[Bloquez l'empire!] update Toronto hunger-strikers and appeal

[Mary Foster]

Statement from Hassan Almrei, on ending his hunger-strike, and appeal below.

----- Original Message -----
From: "TASC" <tasc at web.ca>


> Hassan Almrei ends 73-day hunger strike on a hopeful note
>
> Hundreds Rally outside Metro West as RCMP Refuses Charter of Rights and
> Freedoms
>
>
> September 3, 2005, Toronto -- A remarkable week came to a remarkable
> conclusion today as Hassan Almrei, a Syrian refugee on day 73 of his
hunger
> strike from his solitary confinement cell in Metro West Detention Centre,
> decided to suspend his hunger strike because of the hope he has been given
> by many people across Canada.
>
> Shortly after 4 pm, as over 300 people gathered around the entrance
> to the Metro West, Almrei was able to call out from his cell and announce
> through a friend that he had broken the hunger strike. He was overcome
with
> emotion as he heard the gathered throng cheering in support.
>
> Acknowledging the numerous demonstrations which took place across
> Canada this week, and the work of thousands of people calling and writing
> the politicians responsible for his conditions, Hassan, in a dictated
> statement, said, "The hunger strike is my only voice in here. It is the
> only way I have to wake people up to what is going on in here. You, the
> Canadian people,  have helped me make my voice very loud and clear. I want
> to thank you a million times for this. My words can't express how much I
> feel and appreciate your support, and your concern about my health. I wish
> there were something I could give all of you.
>
> "Mahatma Gandhi went on hunger strikes in India. Sometimes he would
> stop them when he saw positive things happening, when he saw a reason to
> believe in hope. Because of the new hope you have given me, today I will
> end my hunger strike, but NOT my struggle for my rights." (full statement
> below) Almrei urged those attending and those who would read about the
> rally later to continue contacting the Ontario ministry, since his court
> date is still well over a month away.
>
> The statement was read at a spirited rally outside the prison where
> Almrei, along with Mohammad Mahjoub (still on hunger strike, day 59) and
> Mahmoud Jaballah have all been held on secret trial security certificates
> for well over four years, without charge, bail, or an opportunity to see
> the case against them.
>
> Yesterday in Montreal, a delegation of physicians and nurses
> delivered a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin expressing their concern
> about the health of Almrei and Mahjoub. "It is shocking that people have
to
> resort to a hunger strike to demand conditions that we feel to be so basic
> and justified. Furthermore, it is imperative to understand that if this
> hunger strike continues much longer, a fatal outcome or at least a
> disability is to be expected. This is an entirely avoidable outcome and
for
> these reasons we urge your urgent and immediate intervention to avoid an
> extremely regrettable consequence in anticipation of the upcoming Labour
> Day long weekend."
>
> Throughout the week there have been demonstrations to support the
> demands of both hunger strikers. In Montreal on Monday, Warren Allmand,
> Alexandre Trudeau, Janet Cleveland and numerous others spoke in front of
> Justice Minister Irwin Cotler's office, seeking his intervention in the
> case. Trudeau noted that the Toronto detainees are held under conditions
> far worse than those enjoyed by the "worst criminals in this country."  By
> Wednesday, former NDP leader Alexa McDonough issued a statement urging
> Cotler to do the same.
>
> In Ottawa on Thursday, banners were hung from the Mackenzie Bridge
> while another rally of 60 people was held later in the day demanding
> justice for the hunger strikers. Among those demonstrating was Sophie
> Harkat, whose husband, Mohamed Harkat, remains detained under similar
> circumstances in Ottawa.
>
> That afternoon in Vancouver, there was a rally of about 50 people,
> and over 100 letters that were signed by passersby were faxed to Ontario's
> Minister of Corrections and Community Safety Monte Kwinter the next day. A
> London, Ontario rally was also staged by People for Peace in front of a
> local detention centre where numerous individuals are detained on
> immigration holds.
>
> And in what is slowly becoming a long-sought response, and a
> potential CSIS nightmare, members of Toronto's Muslim community gathered
> Thursday night to start discussions on how to start speaking out about
> secret trials and other civil rights violations directed at their
> community. In front of the families of Mr. Mahjoub and Mr. Jaballah,
> leaders of the community publicly apologized for their failure to stand
> with them through these last five years, and pledged their political and
> financial support. The group was urged to adopt the tactics of the U.S.
> civil rights movement, which engaged in nonviolent action throughout the
> American South in the 1950s and 1960s to achieve the kinds of rights which
> are now being denied to members of the Arabic and Muslim communities in
> Canada.
