HOME
your socialist home on the internet
ABOUT US
who we are, what we do
NEWS & VIEWS
newspaper, articles, statements
THEORY
what is socialism, marxism
JOIN US!
joining, getting active
CONTACT US
branch directory
Y.S.A.
youth 4 socialist action
F.I.
socialists around the world
CULTURE
poetry, reviews, commentary
HISTORY
events & people from the past
SCIENCE
science, dialectics & more
LINKS
other important sites
WHAT'S NEW
listing of what's been recently added
Mohamed Majoub remains in detention
by Judy Koch
TORONTO—Mohamed Zeki Mahjoub won a stay of deportation
to Egypt in early September. However, he is still
being held by Canadian officials on a “security
certificate” for being a possible “threat to national
security”. Officials refuse to release any hard
evidence to support their suspicion.
Mahjoub was arrested on June 26, 2000 and is being
held in the Toronto Metro West Detention Centre. The
federal government would like to send him back to
Egypt, where he is certain he will be tortured. The
Department of Citizenship and Immigration ruled in
August 2004 that the “risk” he poses to Canada
outweighs concerns for his safety. Even though he won
a stay of deportation, he is still being held in jail
indefinitely.
Mohamed Mahjoub claimed refugee status in 1995. He is
married to a Canadian citizen, Mona El Fouli. They
have two sons. He was working as a woodworker and
living in Scarborough (the eastern section of
Toronto).
While in Sudan he worked for an agricultural company
owned by Osama bin Laden. Mohamed left the company
over a wage dispute. He says he saw no evidence that
this company was a front for raising funds for Al
Qaeda, as U.S. spy agencies claim. In any event, he
only worked there and wasn’t responsible for where the
money went.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (Canada’s
spy agency), claims he’s a high ranking member of the
Egyptian Al Jihad and belongs to the “inner circle” of
the Vanguards of Conquest. Mahjoub denies this.
While in jail in Canada, Mahjoub has been horribly
mistreated. A guard tried to assault him sexually.
Another guard called him a piece of shit and asked
another prisoner how he could put up with him. He has
been denied Halal (Muslim) food. He was told by a
guard that all Muslims should be killed. He asked for
medical attention when he had a headache and dizziness
and was dragged across the floor into solitary
confinement, where he was denied clothes overnight.
The Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services denies these allegations.
Mahjoub developed hepatitis-C and high blood pressure
while in jail. His lawyer, John Norris, says, “We see
profound similarities between demeaning and degrading
treatment that is being meted out both in Iraq and
here. There are deliberate efforts to break people
down psychologically, and I think that’s deeply
troubling wherever it’s happening.”
There are other cases of men threatened with
deportation to Egypt that have been dealt with by the
courts. Two cases involve Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan
Almrei.
Mahjoub should be released from prison immediately and
granted refugee status. If he is deported it will make
it easier for officials to deport other people or to
arrest yet others on security certificates. It is time
to put an end to scapegoating and racial/ethnic
profiling. An injury to one is an injury to all! The
so-called ‘war on terrorism’ makes victims of us all.
This article first appeared in the October 2004 issue of Socialist Action newspaper.
Subscribe to our weekly Resistance! ezine - which features an activist calendar, a compilation of current events as well as statements and analysis of national and international events from a Marxist perspective.
(415) 255-1080 -- socialistact@igc.org |
(715) 394-6660 -- mnsocialist@yahoo.com |