[cdn_abolition] [sos dfait] Digest Number 966
aicap-aifap@yahoogroups.ca
aicap-aifap at yahoogroups.ca
Wed Oct 18 07:28:27 EDT 2006
There is 1 message in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. [sos mail] att: books for prisoners online [calif]
From: "dfait_sos" no_reply at yahoogroups.ca
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:44 pm (EST)
From: "dfait_sos" no_reply at yahoogroups.ca
Subject: [sos mail] att: books for prisoners online [calif]
[sos legal mail]
attention: books for prisoners online
to: aicap
dated: 09-18-06
rec'd: oct.13/06
dear sir,
there is an inmate here that was thinking about what you can do for
him.
do you have any dictionaries of at least 95,000 words, soft cover
only.
he can't spell very good at all.
salinas valley state prison
ronald e. hudson t46000
d-4 118
po box 1050
soledad, ca. 93960
usa
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[sos mail]
to: ag ministry
dated 10-8-06
rec'd oct 16/06
to whom it may concern:
i was certainly shocked to receive a birthday card from
rev al gucci's estate or ministry.
he was a sweet man. i didn't desrve his devotion and i'm sorry
he died. not sorry that he is in heaven of course.
i wish i was there myself!!
please write me back.
well, i guess that's all. god bless!
in christ,
susan hey #835712
1500 state school rd
gatesville, tx 76598
usa
[ex wife nurse of former gov george w bush aide in texas]
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[metro]
If convicted, Black would be better off in a Canadian jail
My mom has a saying which loosely translated from French means “May God protect you from a moment of folly.”
Conrad Black obviously fell victim to such a moment in 2001 when faced with then prime minister Jean Chrétien’s efforts to scuttle his chances of becoming “Lord Black.”
To outmanoeuvre Chrétien, Black removed the “impediment” to peerage by renouncing his Canadian citizenship.
Now faced with a huge indictment for fraud in the United States, Black needs to brace himself for the worst contingency of all
the possibility of doing hard time in a U.S. jail far from his Canadian family, friends, and lawyers.
How could re-acquiring Canadian citizenship help him?
The answer lies in our federal International Transfer of Offenders Act which came into effect in 2004.
Officially, this law is designed to legally implement treaties which Canada has entered into relating to the international transfer of persons convicted of criminal offences. Canada and the U.S. signed such a treaty in 1977.
One of the purposes of the Act is to contribute to the “rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community by enabling offenders to serve their sentences in the country of which they are citizens.”
The charges laid against Black carry decades of potential jail time.
If convicted, Black would be better off serving the time here since the conditions in our jails are generally viewed as being less harsh than those in the United States. Secondly, our parole policies are also considered to be more generous than those in the U.S.
Finally, if the sentence imposed by the U.S. is longer than the maximum sentence provided for in Canadian law for the equivalent offence, Black would serve only the shorter sentence.
Only Canadian citizens are eligible for such a transfer. Black would have to wait until all the avenues of appeal in the U.S. have been exhausted.
Then he must obtain the consent of the U.S., and then of Canada, to the transfer.
The receiving state, i.e. Canada, would be responsible for his transportation and incarceration costs. Once here, the American verdict and sentence would not be subject to any appeal or other form of review in Canada.
Right now, it is unclear if Black has actually applied to regain his Canadian citizenship and, if so, if he will get it.
One thing is for sure. His one moment of folly must be keeping him up late at night.
Guidy Mamann is the senior lawyer at Mamann & Associates and is certified by the Law Society as an immigration specialist. Reach him at 416-862-0000. Direct confidential questions to metro at migrationlaw.com.
metro at migrationlaw.com
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>From Council of Canadians <council-of-canadians at topica.email-
publisher.com>
Date 10/17/2006 1:40:16 am
Subject ACTION ALERT: Implement the Arar Inquiry Recommendations
Dear activists,
Please see below a commentary by Maher Arar that appeared in the
Saturday October 14
edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
In it Mr. Arar writes, "I hope that many lessons have been learned
from my case.
Canadians have invested time, effort and money in this inquiry. Now
is the time to
make sure this investment pays off, by insisting that the government
implements all
of Justice O'Connor's recommendations."
The 23 recommendations from Justice Dennis O'Connor's report, which
was released one
month ago on September 18, can be found at the "Commission of Inquiry
into the
Actions of Canadian Officials in Relations to Maher Arar" website,
http://council-of-canadians.c.topica.com/maafgPDabt3LmbrKMrtbaeQy7T/
A helpful
summary of the recommendations can be found on pages 364 to 369 of
the report.
In his commentary Mr. Arar notes, "It is important to highlight that
the inquiry
report does not point the finger at any one person or institution
alone. It is also
crucial to focus on demanding concrete changes rather than focusing
on asking some
officials to resign from their jobs. This is because accountability
is not about
seeking revenge; it is about making our institutions better and a
model for the rest
of the world. Accountability goes to the heart of our democracy. It
is a fundamental
pillar that distinguishes our society from police states."