>
> The fruits of that meeting were evident today as almost half the
> crowd was made of up members of the GTA Muslim community, who cheered
> speaker after speaker denouncing the conditions of detention for the
secret
> trial detainees. Kike Roach, the lawyer representing Hassan, spoke
> passionately about the difficulties Hassan has faced, while Zafar Bangesh
> of the Islamic Society of York Region delivered a rousing condemnation of
> the injustices which have been directed at the secret trial detainees and
> their families.
>
> Among other speakers were Alexandre Trudeau, currently making a
> documentary on secret trials and a bail surety for Hassan, and Natercia
> Coelho, who spoke about the need to view such cases as these -- as well as
> that of her husband, Gary Freeman, currently detained over a year while
> fighting extradition to the U.S. for an incident in 1969 --  as ones in
> which human rights must trump all other considerations, something which
the
> Canadian government has been failing to do. Coelho's speech was a good
> reminder that the secret trials represent the tip of an iceberg of
> injustice across this country.
>
> Midway through the rally, a phone call was received from Mahmoud
> Jaballah, who thanked those gathered for their prayers and support via a
> cell phone hooked up to a microphone. He was followed by emotional stories
> from Ahmad Jaballah, the oldest of six children, his sister, Afnan, and
> their youngest sibling, Ali. A family friend spoke about the amazing
> strength of the family going through this ordeal, and urged all there to
> come to court this Wednesday, September 7, at 10:30 am at 361 University
> Ave to be with Jaballah as he seeks the right to seek bail in Federal
Court.
>
> The rally closed with words from Steve Watson of the Canadian
> Autoworkers. Watson is activist who has walked the walk with the secret
> trials campaign from the very beginning and someone whose President, Buzz
> Hargrove, was the one of the first union leaders in Canada to speak out on
> the issue. Numerous members of the CAW and United Steelworkers were in
> attendance, and one CAW activist brought forward 500 letters of support
for
> the hunger strikers' demands that had been signed at his plant, and which
> will be sent to Monte Kwinter on Tuesday.
>
> Today's rally was organized with the Toronto Coalition to Stop the
> War, which is planning a major rally at the U.S. Consulate at 1 pm in
> Toronto on Saturday, September 24, as well as numerous Muslim
organizations
> and the secret trials campaign.
>
> At the end of the rally, the group walked for about 20 minutes to
> the local RCMP detachment to present a gift of the Canadian Charter of
> Rights and Freedoms. Since the RCMP and CSIS violate them so often, the
> idea went, they had probably lost their office copy and could use a new
> one. As has happened to similar gifts at both the RCMP and CSIS over the
> past 5 or so years, the gifts were refused.
>
>  THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE TO END THE TRAGEDY OF SECRET TRIALS IN
CANADA.
>
> Hassan is hoping that folks will continue contacting Monte Kwinter and
Anne
> McLellan, urging that they change his conditions of detention. Mohammad
> Mahjoub is asking the same.
>
> To hear Hassan interviewed live on Toronto's CKLN on Day 70 of his hunger
> strike, go to this weblink:
> http://www.radio4all.net/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=13955&nav=&
>
> BELOW ARE HASSAN'S STATEMENT AND THE LETTER DELIVERED BY MONTREAL HEALTH
> PROFESSIONALS ON FRIDAY:
>
> September 3, 2005
>
> This is a note for the people of Canada, and for all the people
> demonstrating today at this jail.:
>
> I, Hassan Almrei, am in day 73 of my sixth hunger strike since October,
> 2001, when I was arrested on a security certificate. I have not been
> charged with anything, ever, in this country or in Syria, and my home for
> the past four years has been four walls in a 9 X 12 solitary confinement
> cell. I am held on secret evidence.
>
> My hunger strike is not just for myself. It is for all the people who face
> these conditions of detention. I am sad that the Ontario government will
> not give me my basic human rights. These rights are in international law
> and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is why we need to go to court
> on October 11 to fight for these rights. I wish the government would save
> the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and give me my rights, but
> they are insisting we go to court.
>
> Many people have asked me to stop my hunger strike. They have said how
> upset they are. They have sympathy for these issues. I appreciate this.
But
> sympathy is not enough. People need to speak up, to challenge this secret
> evidence, the deportations to torture, this indefinite detention in
> solitary confinement, for me, for the other secret trial detainees, for
> anyone in this situation.
>
> In the past week, I have heard about demonstrations in Canada supporting
my
> demands. I have heard that hundreds and hundreds of people have been
> writing, calling, faxing Monte Kwinter, Paul Martin, Anne McLellan, and
Joe
> Volpe. This has given me hope.
>
> Despite everything that has happened to me, I still think Canada is the
> best country in the whole world. The response of the Canadian people to my
> hunger strike confirms this for me. When they know what is really
> happening, people in Canada do care. I also want to thank the guards in
> segregation and the health unit at Metro West, who have shown very great
> concern for me during this hunger strike.
