped when the Crown filed a direct indictment in September, halting a preliminary hearing and pushing the case straight to trial.
Because of the direct indictment, the original charges were stayed against the 14 men, and new charges were laid, meaning those still behind bars can again apply for bail. Jamal is the first adult to be granted bail in this second round of bail hearings and joins two co-accused adults out on bail since last year. Another suspect, Steven Chand, was denied bail last month.
"I'm really glad he got out," said defence lawyer Royland Moriah, who represents co-accused Jahmaal James, whose bail hearing has not yet been scheduled. "Hopefully that will bode well for the rest of the accused."
Moriah credited the judge's decision, in part, with the additional evidence heard at the preliminary hearing for the youths and adults. During the first round of bail hearings, immediately after the arrests, most available evidence was contained in the Crown's synopsis, which hadn't been tested by the defence.
"It's heartening that the judge has taken into account the evidence the Crown has against this accused," said Moriah.
"I would expect that there will be more released."
Jamal, originally from Pakistan, was released on a $100,000 bond, nearly three-quarters donated by the Muslim community.
Jamal must remain under the supervision of six sureties. According to some of the bail conditions, Jamal must remain at home except when attending court, his lawyer's office, medical appointments and Friday prayers.
He must surrender his passport, and is barred from using the Internet and communicating with his co-accused, some of whom he met at the Ar-Rahman Islamic Centre in Mississauga.
His wife, Cheryfa MacAulay Jamal, was thrilled to have him return to their Mississauga home and their four sons, aged two to nine.
"I'm relieved," she said.
"I'm grateful to the court for the decision. I look forward to the day that his name will be exonerated."
Of the 14 adults charged, 11 remain in jail. Of the youths, three have had charges stayed and the fourth, out on bail, is set to go to trial in March.
Authorities allege the men, mostly in their 20s, were part of an Al-Qaeda-inspired cell planning to storm Parliament Hill and take politicians hostage.
They were also accused of plotting to bomb targets such as a Canadian Forces base and CSIS offices in Toronto and Ottawa.
A dozen men and youths allegedly attended a so-called terrorist training camp in a wooded area in Washago, near Gravenhurst, wearing camouflage and playing paintball.
"I'm grateful to Allah, to see my kids and to my community that came forward for me," the emotional 44-year-old said outside, as family and friends stood nearby.
"Hopefully I'll be found innocent."
Jamal, eldest of the 18 arrested in a massive police sweep in June 2006 for allegedly belonging to a terror cell plotting to detonate truck bombs and storm Parliament Hill, was released after the most serious charge against him was dropped.
"I'm elated," said defence lawyer Anser Farooq, shortly after Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson delivered his decision, much of it protected by a publication ban.
"It's taken a long time to get to this point and we're looking forward to the ultimate trial," he said, adding it could be years before the case winds through the courts.
Now charged with participating in a terrorist group, and receiving/providing terrorist training, Jamal faces 10 years in prison if found guilty. An additional bomb charge was dropped when the Crown filed a direct indictment in September, halting a preliminary hearing and pushing the case straight to trial.
Because of the direct indictment, the original charges were stayed against the 14 men, and new charges were laid, meaning those still behind bars can again apply for bail. Jamal is the first adult to be granted bail in this second round of bail hearings and joins two co-accused adults out on bail since last year. Another suspect, Steven Chand, was denied bail last month.
"I'm really glad he got out," said defence lawyer Royland Moriah, who represents co-accused Jahmaal James, whose bail hearing has not yet been scheduled. "Hopefully that will bode well for the rest of the accused."
Moriah credited the judge's decision, in part, with the additional evidence heard at the preliminary hearing for the youths and adults. During the first round of bail hearings, immediately after the arrests, most available evidence was contained in the Crown's synopsis, which hadn't been tested by the defence.
"It's heartening that the judge has taken into account the evidence the Crown has against this accused," said Moriah.
"I would expect that there will be more released."
Jamal, originally from Pakistan, was released on a $100,000 bond, nearly three-quarters donated by the Muslim community.
