Charkaoui tries to set record straight
Adil Charkaoui has been a household name since 2003 when he was detained by the Canadian government on a security certificate alleging he was a sleeper agent. Charkaoui successfully fought the government and obtained Canadian citizenship — and his freedom — in 2014. But over the past four months, Charkaoui’s name has surfaced again and again as the tie linking 19 young Quebecers who have travelled, or attempted to travel, abroad to conflict zones in the Middle East. At least 11 of the 19 went to Collège Maisonneuve, where Charkaoui has taught Arabic and Koranic lessons. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette’s Catherine Solyom, Charkaoui addressed the latest allegations against him, and explained why he believes he is the focus of so much negative attention.
Q The media and others have pointed to you as the common denominator that ties these youths together. How do you respond to that?
A When the news first came out that Collège Maisonneuve students were at “Charkaoui’s school,” I was with my lawyers and we were just about to react to a Supreme Court decision that said the government had to divulge its evidence to the defending party — me, who was suing them for $26.5 million. So the two articles came out at the same time. ... Someone called me and gave me the name of the student and I said he was at two sessions (with the school) then he dropped the course. But the journalist still called him a “student of Charkaoui.”
Q Why do you think so many people are focusing on your relationship to these youths?
A If I hadn’t been arrested under a security certificate, would people still say the same thing? What about other teachers at the CCIEM or the CEGEP? It’s because my name is known. Now they say, “It’s him again.”
Q You knew some of the 10 youths arrested at the airport. What can you tell me about them?
A We heard that 10 youths were arrested, and we were in total shock. They were not talking of one or two, but 10 trying to reach a conflict zone, probably to join a terrorist group. Then we investigated. I talked to three parents, including the father who alerted police. And we learned that it’s five couples — five love stories — and the parents are against their marriage. ... So it’s five attempted marriages. (Editor’s note: On May 19, the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team released a statement in which it said the 10 youths were arrested at Trudeau airport, and “suspected of wanting to leave the country to join jihadist groups.” They had their passports confiscated but no charges were laid. The RCMP would not comment on this alternative explanation.)
Q Anonymous sources, cited by La Presse, assert that someone or several people at the CCIEM had been advising youths on how to get to Syria and Iraq. Could this be true?
A It’s anonymous. “Sources.” … We’ve sent messages to youths to say if people come to you with radical speeches, you have to alert the police. … There are about 1,000 people a week at the centre attending prayers, courses and activities. There’s no registration — no one will ask you who you are or tell you to wear a veil. … There’s a separation between girls and boys. So how do they know each other? They didn’t meet at CCIEM. They got to know each other in CEGEP. That doesn’t come out in the news, either.