[antiwar-van] Security Certificates Detainees Hungerstrike Update/Health Workers Send Letter of Concern

[Harsha]

* pls forward *

UPDATE ON SECURITY CERTIFICATE DETAINEES HUNGERSTRIKE
HEALTH WORKERS SEND LETTER OF CONCERN ON THE MEDICAL STATUS OF DETAINEES

Security certificate detainees Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah, and
Hassan Almrei are still on a punishing hungerstrike. As of Tuesday January
23, 2007, Mohammad Mahjoub has been on hunger strike for 60 days, while
Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei have been on hunger strike for 49 days.
The federal government is refusing to negotiate with the men. During all
this time, the men have been drinking only orange juice and occasionally
clear broth. The men are not being medically monitored and the failure to
provide appropriate medical monitoring and care could lead to very serious
consequences.

In response to this critical situation, a group of health workers have
written and released a letter (included below) to Minister Stockwell Day
stating their concerns and the urgent need for all three men to undergo a
thorough medical examination by a qualified independent physician, as well
as being monitored on a daily basis. The group has written, “This failure
to provide appropriate medical monitoring and care could lead to very
serious consequences. (
) all three men are at risk of severe hypotension
or hypertension, renal failure, cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure, and a
variety of other potentially life-threatening disorders.”

The most pressing demands of the hungerstrike include immediate medical
treatment for Mr. Mahjoub, who has been denied access to medical care for
hepatitis C and high blood pressure since September. The men are also
demanding that a supervisor (not a guard) escort them between the "living
unit" and the administration building (where they receive visitors and
exercise). The men are concerned about the potential for mistreatment at
the hands of some (not all) guards at the facility, as well as about the
fact that false allegations have been made against the men by some (but
not all) guards at the facility.

The men are detained at the $3.5 million dollar six-cell facility Kingston
Immigration Holding Centre (KIHC), just outside of Kingston. KIHC has been
created especially for security certificate detainees and is run by the
Canadian Border Services Agency. The detained men are part of the Secret
Trial 5 along with two other men, Mohamed Harkat and Adil Charkaoui, who
have been released under draconian bail conditions. All five men are held
being held on Security Certificates. Security certificates are a measure
of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that allow for the
preventive arrest and detention of non-citizens, without charge, under
secret evidence. Amnesty International has described security Certificates
as being fundamentally flawed and unfair and the United Nations Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention and United Nations Committee against Torture
have both questioned Canada's use of this procedure.  The detainees and
their lawyers see only a summary of the evidence and evidence maybe
presented in court in the absence of the detainee or their lawyer. Normal
standards of evidence are explicitly waived. The detainee is not afforded
a right to examine any of the witnesses. The men can be deported,
including deportation to torture in contravention of international law.
Therefore security certificates violate the fundamental principle of
innocent until proven guilty and the Supreme Court of Canada is expected
to render a decision on the constitutionality of Security Certificates in
the next few months.

On January 8, 2007 the three detainees released an open letter, part of
which states “Like the detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, we are held
indefinitely. This is a kind of psychological torture that is almost
unimaginable. We do not know when, or if, we will be released from jail
We
have been very patient and done our best to deal with a process where it
is impossible to defend yourself. And we will remain patient, because we
know that ultimately, we will be let out, because we are innocent men. But
sometimes there is only so much human beings should be required to accept
before they raise their voice in peaceful protest
We do not want to be on
hunger strike. It is hard on us and our families. But it is the only voice
we have.”

* To read the detainees’ open letter in full visit
http://homesnotbombs.ca/openletter.htm

* Write a support letter to the detainees (email tasc at web.ca so we can
monitor if mail is getting through): Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah,
and Hassan Almrei can be reached: Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, c/o
CSC RHQ Ontario Region, 440 King Street West, PO Box 1174, Kingston,
Ontario K7L 4Y8

* For further information:
Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada, (416) 651-5800 or tasc at web.ca
Freedom for Mohamed Harkat: www.zerra.net/freemohamed
Justice for Adil Charkaoui: www.adilinfo.org

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE HUNGER STRIKE IS URGENTLY NEEDED!

Call, email, or fax the offices of Stockwell Day and Diane Finley to
express support for the basic demands of the men and ask:
1. Why can't the men be provided with medical care?
2. Why can't the federal government appoint a neutral mediator to
immediately deal with the problems, and set up a system to deal with
ongoing issues that is balanced and fair?
3. Will the men have to die for a little bit of dignity?
4. If the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre will not send in health care
staff (something they did before September), will the government allow an
independent outside doctor in to check on the men?

==> Stockwell Day, "Public Safety Minister"
Phone: (613) 995-1702, Fax: (613) 995.1154, Email: day.s at parl.gc.ca

==> Diane Finley, Immigration Minister, (866) 496-3400

==> PM Stephen Harper
Phone (613) 992-4211; Fax: 613-941-6900, Email: pm at pm.gc.ca

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LETTER FROM HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ON THE HEALTH STATUS OF DETAINEES

January 23, 2007

Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada

Claudette Deschenes
VP, Enforcement, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA)

Re: HEALTH STATUS of Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei

Dear Minister Day, Dear Mme. Deschenes,

As health professionals, we are deeply concerned about the health status
of Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei, who are detained
at the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre (KIHC) under security
certificates and currently on a liquids-only hunger strike.

As of today (January 22, 2007), Mohammad Mahjoub has been on hunger strike
for 59 days, while Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei have been on hunger
strike for 48 days. During all this time, they have been drinking only
orange juice and occasionally clear broth.

