24 Hours Against Torture: Stop Canadian Deportations to Torture A 24-hour nonviolent vigil Wednesday, June 8, 12 noon - Thursday, June 9, 12 noon Minister of Deportation Joe Volpe's office Bathurst and Lawrence (southwest corner), Toronto Part of a nationwide day of action Call (416) 651-5800 or email tasc@web.ca to let us know how long you can be there. Feel free to come for an hour or two and then maybe return later! The Bathurst bus runs 24 hours. Join us as we demand that Joe Volpe and the government of Canada honour their legal obligation to end ALL deportations to torture and stop secret trials in Canada. The government of Canada is attempting to deport five Muslim men to face torture or death. "The Americans call it 'rendition.' Satirists call it 'outsourcing torture.' And I call it evil...What we do to baby seals we now do to humans." Heather Mallick, Globe and Mail, April 9, 2005 "Torture is banned under international law. No exceptions are allowed, even in times of war or national emergency. The ban includes the absolute prohibition on transferring people to places where they face a risk of torture." Human Rights Watch, April, 2005 DEPORTATIONS TO TORTURE? Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture, to which Canada is a signatory, is very clear: "No State Party shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture." This prohibition is generally recognized by the community of nations as an absolute prohibition allowing for NO exceptions. However, like the administration of George W. Bush, the government of Paul Martin continues to defy its international law commitments and subject five men to a court-sanctioned rendition (deportation to torture). Lawyers for Mr. Volpe and "Public Safety" Minister Anne McLellan are pursuing efforts through the Federal Court to have these men deported to torture. The five men currently subject to a secret trial security certificate --Mahmoud Jaballah, held since August, 2001; Mohammad Mahjoub, held since June, 2000; Hassan Almrei, in solitary confinement since October, 2001; Mohamed Harkat, held since December, 2002; and Adil Charkaoui, held May 2003-February 2005, now out" under draconian release conditions -- are, even according to the Canadian government's own immigration bureaucracy, facing a substantial risk of torture or death if deported to countries including Syria, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. On May 20, The United Nations Committee on Torture recommended that Canada join the rank of civilized nations and "unconditionally undertake to respect the absolute nature of article 3 in all circumstances and fully to incorporate the provision of article 3 into the State party's domestic law." FURTHER INFORMATION: If you cannot be part of this vigil or an event but would like to help out, June 8 would be a good day to at least call or write your MP and drop a line to Joe Volpe and Anne McLellan about this issue. (Anne McLellan, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, House of Commons, 306 Justice Building, Ottawa, K1A 0A6, (613) 992-2406, Fax: (613) 995-7408, and Joe Volpe, Immigration Minister, Rm 658, Confederation Bldg, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6, (613) 992-6361, Fax: (613) 992-9791 TIP OF THE ICEBERG The Secret Trial Five cases represent the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, Canada continues to deport over 10,000 people to an uncertain fate every year, often to human rights abusing countries. And the government's pre-removal risk assessment, which determines the risk someone faces if deported, has an approval rate of 1.5% (a remarkable figure, but not surprising, given that the same department responsible for pursuing the deportations conducts the risk assessments). Equally shocking is Canada's nod and wink approach to torturers. The government knew that Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi was subject to unspeakable acts of torture in Iran, yet Canada sent new diplomatic representation to that country and did not speak up about it until six months later, after an Iranian refugee revealed this shocking fact). And of course there is the ongoing case of Maher Arar, a Canadian subject to rendition to Syria where he was tortured and detained almost a full year. Mr. Arar is still seeking answers through a public inquiry which, so far, has been a mainly secret inquiry. WHAT IS CANADA SENDING PEOPLE BACK TO? According to Amnesty International, the common forms of torture to which a country like Canada is prepared to deport people include being "beaten with fists, sticks, gun-butts, makeshift whips, iron pipes, baseball bats, electric flex. Victims suffer bruises, internal bleeding, broken bones, lost teeth, ruptured organs and some die. "Rape and sexual abuse of prisoners is also widespread. Other common methods of torture and ill-treatment include electric shocks (reported in more than 40 countries), suspension of the body (more than 40 countries), beating on the soles of the feet (more than 30 countries), suffocation (more than 30 countries), mock execution or death threat (more than 50 countries) and prolonged solitary confinement (more than 50 countries). Other methods include submersion in water, stubbing of cigarettes on the body, being tied to the back of a car and being dragged behind it, sleep deprivation and sensory deprivation." This, then, is what Canadian tax dollars are being used for: to send the Secret Trial Five and countless others back to countries where the mutilation of genitals, the removal of finger and toenails, the repeated near drowning in fetid toilets, suspension of the body in contorted positions, and other cruelties are common practice. Join us as we try and bring Canada in line with the norms of a civilized, lawful country. If you are planning an event, please let us know at tasc@web.ca Thanks! Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada (416) 651-5800, tasc@web.ca, homesnotbombs.ca