Court rules man’s rights were violated but upholds security certificate

TORONTO — The branding of an Egyptian man as a terrorist threat to Canada is reasonable even though the government violated his constitutional rights, Federal Court ruled Friday.

The ruling upholds the national security certificate Ottawa imposed on Mohamed Mahjoub that has restricted his freedom for the past 13 years, even though he has never been charged with any crime.

Judge Edmond Blanchard also issued a declaration that Mahjoub’s “right to a fair trial pursuant to ... the Charter and right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure have been violated” but opted against any further orders.

Mahjoub was not immediately available to comment, but the ruling shocked his lawyer, Yavar Hameed.

Mahjoub, 53, a Toronto father of three, has been fighting government allegations that he was a ranking member of a terrorist group in Egypt that may have never existed, the Vanguards of Conquest.

He also worked on an agricultural project in Sudan run by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden during the early 1990s. His lawyers have maintained it was a legitimate business.

Mahjoub has been under a national security certificate, which allows for indefinite detention without charge or trial, while Canada has tried to deport him to Egypt, where he says he would be tortured.

What emerged over years of hearings is that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service destroyed the original records it used as a basis for claiming Mahjoub posed a threat. The spy service admitted that foreign agencies that provided intelligence to Canada were linked to torture.