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Those of you on my f-list who are Canadian: you may remember the news stories about the Toronto 18 from 2 years ago. For those who aren't I'll give a quick re-cap.
The Toronto 18 are a group of 18 men who were captured in a counter-terrorist raid in the GTA on June 2 and June 3, 2006. 12 were adults, 6 were youth. They were accused of plotting to blow up Parliament buildings and planning to behead Stephen Harper (that'd be our prime minister). They were all over the news at the time, being billed as 'Canada's first homegrown terrorist cell'. There was a big media frenzy over them for awhile and then they disappeared. Completely. At least, until last week-end when an article was published in the Sunday Star by Thomas Walkom, National Affairs columnist.
Link to article.
In the same issue, there was another article, written anonymously by a sibling of one of the accused.
Link to article.
Reading these 2 articles really hit me hard. I had no idea that there were people being subjected to this sort of treatment in my own province - in the city where I go to school. I've never thought of Canada as a place where human rights could be denied, where someone could be accused and treated as though they were convicted before going through a trial. I didn't think I lived in a country where unconvicted prisoners could be kept in a jail cell for 23 and 1/2 hours a day or where guards could abuse a prisoner and not be held accountable. And I certainly didn't think I lived in a country where someone would report this happening to them:
I assumed that in Canada everyone - everyone - had the right to be treated as innocent until proven guilty. And I guess I was wrong.
For those of you who feel like I do, there is a petition online that is trying to fix this problem. Their goals are outlined as follows:
You can sign the petition over here. Their goal is 10 000 signatures, currently they're at 1228. If you'd like to do further independant research, there's a website devoted to the case of the Toronto 18 here.
-gets off soapbox- That's all folks.
The Toronto 18 are a group of 18 men who were captured in a counter-terrorist raid in the GTA on June 2 and June 3, 2006. 12 were adults, 6 were youth. They were accused of plotting to blow up Parliament buildings and planning to behead Stephen Harper (that'd be our prime minister). They were all over the news at the time, being billed as 'Canada's first homegrown terrorist cell'. There was a big media frenzy over them for awhile and then they disappeared. Completely. At least, until last week-end when an article was published in the Sunday Star by Thomas Walkom, National Affairs columnist.
Link to article.
In the same issue, there was another article, written anonymously by a sibling of one of the accused.
Link to article.
Reading these 2 articles really hit me hard. I had no idea that there were people being subjected to this sort of treatment in my own province - in the city where I go to school. I've never thought of Canada as a place where human rights could be denied, where someone could be accused and treated as though they were convicted before going through a trial. I didn't think I lived in a country where unconvicted prisoners could be kept in a jail cell for 23 and 1/2 hours a day or where guards could abuse a prisoner and not be held accountable. And I certainly didn't think I lived in a country where someone would report this happening to them:
"Yes I have seen the psychiatrist many times and I was told that I have post-traumatic stress syndrome and I was prescribed anti-depressants. I didn't go through any treatment simply because I was told that whatever I am going through will stop as soon as I was out on bail. Now I'm released from bail and I barely have any conditions but nothing much has changed. I'm still not even close to being the same person as I was before the arrest. I'm a completely different man, someone who keeps asking himself if he's really gone crazy ... I suffer from memory loss sometimes.
I assumed that in Canada everyone - everyone - had the right to be treated as innocent until proven guilty. And I guess I was wrong.
For those of you who feel like I do, there is a petition online that is trying to fix this problem. Their goals are outlined as follows:
"...we demand that Fahim Ahmad, Zakaria Amara and Mohammed Dirie:
- Be released immediately from solitary confinement;
- Be guaranteed conditions of detention that meet the minimum standards provided to other detainees;
- Be guaranteed their constitutional rights through the establishment of safeguards by the appropriate authorities.
You can sign the petition over here. Their goal is 10 000 signatures, currently they're at 1228. If you'd like to do further independant research, there's a website devoted to the case of the Toronto 18 here.
-gets off soapbox- That's all folks.
