From: �chec � la guerre <legaultr(a)colba.net> To: <info(a)echecalaguerre.org> Subject: [courrier-exec] Mohammad Mahjoub / met fin � sa gr�ve de la faim / ends hunger strike Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 10:44:31 -0400 (English message follows French) La tr�s longue gr�ve de la faim de Mohammad Mahjoub et l'appui extraordinaire qu'elle a re�u ont finalement port� fruit. ==================== Message re�u de la Campagne pour arr�ter les proc�s secrets au Canada : Mohammad Mahjoub suspend sa gr�ve de la faim, gagne l'acc�s � des soins m�dicaux 24 septembre 2005, Toronto - Le r�fugi� Mohammad Mahjoub, d�tenu en vertu d'un certificat de s�curit�, a accept� de suspendre sa gr�ve de la faim de 79 jours apr�s que le Gouvernement de l'Ontario ait sign� une entente s'engageant � lui donner acc�s � des soins m�dicaux qu'il r�clame depuis des mois. C'est � partir de son lit � l'infirmerie du Toronto West Detention Centre que Mahjoub, �puis� et affaibli, a donn� son accord � l'entente hier soir par t�l�phone � son avocate Barbara Jackman, et son �pouse Mona Elfouli. M. Mahjoub, un r�fugi� �gyptien d�tenu depuis juin 2000 sans accusation et sur la foi de preuves secr�tes, a fait cette tr�s longue gr�ve de la faim pour revendiquer de meilleures conditions de d�tention. Citant l'apppui extraordinaire qu'il a re�u de partout au Canada et m�me sur le plan international au cours des derni�res semaines, M. Mahjoub a dit � Je remercie tous les individus qui m'ont appuy�, en commen�ant par Mona, mes enfants, mes avocats, mon comit� d'appui � Toronto, et tous les autres individus pour leur appui et leur sympathie. Je demande � Allah de les r�compenser et de les rendre doux dans leurs cours les uns envers les autres. � Dans une lettre re�ue par Jackman hier apr�s-midi, le gouvernement ontarien a promis de permettre � des sp�cialistes m�dicaux d'entrer au centre de d�tention afin d'�valuer l'�tat de sant� de M. Mahjoub, notamment en rapport avec son h�patite C et sa blessure au genou. Les autorit�s gouvernementales ont �galement pris l'engagement de donner suite aux recommendations des sp�cialistes, incluant l'hospitalisation s'il y a lieu. M. Mahjoub demeure dans un �tat critique et risque de subir des s�quelles permanentes r�sultant de sa gr�ve de la faim de 79 jours men�e, comme le rappelle le Centre for Constitutional Rights (Centre pour les droits constitutionnels) de New York, pour obtenir des � conditions de d�tention minimalement d�centes �. Plus t�t cette semaine, Mahjoub avait enfin re�u une paire de lunettes qu'il demande depuis huit mois. Mahjoub a aussi re�u des assurances �crites de la part des autorit�s carc�rales qu'elles cesseront d'entraver arbitraitement les visites familiales comme elles le font depuis cinq ans, au point o� ce droit a �t� souvent bafou�. Cependant, les autorit�s refusent toujours d'autoriser des visites contacts mensuels avec les enfants de Mahjoub, �g�s de 6 et 8 ans. Vu le refus absolu du gouvernement de n�gocier sur ce point, M. Mahjoub pr�voit s'adresser aux tribunaux pour faire reconna�tre ce droit. De nombreuse organisations canadiennes et internationales, dont le Centre pour les droits constitutionnels, ont � condamn� les conditions inhumaines auxquelles Mohammad Mahjoub est soumis �. � Nous devons maintenant mettre autant d'�nergie dans la bataille pour mettre fin aux d�tentions en vertu de preuves secr�tes, afin que mon mari et les autres hommes d�tenus puisse revenir � leurs familles � a dit Mona Elfouli hier soir d'une voix remplie d'�motion. Matthew Behrens du comit� d'appui, a ajout� � Nous nous r�jouissons de cette entente, mais nous trouvons cela honteux qu'un homme soit oblig� de mettre sa vie et sa sant� en p�ril pour obtenir des soins de sant� auxquels il a droit, d'abord � titre simplement humanitaire, et aussi en vertu des normes internationales. � Mahjoub est un des cinq hommes musulmans menac�s de d�portation vers la torture en vertu d'un certificat de s�curit�. Quatre sont encore d�tenus, dont le r�fugi� syrien Hassan Almrei qui a mis un terme � sa gr�ve de la faim de 73 jours au d�but du mois. Tout comme Mahjoub, Hassan Almrei, en d�tention solitaire depuis quatre ans, revendiquait de meilleures conditions de d�tention, notamment le droit � une heure par jour en dehors de sa cellule. Le cinqui�me, Adil Charkaoui, a �t� lib�r� mais sujet � des conditions extr�mement restrictives. Des manifestations contre les certificats de s�curit� ont eu lieu partout au Canada cette semaine, se terminant par une vigile de 24 heures � Vancouver pour appuyer Mahjoub. Mercredi, l'ancien Solliciteur G�n�ral Warren Allmand, le Comit� pour la Justice pour Mohamed Harkat, la Campagne pour Arr�ter les Proc�s Secrets au Canada, Amnistie Internationale et le Conseil Canadien des R�fugi�s, comparaissaient devant le sous-comit� parlementaire charg� de r�vis� les lois f�d�rales en mati�res de s�curit�, ont unanimement revendiqu� l'abolition des certificats de s�curit�. Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada - (416) 651-5800, tasc(a)web.ca, www.homesnotbombs.ca ======================== ENGLISH BEGINS HERE ======================== Message from the Campaign to stop secret trials in Canada : From: "TASC" <tasc(a)web.ca> Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2005 1:22 PM Mohammad Mahjoub Ends Hunger Strike Secret Trial Detainee "Wins" Most Demands, but at What Cost? September 24, 2005, Toronto -- As he lay in the medical unit of Metro West Detention Centre last night on Day 79 of a hunger strike, a weak, exhausted Mohammad Mahjoub gave his consent to a written agreement with the province of Ontario that promised his long-standing demands for proper medical treatment would be met. In a letter received by Mahjoub's legal counsel, Barbara Jackman, the province has promised to allow medical specialists into Metro West to assess Mr. Mahjoub's medical conditions, including Hepatitis C and a knee injury. The province has agreed as well that it will respect the medical advice of those specialists and abide by their recommendations, including, if need be, hospitalization. Earlier in the week, Mahjoub finally received a pair of eye glasses (eight months after they were prescribed), and although they did not fit, he is likely to get them within a few weeks. Mahjoub also received a written agreement that officials at the detention centre would work to ensure that family visits would not be subject to the kind of arbitrary interference and outright denial that have marked the past five years. However, the issue of contact visits with his children remains unresolved and, given the government's absolute refusal to consider the possibility, Mahjoub vows to pursue this demand through the courts. Speaking from Metro West Detention Centre this morning, Mahjoub wanted to thank people around the world who have showed tremendous support during his hunger strike. "I thank every individual, starting from my wife, Mona, my kids, my lawyers, my support committee in Toronto, and every individual S for their support and their sympathy. I ask Allah to reward them all and S to make them soft in their hearts towards one another." Friends, family and supporters of Mr. Mahjoub, whose hunger strike has provoked international coverage and outrage, are troubled that such a simple agreement --doctors see a patient, doctors recommend hospitalization, patient receives hospitalization if required -- should have to take such a potentially lethal toll on Mr. Mahjoub. While pleased that Mr. Mahjoub has ended his hunger strike, they note he will likely suffer health complications from this 79-day hunger strike for the rest of his life. Why, they ask, couldn't the province have intervened months ago? Mahjoub had long been denied hospitalization for a recommended liver biopsy for undisclosed "security" reasons, so he was just as surprised as everyone else when he was briefly hospitalized last Tuesday for a short battery of tests, none of which related to Hepatitis C or his knee injury. Supporters of Mahjoub question the medical ethics of those doctors who told him he could likely go another 10 days to two weeks on hunger strike and had him returned to prison. Mona Elfouli, who along with her children, has struggled every day of the last three months with the consequences of her husband's hunger strike, is grateful for the support of so many people across Canada and around the world who put pressure on the provincial and federal governments. "Now we need to put that same pressure on the governments so they can stop the secret trial security certificates and return my husband and the other men who are still in jail to their families," she said last night, in reference to the Secret Trial Five, all subject to years of Canadian detention without charge on secret evidence. Mahjoub, like a victim of famine, is still in critical shape, and it will be a long and difficult climb back as he begins to eat, his health still very much in question. As he recovers from the hunger strike, he still faces many stresses: he awaits word on whether he may be released on bail, thus ending his indefinite detention, and on whether the Canadian government will continue pursuing his deportation to torture or death in Egypt. Hassan Almrei, a Syrian refugee who has spent the past 47 months in solitary confinement, ended a 73-day hunger strike September 3 at Metro West, and will go to court on October 11 seeking a court order allowing him the same rights as other federal inmates, including one hour of fresh air and exercise for his own knee injury. He too is awaiting a bail decision and is fighting government attempts to deport him to torture or death in Syria. Secret trial detainee Mahmoud Jaballah, also at Metro West for over four years, is currently challenging the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which prevent him from applying for bail while he fights deportation to torture or death in Egypt. In Ottawa, secret trial detainee Mohamed Harkat, held almost three years, will apply for bail at the end of October, while in Montreal, Adil Charkaoui, released in February under draconian conditions, will launch an application in early October calling for an end to his security certificate given the mental torture it has inflicted on him and his family. Both Harkat and Charkaoui are fighting deportation to torture or death in Algeria and Morocco, respectively. Protests against secret trials continue to grow across Canada, and this week coast-to-coast actions occurred, closing with a 24-hour vigil of support for Mahjoub in Vancouver. On Wednesday, groups and individuals including former Solicitor General Warren Allmand, the Committee for Justice for Mohamed Harkat, Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada, Amnesty International, and Canadian Council for Refugees appeared before a Parliamentary subcommittee reviewing secuirt legislation, calling for an abolition of security certificates. For more information, contact the Campaign to Stop Secret trials in Canada at (416) 651-5800, tasc(a)web.ca, www.homesnotbombs.ca. For information on the Charkaoui challenge in October, (514) 859-9023. Thanks to all who have called, written, emailed, faxed, demonstrated, and prayed for justice.