Furthermore he states, "We have heard encouraging statements from
Public Safety
Minister Stockwell Day, indicating he intends to implement the
recommendations. It is
my hope that he will act immediately."
Chapter activists are encouraged to support Mr. Arar's plea for the
Harper government
to act immediately and fully implement Justice O'Connor's
recommendations by
e-mailing Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day at day.s at parl.gc.ca.
In the coming months you should also be watching for a second report
from Justice
O'Connor. Mr. Arar writes, "Justice O'Connor will also make further
recommendations in a second report before the end of the year. This
second report
will outline proposals for a new approach to reviewing the RCMP's
activities
regarding national security investigations. It is my view and my
hope, based on
testimony at the inquiry, that this should go beyond the RCMP and
include at least
CSIS and Foreign Affairs."
As a reminder, you can see a video of Maher Arar's speech to the
Council of Canadians
2005 Annual General Meeting in Ottawa by going to our website:
http://council-of-canadians.c.topica.com/maafgPDabt3LnbrKMrtbaeQy7T/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
Our faith has been shaken
The federal government has work to do to ensure that the ordeal I
endured in a Syrian
prison doesn't happen to any other Canadian in the future
BY Maher Arar
Ottawa Citizen
Published: Saturday, October 14, 2006
It was four years ago that the horrible ordeal I suffered first
began. People ask me
repeatedly how, during this time, I have been able to cope with the
stress of
surviving torture, the stress of not being able to find a job, the
stress endured at
the inquiry, and the stress from the countless hours I spend doing
media interviews
and talking to my lawyers on the phone. The answers are simple: I
draw my strength
from my faith; from my loving, caring, strong wife; and from the
support and
generosity I have received from Canadians. I have rediscovered Canada
through its
people, people who made me feel proud of being Canadian. Canadians
from coast to
coast have sent me e-mails and letters of support, including high
school students.
What has also given me the determination to persevere is the
obligation I have felt
as a human being to keep my case alive in hope that the attention
will help other
innocent people. Three years ago, I made a very difficult decision to
tell my
painful, personal story to the Canadian public. I made it clear at
that time that I
wanted to achieve three objectives.
The most important and first objective was to clear my name.
Justice Dennis O'Connor did so in his report from the Commission of
Inquiry examining
my case when he stated that he was "able to say categorically that
there is no
evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offence or that
his activities
constitute a threat to the security of Canada."
My second objective was to hold those people responsible to account.
The Canadian government has full access to both the public and
confidential reports
prepared by Justice O'Connor. Since the release of the report the
Canadian public has
consistently asked the government to take concrete actions to hold
those Canadian
officials responsible to account. But nothing has been done so far,
and the public's
trust in the government's ability to restore faith in our
institutions has clearly
been shaken.
It is important to highlight that the inquiry report does not point
the finger at any
one person or institution alone. It is also crucial to focus on
demanding concrete
changes rather than focusing on asking some officials to resign from
their jobs. This
is because accountability is not about seeking revenge; it is about
making our
institutions better and a model for the rest of the world.
Accountability goes to the
heart of our democracy. It is a fundamental pillar that distinguishes
our society
from police states.
My third objective was to make sure that this does not happen to any
other Canadian.
Unfortunately this has already happened to three other Canadian
citizens: Abdullah
Almalki, Ahmad El-Maati and Muayyed Nureddin. The similarities
between their cases
and mine are striking. We were all detained at the same branch of the
Syrian military
intelligence, tortured by the same people and asked questions that
would be of
interest to Canadian police and security agencies. It is my hope that
the government
acts on its promise and holds an independent review of their cases,
as recommended by
Justice O'Connor in his report.
If the government wants to prevent another tragedy from happening, it
must fully
implement Justice O'Connor's comprehensive and balanced
recommendations.
In my opinion these recommendations, if implemented fully, will
protect our national
security and safeguard our hard-won civil liberties. We have heard
encouraging
statements from Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, indicating he
intends to
implement the recommendations. It is my hope that he will act
immediately.
Justice O'Connor will also make further recommendations in a second
report before the
end of the year. This second report will outline proposals for a new
approach to
reviewing the RCMP's activities regarding national security
investigations. It is my
view and my hope, based on testimony at the inquiry, that this should
go beyond the
RCMP and include at least CSIS and Foreign Affairs.
It is important to make a distinction between "review" and
"oversight." Oversight will be more effective as it will prevent
tragedies
from happening again while review means that tragedy has happened
already and an
investigation needs to be launched to find out what went wrong.
Here's a good example to illustrate the point: The existence of an
oversight agency
could have prevented the RCMP from sending false information about me
to their
American counterparts or, at a minimum, could have made a huge
difference when it
came to correcting the record early on. Quick hearings could have
been held, at the
end of which all Canadian agencies could have been ordered to issue
a "one
voice" letter clearing me of any wrongdoing. Certainly this could
have resulted
in my being released earlier and also could have served as a
deterrent to those
Canadian officials who embarked on the damaging smear campaign after
my return to
Canada.