Jamal must remain under the supervision of six sureties. According to some of the bail conditions, Jamal must remain at home except when attending court, his lawyer's office, medical appointments and Friday prayers.
He must surrender his passport, and is barred from using the Internet and communicating with his co-accused, some of whom he met at the Ar-Rahman Islamic Centre in Mississauga.
His wife, Cheryfa MacAulay Jamal, was thrilled to have him return to their Mississauga home and their four sons, aged two to nine.
"I'm relieved," she said.
"I'm grateful to the court for the decision. I look forward to the day that his name will be exonerated."
Of the 14 adults charged, 11 remain in jail. Of the youths, three have had charges stayed and the fourth, out on bail, is set to go to trial in March.
Authorities allege the men, mostly in their 20s, were part of an Al-Qaeda-inspired cell planning to storm Parliament Hill and take politicians hostage.
They were also accused of plotting to bomb targets such as a Canadian Forces base and CSIS offices in Toronto and Ottawa.
A dozen men and youths allegedly attended a so-called terrorist training camp in a wooded area in Washago, near Gravenhurst, wearing camouflage and playing paintball.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Confusion, despair from terror suspect isolated in Don Jail - Thomas Walkom
Confusion, despair from terror suspect isolated in Don Jail
Nov 08, 2007 04:30 AM
Thomas Walkom
Fahim Ahmad has decided to break his silence. Seventeen months after he was arrested and jailed as one of the alleged ringleaders of an alleged plot to blow up buildings and behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the 23-year-old Mississauga man says he remains baffled by the charges. In his first media interview, Ahmad says he is still waiting for the government to produce a snippet of credible evidence to back up its claims.
Ahmad is one of the so-called Toronto 18, a group of Muslim men and boys arrested in a 2006 sweep that made headlines around the world.
At the beginning, the overarching storyline was that police had managed to derail a homegrown terror plot on the scale of the London bombings
Since then, however, the government's case has begun to fray. First, it was revealed that two police informers had played central roles in the alleged plot. One was reportedly paid $4 million
Second, charges against three juveniles were stayed (effectively meaning that they are off the hook).
Then last month, in the midst of testimony from police informer Mubin Shaikh, the government abruptly halted the preliminary hearing into the charges and announced it would go directly to trial – probably sometime next year.
Ahmad and two other accused men have been moved to the Don Jail where – unlike the remaining eight still in custody – they are kept in strict isolation. Exactly why is unclear. The three are allowed to telephone out, so the rule is clearly not designed to prevent them from talking to other alleged militants – or even to the Toronto Star. They just can't talk face to face with live human beings, which Ahmad says is driving him nuts.
"My whole world now is a 6 by 4 by 10 room," he says. "It's become normal in a not very good sense. You wake up and know you will be in this room the whole day. There's no hope of anything. ... It gets to you mentally. You don't know where you're going, how long it's going to take. It drives you crazy."
This, of course, is the treatment accorded to someone who is still viewed by the law as innocent. By the time his trial is finished, Ahmad figures he'll have been in solitary confinement for 2 1/2 years.
What of the case? He is not allowed to disclose what was heard during the now-torpedoed preliminary hearing. But he says he remains frustrated by his inability to answer the government's case. The reason, he says, is that it has presented no case other than the testimony of the informants – which he insists has no credibility.
"When they first charged me, I never understood them (the charges). I still don't understand them. They seemed completely made up. They made no sense to me. But then when I hear how much the informers were being paid, I said `Hey, when you're being paid $4 million for something it doesn't take too much to make up some kind of story.' Right?
"(The Crown) says I'm part of some group. What group? Nobody answers. They say: `We'll tell you in court.' It's been a year and a half and still no one answers this question. ... I mean, what group is there? They say you planned all these things. I'm just waiting to see some kind of evidence."
And so he waits. Earlier this week, he staged a brief hunger strike to persuade jail authorities to grant the few privileges the court has allowed him (such as longer phone calls). That was one reason. The other was despair.