>
> The hunger strike is my only voice in here. It is the only way I have to
> wake people up to what is going on in here. You, the Canadian people,
have
> helped me make my voice very loud and clear. I want to thank you a million
> times for this. My words can't express how much I feel and appreciate your
> support, and your concern about my health. I wish there were something I
> could give all of you.
>
> Mahatma Gandhi went on hunger strikes in India. Sometimes he would stop
> them when he saw positive things happening, when he saw a reason to
believe
> in hope.
>
> Because of the new hope you have given me, today I will end my hunger
> strike, but NOT my struggle for my rights.
>
> So please, as my voice on the outside, I need you to keep speaking up, to
> not be afraid, and to come to court on October 11 for my hearing. I need
> you to speak up about the secret trials, about the conditions of
detention,
> about the deportations to torture.
>
> I hope I can meet each and every one of you someday soon. But for now,
> someone else holds the key to my door.
>
> Thank you very much.     Hassan Almrei
>
>
>
> The following letter was delivered to an official in the Prime Minister's
> Montreal office by a delegation of eleven health professionals on Friday.
>
> Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
>
> The undersigned health professionals would like to express our rave
concern
> about the effects of the hunger-strike and conditions of detention on the
> health of Mr. Hassan Almrei and Mr. Mohammad Mahjoub.
>
> As you know, these two men have been ingesting only water and some orange
> juice, for 72 days in the case of Mr. Almrei and 58 in the case of Mr.
> Mahjoub. This is an excessively prolonged period for such a severe hunger
> strike. In comparison, may we remind you that the duration of Mr. Almrei's
> hunger-strike dangerously approaches the maximum survival time for the
> Irish political prisoners of the 1980's, some of whom died after a much
> shorter hunger strike.  According to the information we have, Mr. Almrei
> has already lost 50 pounds. It is important to note that a weight loss of
> 35-50% of
> initial body weight is considered to be incompatible with life. Given that
> the average male weighs approximately 150 pounds, the weight loss that has
> already occurred appears alarming.
>
> Despite the ingestion of a little sugar and vitamins, the risk of death
due
> to overwhelming infections, heart arrhythmias, or the dysfunction and
> failure of vital organs is quite high, if not imminent. Grave and
permanent
> sequelae, including severe neurological impairment and other
complications,
> can be predicted if the hunger strike continues, as well as further
> complications with the cessation of the strike and medical treatment.
>
> Additionally, the conditions of detention to which the two men are subject
> are far from conducive to physical and mental health. In fact, a balanced
> diet and a modicum of physical exercise constitute the most basic
> requirements of physical health. Moreover, a sense of security about the
> future as well as significant and regular human contact are among the
> essential conditions for safeguarding mental health. These fundamentals
> appear to be absent from the current conditions under which Mr. Almrei and
> Mr. Mahjoub are detained,  in complete contradiction with the directives
of
> our various professional orders. Prolonged solitary confinement, the
> uncertainty of the legal proceedings, the threat of deportation to a
> country which practices torture constitute treatment which is comparable
to
> psychological torture, and which we denounce as injurious to mental
health.
>
> In conclusion, we regard the conditions under which Mr. Almrei and Mr.
> Mahjoub are currently detained to be unacceptable from a health
standpoint.
> It is shocking that people have to resort to a hunger strike to demand
> conditions that we feel to be so basic and justified. Furthermore, it is
> imperative to understand that if this hunger strike continues much longer,
> a fatal outcome or at least a disability is to be expected. This is an
> entirely avoidable outcome and for these reasons we urge your urgent and
> immediate intervention to avoid an extremely regrettable consequence in
> anticipation of the upcoming Labour Day long weekend.
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
> Nazila Bettache, MD
> Janet Cleveland, PhD
> Pierre Dongier, MD
> Catherine Gagnon, RN
> Samir Hussain, MD
> Amir Khadir, MD
> Marie Munoz, MD
> Marie Jo Ouimet, MD
> Olivier Sabella, MD
> Scott Weinstein, RN
> Gerald van Gurp, MD
>
> (summary prepared by Matthew Behrens of the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials
> in Canada. As we continue to build towards what we hope will be the
> aboliton of secret trials and deportations, we are as always grateful for
> any donations which folks can provide to pay our expenses. Cheques can be
> made out to Homes not Bombs and mailed to PO Box 73620, 509 St. Clair Ave.
> West, Toronto, ON M6C 1C0. Our website is www.homesnotbombs.ca
>
> Thanks to everyone for all their support this past week. Let's keep moving
> forward!