I hope that many lessons have been learned from my case. Canadians
have invested
time, effort and money in this inquiry. Now is the time to make sure
this investment
pays off, by insisting that the government implements all of Justice
O'Connor's
recommendations.
Doing so will help Canada restore its tarnished reputation for
promoting and
protecting human rights around the globe.
Maher Arar is a technology consultant who lived in Ottawa until
recently. In 2002 he
was detained by U.S. officials at JFK airport in New York and sent to
Syria, where he
was tortured and forced to make a false confession about links to al-
Qaeda. Justice
Dennis O'Connor found that RCMP officials shared false information
about Arar with
U.S. authorities, which 'very likely' led to his ordeal.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
--
The Council of Canadians
700-170 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5.
Tel: (613) 233-2773; Toll-free: 1-800-387-7177
Fax: (613) 233-6776
inquiries at canadians.org
http://www.canadians.org
-------------------------------------------------------------
From warcrimeswatch at pilpg.org
Date 10/16/2006 5:35:08 am
To warcrimeswatch at case.edu
Subject War Crimes Prosecution Watch: Vol. 2, Issue 4 - October 16,
2006
United States
• The Guardian: Cover-up claim as judge rules Bush memo trial
must be secret
• BBC: Guantanamo men's return bid fails
• CDI: Military Commissions Act reestablishes special terrorism
courts
• BBC: Red Cross sees key terror inmates
• BBC: 'Guantanamo abuse boasts' probed
Reports
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
'Guantanamo abuse boasts' probed
BBC News
October 14, 2006
The US Pentagon has ordered an inquiry into alleged abuses at
Guantanamo Bay after reports that camp guards boasted of beating and
mistreating detainees.
A marine sergeant who visited the camp has said she
understood "striking detainees was a common practice".
The sergeant's sworn statement said she had overheard a guard
describe slamming a detainee's head into a cell door.
The US has meanwhile rejected a call by British Foreign Secretary
Margaret Beckett to close Guantanamo Bay.
Camp 'unacceptable'
Ms Beckett is the highest ranking British official to attack the US
over the camp, where hundreds of "war on terror" suspects are being
held without charge.
She said the US detention camp did as much to radicalise extremists
as it did to promote security.
"The continuing detention without fair trial of prisoners is
unacceptable in terms of human rights, but it is also ineffective in
terms of counter-terrorism."
But a US spokesman said the camp was needed to house "some very
dangerous people", including those who were behind the 9/11 attacks.
The Pentagon's inspector general said the US military's Southern
Command, which oversees the Guantanamo Bay camp, had been ordered to
investigate complaints of alleged mistreatment.
Beatings 'common practice'
Military lawyers who represent detainees at the camp have filed an
affidavit that describes guards boasting of abusing prisoners.
Marine Sgt Heather Cerveny, who went to the base three weeks ago as a
legal aide to a military lawyer, said five navy guards described in
detail how they beat up detainees.
"The one sailor specifically said 'I took the detainee by the head
and smashed his head into the cell door'," she said in the affidavit.
"From the whole conversation, I understood that striking detainees
was a common practice," the sergeant wrote.
"Everyone in the group laughed at the others' stories of beating
detainees."
The sergeant also reported that some guards claimed they denied
detainees privileges purely to annoy them.
The BBC's James Westhead in Washington says the allegations are
significant because they come from a serving member of the US
military.
Separately, the Red Cross said on Friday that it had met top terror
suspects at the camp.
The US has said it recently transferred the alleged mastermind of the
9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and other al-Qaeda suspects to
the camp.
They were believed to have been held before that in secret CIA-run
jails.
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
AICAP/AIFAP ~Bookmark:
http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/201/300/aicap_inmates_newsletter/index.html
http://epe.lac-bac.ca/100/201/300/aicap_inmates_newsletter/PDF/2005
Foreign Nationals, Consular Rights & The Death Penalty
http://www3.sympatico.ca/aiwarren
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/can-am/menu-en.asp?mid=9&cat=144
A Guide to Canadians Imprisoned Abroad
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/problems/arrest-en.asp
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/pubs/imprisoned_abroad-en.asp
CSC International Transfer of Offenders
http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/test/prgrm/inttransfer/trans_e.shtml
Criminal Alien Removal Act (CLEAR) - Bill H.R.2671
The National Sheriffs Association, the Southern States Police Benevolent Association, and the Law Enforcement Alliance of America have endorsed the bill.
Bill C-15 - International Transfer of Offenders Act
http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fct/2004/2004fc1054.shtml
Immigration Law News
http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/us/im
Bookmark
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/
search aicap-aifap and/or angelgoddess-newsmuse
The information provided (in this moderated weekly digest) is not legal advice. Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Do not act upon any information without first seeking advice from a qualified attorney.[ILW]
Exercising Our First Amendment Rights!
Any attempts to intercept this message are in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. 2511(1) of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). All violators are subject to fines, imprisonment or civil damages, or both.
~In commemoration of the Estate of the late Al FedriGucci, founder of AICAP (Alliance of Incarcerated Canadians in American Prisons)~
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