"No one cares," says Ahmad. "It's lock us up and throw away the key."
Nov 08, 2007 04:30 AM
Thomas Walkom
Fahim Ahmad has decided to break his silence. Seventeen months after he was arrested and jailed as one of the alleged ringleaders of an alleged plot to blow up buildings and behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the 23-year-old Mississauga man says he remains baffled by the charges. In his first media interview, Ahmad says he is still waiting for the government to produce a snippet of credible evidence to back up its claims.
Ahmad is one of the so-called Toronto 18, a group of Muslim men and boys arrested in a 2006 sweep that made headlines around the world.
At the beginning, the overarching storyline was that police had managed to derail a homegrown terror plot on the scale of the London bombings
Since then, however, the government's case has begun to fray. First, it was revealed that two police informers had played central roles in the alleged plot. One was reportedly paid $4 million
Second, charges against three juveniles were stayed (effectively meaning that they are off the hook).
Then last month, in the midst of testimony from police informer Mubin Shaikh, the government abruptly halted the preliminary hearing into the charges and announced it would go directly to trial – probably sometime next year.
Ahmad and two other accused men have been moved to the Don Jail where – unlike the remaining eight still in custody – they are kept in strict isolation. Exactly why is unclear. The three are allowed to telephone out, so the rule is clearly not designed to prevent them from talking to other alleged militants – or even to the Toronto Star. They just can't talk face to face with live human beings, which Ahmad says is driving him nuts.
"My whole world now is a 6 by 4 by 10 room," he says. "It's become normal in a not very good sense. You wake up and know you will be in this room the whole day. There's no hope of anything. ... It gets to you mentally. You don't know where you're going, how long it's going to take. It drives you crazy."
This, of course, is the treatment accorded to someone who is still viewed by the law as innocent. By the time his trial is finished, Ahmad figures he'll have been in solitary confinement for 2 1/2 years.
What of the case? He is not allowed to disclose what was heard during the now-torpedoed preliminary hearing. But he says he remains frustrated by his inability to answer the government's case. The reason, he says, is that it has presented no case other than the testimony of the informants – which he insists has no credibility.
"When they first charged me, I never understood them (the charges). I still don't understand them. They seemed completely made up. They made no sense to me. But then when I hear how much the informers were being paid, I said `Hey, when you're being paid $4 million for something it doesn't take too much to make up some kind of story.' Right?
"(The Crown) says I'm part of some group. What group? Nobody answers. They say: `We'll tell you in court.' It's been a year and a half and still no one answers this question. ... I mean, what group is there? They say you planned all these things. I'm just waiting to see some kind of evidence."
And so he waits. Earlier this week, he staged a brief hunger strike to persuade jail authorities to grant the few privileges the court has allowed him (such as longer phone calls). That was one reason. The other was despair.
"No one cares," says Ahmad. "It's lock us up and throw away the key."
Monday, November 5, 2007
Alleged Leader Freed on Bail
Jamaal Abdul Qayuum, father to four, walked out of the Brampton Court under bail conditions yesterday. Having spent the past 17 months in prison, mostly solitary confinement, the alleged 'leader' Jamaal walked out of the Brampton court - the same that was sensationalized with snipers and gunmen last year, with minimal security.
The crown withdrew its charges of 'plotting to bomb' against Jamal. It is to be noted that during the current times of marked injustices, hate crimes and persecution against muslims, charges as serious as that of 'plotting bombs' are serious mistakes and should be carefully looked into before being levied - especially if it involves serious physical and mental torture of the detainees in strict conditions. (Initially addressed by: Political prisoners)
The crown withdrew its charges of 'plotting to bomb' against Jamal. It is to be noted that during the current times of marked injustices, hate crimes and persecution against muslims, charges as serious as that of 'plotting bombs' are serious mistakes and should be carefully looked into before being levied - especially if it involves serious physical and mental torture of the detainees in strict conditions. (Initially addressed by: Political prisoners)
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