We are extremely worried about the fact that KIHC is not medically
monitoring the vital signs and general health status of the hunger
strikers. This failure to provide appropriate medical monitoring and care
could lead to very serious consequences. When a detainee observes a severe
voluntary fast, as is the case here, it is absolutely essential that the
correctional institution’s medical staff regularly monitor the person’s
vital signs (i.e., blood pressure, cardiac and respiratory rate) as well
as serum electrolyte levels. Failure to do so violates basic principles of
ethical health care.

In an editorial in the prestigious British Medical Journal on health
professionals’ obligations in the context of hunger strikes, Dr. Michael
Peel wrote: “Conclusions from studies recommend independent medical
monitoring after a weight loss of 10% in lean healthy individuals. If the
pre-hunger strike weight is unknown, a maximum of 10 days' hunger strike,
or a body mass index of less than 16.5 kg/m2, should be the trigger.” In
the case of the three men currently on hunger strike at the Kingston
Immigration Holding Centre, the 10-day ‘trigger’ is long past, so there
can be no doubt that medical monitoring must be provided immediately.

After hunger strikes varying from 48 to 59 days, all three men are at risk
of severe hypotension or hypertension, renal failure, cardiac arrhythmia,
heart failure, and a variety of other potentially life-threatening
disorders.

We are particularly concerned for the health of Mohammad Mahjoub, who has
not received treatment for his hepatitis C since September 2006, and is
now on Day 59 of his hunger strike. All three men already had health
problems resulting from their lengthy detention without charge (5 to 6 ½ 
years), often in solitary confinement or other harsh conditions, denied
access to a fair trial, with no end in sight, and under constant threat of
deportation to countries where they are at risk of torture. Indeed, the
Federal Court recognized in December 2006 that there is a serious
likelihood that Mohammad Mahjoub would be tortured if returned to Egypt,
his country of origin; just as it recognized in the case of Mahmoud
Jaballah in an earlier decision. Hassan Almrei is threatened with
deportation to Syria, where Canadian citizen Maher Arar experienced
horrifying torture. In addition, Mr. Mahjoub and Mr. Jaballah are
particularly vulnerable to a variety of health difficulties because they
are torture survivors. Finally, all three men have health problems linked
to previous hunger strikes, including a 2005 hunger strike that lasted 79
days in the case of Mr. Mahjoub and 73 days in the case of Mr. Almrei.
These antecedents increase the likelihood that the hunger strikers may
experience life-threatening disorders.

For all these reasons, we believe that it is urgent that all three men
undergo a thorough medical examination by a qualified independent
physician, as well as being monitored on a daily basis by medical
personnel at the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre.

Signed by:

Janet Cleveland, Ph.D., psychologist, Montreal
Marie Munoz, MD, Montreal
Nazila Bettache, MD, Montreal
Scott Weinstein, RN, Montreal
Olivier Sabella, MD, Montreal
Gerald van Gurp, MD, Montreal
Amir Khadir, MD, Montreal
Helen Hudson, Masters candidate, Nursing, Montreal
Marie-Jo Ouimet, MD, Montreal
Pierre Dongier, MD, Montreal
Faiza Majeed, MD, Toronto
Mandeep Dhillon, MD, Vancouver
Valerie Zink, primary care paramedic, Vancouver
Aida Sadr, MD, Vancouver
Jen Green, ND, Toronto
Thierry Bégin, MD, Montreal
Cathy Crowe, RN, Toronto
Sylvain Couture, MD, Montreal
Misty Malott, MSc(A) Nursing, Montreal
Faiz Ahmad Khan, MD, Montreal
Samir Shaheen-Hussain, MD, Montreal
McGill Nurses for Global Health (MNGH), Montreal
Annie Janvier, MD, Montreal
Ghassan B. Alami, MD, Montreal
Khurram Sher, MD, Montreal
Monika Dutt, MD, Toronto
Diana R. Ahmed, MD, Hamilton
Nicolas Bergeron, MD, Montreal
Bruno Pelletier, MD, Montreal
Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD, Director, Division of Social & Transcultural
Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal
Marie-Michelle Bellon, MD, Montreal
Renée Joyal, MD, Cowansville
Isabelle Nicolas, MD Cowansville
Vicky Champagne, nurse, Cowansville
Stéphanie Lapointe, nurse, Cowansville
Marc-André Ryan, nurse, Cowansville
Jaswant Guzder, MD, Montreal
Joan Schwartzenberger, Registered Clinical Counsellor, Victoria
Joëlle Nédélec, MD, Montreal
Irene Sarasua, RN, Montreal
Sidney Maynard, MD, Montreal
Jessica Lyons, 3rd Year Collaborative Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto
Makeda Semret, MD, Montreal
Martine Eloy, nurse, Montreal
Elaine Lafond, MD, Cowansville
Emilie Davoine, MD, Cowansville
Cécile Rousseau, MD, MSc. - Professor, Psychiatry Dept., McGill
University, Montreal
Anousheh Machouf, Psychologist, Montreal
Sylvie Laurion, Ph.D., Psychologist, Montreal
Réseau d'intervention pour les personnes ayant subi la violence organisée
(RIVO), Montreal
John Docherty, Coordinator of RIVO, Montreal
Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, Toronto
Mulugeta Abai, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Victims of
Torture, Toronto
Kathy Hardill, RNEC, Nurse Practitioner, Toronto
Chantal Gravel, M.Ps., Psychologist, Montreal
Allison Campbell, registered midwife, Vancouver
Natya Raghavan, MD, Kingston
Will Offley, RN, Vancouver
Anna Cooper, RN, Vancouver
Navdeep Sidhu, MD, Sasketchewan
Megan Oleson, RN, Vancouver
Kyla Ives, Licensed Practical Nurse, Vancouver
Michèle Marois, Infirmière, Gatineau
M. Jane Pritchard, M.D., CCFP, FCFP
Kathryn Leccese, medical student, Montreal
Stephane Voyer, MD, Montreal