The Struggle of Non-Status Algerians Continues in Ottawa Court

SOLIDARITY ASSEMBLY and SPEAK OUT against POLICE BRUTALITY, BORDERS and
STATE RACISM

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Monday, February 21st 2005
7 PM
PSAC * Boardroom
233 Gilmour Street
OTTAWA
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Speakers include:

Members of the Action Committee for Non-Status Algerians
Yavar Hameed, May 29th Legal Defense Team
Sarita Ahooja, No One Is Illegal (Montreal)
Francine Dumas, Gatineau activist arrested on May 29th outside Immigration
Canada
Paul Smith, Ottawa activist arrested on May 29th outside Immigration Canada
Member of the Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee (Ottawa)
Members of the Solidarity Across Borders Network (Montreal)
Supporters from Anti-Capitalist Community Action and Catapult! (Ottawa)

** Featuring a special video screening, with a classic soundtrack by
Shania Twain **

Two Minutes of Kanadian History:

On May 29th, 2003 ten members of the Action Committee for Non-Status
Algerians and two supporters were brutally arrested in the Minister of
Immigration's Ottawa offices. They were delivering a letter requesting a
meeting with the then-Minister Denis Coderre, to discuss the situation of
non-status Algerians who were still facing deportation. While no
political response from the Minister or his staff was forthcoming, the
police response was blatantly racist and abusive. In a takedown led by
Ottawa Police Services' tactical unit and supported by the RCMP, four of
the men were severely electrocuted with Taser guns and beaten. All twelve
people were arrested and charged with mischief over $5,000.

Ten of the twelve accused went to trial in June, 2004. Two men had already
been deported, one to Algeria and another to the United States where he
has spent the past year in an upper New York State prison awaiting
decisions from US and Canadian immigration officials.

On Monday, February 21st, the defendants take their struggle back to court
as the trial resumes for another two weeks.

That evening, we will celebrate the tenacity of the non-status Algerians
and all those still fighting for status, for dignity and for justice at a
solidarity assembly and speak out against police brutality, borders and
state racism. Supporters from Ottawa, Gatineau, and Montreal are warmly
invited to attend and participate in this event.

[We are also asking for support in a number of other ways, including by
attending court during the days of the trial. Please see below for
details.]

The solidarity assembly is free and open to the public.
The event will be bilingual (French and English). Translation to English
and French will be provided.

For more information, please contact noii-montreal@resist.ca or 514.813.1968.

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à A Call for Courtroom Solidarity and Support <--

::: The TRIAL of NON-STATUS ALGERIANS and SUPPORTERS ARRESTED in
IMMIGRATION MINISTER'S OFFICE RESUMES FEBRUARY 21st:::

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 and will resume on Monday, February 1, 2005. The stakes are
high for those defendants who are still not regularized and risk being
deported. They are calling for your support and solidarity.

Below you will find:

-- A brief history of the Action Committee for Non-Status Algerians' struggle
-- The story of the arrest on May 29th
-- Information about the ongoing trial
-- Ways you can support the defendants

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 Adler presided as Crown David ElHadad 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 will resume on Monday, February 21st 2005 at the Elgin Street
Courthouse, when the Crown will continue calling witnesses. This segment
of the trial is scheduled for two full weeks (February 21-25 and February
28-March 4, 2005).

THE STAKES

In fact only 10 of the 12 accused have been able to be present for trial.
Immigration Canada deported one man to Algerian in the fall of 2003, and
his ability to return to Canada to be reunited with his wife depends on
the outcome of the trial. A second defendant, Mohamed Cherfi, was deported
to the United States on March 5th 2004 after having sought sanctuary in a
Quebec City church. Mohamed was refused status in Canada for being a
committed and articulate leader of the non-status Algerians' movement over
the past two years. His involvement in the protest on May 29th was cited
by several Immigration officials as the reason his application for landed
status in Quebec was rejected. Mohamed is currently incarcerated in a New
York State prison as he awaits the decision on his asylum claim in the US,
and the response of Canadian Immigration officials to his application for
permanent residence in Canada through a group of five sponsorship. If his
claim is denied, as is the case with 95 % of asylum claims made in the US,
he will be deported to Algeria where he faces great danger in light of his
outspoken criticism of the Algerian government and his struggle for
justice for all non-status Algerians in Canada.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

All the non-status defendants' ability to remain in Canada where they have
built their lives and struggled courageously for status depends on the
outcome of this trial. They need YOUR support to win a victory that will
not only remove one obstacle to gaining status but also make it clear to
the Ottawa Police, the RCMP and Immigration Canada that the racist and
brutal attack on non-status people demanding justice was the only criminal
act that took place in Coderre's office on May 29th 2003.

Here are ways you can demonstrate your solidarity and help the defendants
win:

==> 1) Pack the Court Room: A full courtroom shows the judge that the
defendants have widespread community support. Your presence will be
greatly appreciated whenever you can make it, whether for an hour or for a
full day. A full courtroom is particularly crucial on the first day that
the trial resumes (Monday, February 21, 2005) and on the days that the
defence will present its arguments (still to be determined, put we will
send out an announcement).

The Elgin Street Court House is located at 161 Elgin Street, Ottawa,
Ontario, inside Fortress North America.

==> 2) Provide Transportation: A "Solidarity Shuttle" between Montreal
and Ottawa is being organized. If you are driving from Montreal to Ottawa
to attend court and have extra space in your vehicle OR if you are looking
for a ride to attend court in Ottawa, please let us know so we can
coordinate rides. You can email noii-montreal@resist.ca or call (514)
859-9023. We are particularly in need of rides to Ottawa on February 20,
and back to Montreal on February 21, in the evening after the Solidarity
Assembly.

==> 3) Financial Support: Over and above the cost of lawyers' fees, we
are trying to raise funds to cover the cost of trial materials,
transportation of the defendants and the legal team to and from Ottawa,
and other costs incurred by a trial that has already lasted three weeks,
will now run for another two weeks and maybe longer. If you are able to
donate money to help cover these costs, please make cheques out to the
Libertas Legal Collective and mark "May 29th trial" in the memo field.

Please mail cheques to:

Libertas Legal Collective
C/o QPIRG Concordia
1500 De Maisonneuve Street West, Suite 204
Montreal, Quebec
H3G 1N1

[If you are sending a cheque, please let us know by e-mail or by phone:
noii-montreal@resist.ca or 514-813-1968.]

==> 4) Keep Informed: The trial support team will be sending out updates
about the proceedings. If you would like to make sure you receive these
updates, including notices of important courtroom solidarity day, please
email noii-montreal@resist.ca. (Make sure to write "May 29th Trial" in the
subject line.)

Thank you your support. See you in court.

In solidarity and struggle,

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