TORONTO - A suspected Egyptian terrorist who has spent almost six years in jail without charge should be released under strict conditions and placed under house arrest, a Federal Court judge said Tuesday.
The specific conditions of release are still to be worked out, but Justice Carolyn Layden-Stevenson said she wanted it known that she planned to order Mahmoud Jaballah freed under "restrictive and strict'' conditions.
John Norris, one of Jaballah's lawyers, called the judge's comments "wonderful news.''
"The courts have become quite vigilant in protecting the rights of the individuals and at the same time ensuring that the public interest is protected,'' Norris said after the bail hearing concluded.
"The judges are demonstrating that they're very troubled by the lengthy detentions in these cases.''
Layden-Stevenson said she hoped to give written reasons for her decision at a hearing on March 22 in Ottawa, at which time the actual conditions of Jaballah's bail would be worked out.
His release from the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, dubbed "Guantanamo North'' by critics, is expected shortly after that.
Jaballah, a 44-year-old father of six, was arrested in August 2001 on an unprecedented second national security certificate _ a tool that allows authorities to detain an individual indefinitely, without charge or trial, based on secret evidence.
He has admitted knowing Canadian citizen Ahmed Saad Khadr, a lieutenant of Osama bin Laden killed in Afghanistan, but says he was only a casual acquaintance.
Three of four other foreign nationals who were being held under similar circumstances have already been released, or ordered released, all of them on strict conditions.
Algerian Mohamed Harkat is currently under house arrest in Ottawa, while Moroccan Adil Charkaoui is on bail in Montreal.
Another detainee, Egyptian Mohammad Mahjoub, was ordered released Feb. 15 but that has yet to occur, leaving only only Syrian national Hassan Almrei without immediate bail prospects.
Matthew Behrens, an activist on behalf of security-certificate detainees, was elated that Jaballah would be let out.
"Hopefully, this is the continuation of a trend towards release of these guys,'' said Behrens. "They've been held for so many years.''
Norris said Jaballah's bail conditions will look similar to those of Mahjoub.
"It is likely to be very strict house arrest,'' he said. "It would be our hope that once they have a proven track record in the community, then the court will see fit to gradually lessen the terms.''
Last fall, the Federal Court ruled Jaballah could not remain in Canada, but also said he could not be deported to Egypt because of the risk of torture.
Just two weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the security-certificate regime unconstitutional and gave Parliament a year to bring the law into line with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
