MONTREAL - Suspected terrorist Mohammad Mahjoub can expect his sense of imprisonment to continue even after he's released from a prison near Kingtston, Ont., a former security-certificate detainee said Saturday.
Adil Charkaoui, who like Mahjoub was jailed on a security certificate only to be later released on strict bail conditions, said being released doesn't mean feeling liberated.
"It represents indefinite detention, arbitrary detention and more over, the threat of deportation to torture,'' the Moroccan-born Charkaoui said at downtown demonstration calling for end to security certificates.
The certificates allow Ottawa to hold suspected terrorists who aren't Canadian citizens indefinitely without charges.
A Federal Court judge ordered Mahjoub's release last week. The alleged al Qaeda operative has spent more than seven years in jail.
Under the conditions of his release, Mahjoub must wear a tracking device at all times and cannot possess electronic equipment that can transmit information.
More than 100 civil liberties advocates marched through Montreal's streets on Saturday to denounce Canada's treatment of terrorism suspects.
Charkaoui, who also must wear a tracking device, was among those calling for the abolition of the "certificates of shame.''
He admitted that life hasn't been easy since he was released in 2005 after spending three years in jail. Charkaoui is suspected of being an al Qaeda sleeper agent.
"It's hard to live with such serious accusations without the opportunity to defend myself before a fair and just court,'' he said. "(My children) are not aware that one day their father could be deported. We live day by day.''
Charkaoui now works as a secondary school teacher and lives with his wife and three children.
With Mahjoub's impending release, the Millhaven Institution near Kingston, Ont., will still hold two suspected terrorists, Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei.
All three have been on a hunger strike for months protesting the conditions of their detention.
Kitchener-Waterloo Liberal MP Andrew Telegdi, who spoke to demonstrators before they marched, said the prison should be closed.
"You can't set up a situation of them and us and you can't say that one set of laws apply to one set of people,'' he said. "It makes our country less safe.''
Telegdi, the only Liberal to vote against Canada's anti-terror legislation when introduced in 2001, recently visited the detainees in the holding facility.
Up until now, he said the prisoners have supported each other. But he worries when the time comes that only one remains.
"Psychologically, it's going to be tough,'' he said. "I would hate to see Canada actually have somebody die on a hunger strike.''
Many at the demonstration held banners that read "End Deportations to Torture'' and "Solidarity is Our Weapon.''
Abdelali Arhaous was among several protesters to wear orange jumpsuits, invoking the prison garb at Millhaven.
"I've been touched by the security certificates that have imprisoned my brothers, my compatriots, for a long time,'' Arhaous said.
"They don't reflect the image of a democratic country.''
