An Egyptian terror suspect who has been waging a weeks-long hunger strike was ordered released Thursday by a judge who said he posed no threat to national security while his case was under review. Mohammad Mahjoub, 46, has spent nearly seven years in a Canadian prison without any charge against him or access to the evidence against him. He was entering his 84th day of a hunger strike Thursday to protest his treatment.
Mahjoub is accused of having belonged to the Vanguards of Conquests, a militant group with ties to the Egyptian organization al-Jihad. Mahjoub acknowledges meeting Osama bin Laden several times while he worked in a Sudanese agricultural plant owned by bin Laden in the 1990s. But he denies any links to terrorism.
Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley noted in his ruling that Mahjoub suffers from high blood pressure and hepatitis C. "The applicant today is an ailing and aging man preoccupied with his health and the lack of contact with his family, apart from telephone calls and occasional visits," Mosley said, adding that the conditions of his detention had "exacerbated" his declining physical health.
The judge said he was satisfied that Mahjoub would not pose a danger to national security, but emphasized that conditions of the release mounted to "a form of house arrest." Mahjoub must wear an electronic monitoring device, post $27,945 bail and live with his wife in Toronto. Supporters said it would take several weeks before Mahjoub is freed.
Mahjoub was ordered deported in 2004, but a judge stayed the order, convinced he might be tortured if forced to return to Egypt. Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms forbids Ottawa from deporting anyone to a country where that person may face torture. But under Canada's "security certificate" program, the government can detain and deport immigrants without filing charges and without providing them or their lawyers with evidence if they are deemed a threat to national security.
Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei have been detained under security certificates for several years. Egyptian-born Jaballah and Almrei, a native Syrian, are accused of having ties having ties to bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Two other Muslims detained under certificates have been released on bail. |
