[Bloquez l'empire!] {Ottawa} Call for Courtroom Solidarity: Closing Arguments in May 29th Trial Begin THURSDAY

[No One is Illegal Montreal]

[please post and forward widely...]

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A Call for Courtroom Solidarity
Elgin Street Court, Ottawa
November 17 & 18, December 1 & 2
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--  Closing Arguments in the Trial of Non-Status Algerians and Supporters
Arrested in the Immigration Minister’s Office Begin Thursday.

-- Please Show Your Support; Help Us Fill the Court.

On May 29th 2003, 10 non-status Algerians and 2 supporters were brutally
arrested in then-Immigration Minister Denis Coderre's Ottawa office. They
were charged with "mischief over $5,000"; their trial began in Ottawa in
June 2004.

After many months and much waiting, the trial is finally winding down.
Closing arguments begin this coming Thursday and are scheduled for four
days over the next month:

? Thursday, November 17, 2005
? Friday, November 18, 2005
? Thursday, December 1, 2005
? Friday, December 2, 2005

Stakes are still high for those defendants who are still not regularized
and risk being deported. If you live in the Ottawa area, your presence in
court any time you are able to attend during those four days would be
greatly appreciated.   A full courtroom reminds the judge that a large
community supports the defendants, and believes that the only crimes
perpetrated in the Minister Coderre’s office on May 29, 2003 were the
racist and brutal actions of the Ottawa Police and RCMP during the arrest.

The Elgin Street Court House is located at 161 Elgin Street, Ottawa,
Ontario. Look for us in Courtroom #8.

Thank you!

In solidarity and struggle,

-- The May 29th Trial Support Team
(514) 813-1968


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BACKGROUND
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THE STRUGGLE

The Action Committee for Non-Status Algerians has been organizing against
the deportation of non-status Algerians for over three years.  Their
struggle intensified in April 2002, when then-Immigration Minister Denis
Coderre lifted the moratorium on deportations to Algeria, leaving over1000
non-status Algerians facing removal to a country still torn by civil
conflict and brutal violence.

In October 2002, their dynamic struggle won a partial victory. After
months of public meetings, petitions, demonstrations, meetings with
immigration bureaucrats -- and after the Bourouisa family sought sanctuary
in a Montreal Church -- Immigration Canada and Immigration Quebec
announced the implementation of a special Joint Procedure for the
regularization of some non-status Algerians.  However, numerous
individuals are excluded from that regularization procedure, and so the
Action Committee has continued to fight for justice.

On Thursday, May 29th 2003, 10 non-status Algerians and 2 supporters  from
the No One Is Illegal Campaign of Montreal entered the waiting room of
Coderre's Ottawa office.  They were delivering a letter demanding a
face-to-face meeting with the Minister and a just solution for individuals
facing deportation to Algeria because they are excluded from the
regularization process put  into place by Canada and Quebec Immigration.
Since Coderre had repeatedly refused to meet or dialogue with members of
the Action Committee, those delivering the letter decided to remain in the
waiting room until he committed to the meeting.


THE CRIME

The police response to the action was brutal. At approximately 10:30 PM,
members of the Ottawa Police Services tactical squad, in coordination with
the RCMP, charged the people occupying the waiting room.  After forcing
them to the ground, the police beat and Tasered many of the men on their
necks, backs, torsos and genitals.  One man was bashed in the head with
the butt of a Taser gun, leaving a large and bloody gash on his forehead.
Another man's tooth was broken when he was punched in the face by a police
officer. Several men received Taser burns on the backs of their neck,
backs and arms. These wounds have resulted in permanent scarring.  The 12
individuals were arrested, charged with mischief over $5,000, and released
from jail the next day.


THE TRIAL

Almost one year to the day after the police attacked the unarmed
protesters peacefully waiting in the immigration minister's waiting room,
the people they brutalized went to trial in Ottawa court. For three weeks
in June 2004, Judge Ann Alder presided as Crown David El Hadad called
witnesses from different policing and “security” institutions, some of
whom testified with chilling detachment and lack of concern to the
violence perpetrated against the non-status men during the arrest. (One
Ottawa Police Services officer refered to punching a man in the head as
“using the closed handed technique.”)  The trial continued for a further
three weeks in February and March 2005.

The trial will now resume for closing arguments on November 17, 2005, at
the Elgin Street Courthouse.