Nadeem Lawji says he was outraged when he learned that Canadian officials could imprison suspects for years without laying charges against them.
He was among the students and concerned citizens who gathered to protest Canada's treatment of the so-called Secret Trial Five at Speakers' Corner in downtown Kitchener on Saturday.
"You're innocent until proven guilty," said Lawji, 30, a peace and conflict studies student at the University of Waterloo.
The Secret Trial Five refers to five Muslim men that Canadian officials have held in custody for years on security certificates.
Three of them -- Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei-- remain in custody at a high-security holding centre near Kingston, Ont., according to a leaflet the protesters distributed.
The other two -- Adil Charkaoui and Mohamed Harkat-- have been released on strict bail conditions.
The protesters were calling on the Canadian government to close the holding centre where the three men are being held, dubbed Canada's Guantanamo North.
The event drew more than a dozen protesters, who wore signs over their chests with messages such as, "Close Gitmo Now" and "Abolish security certificates."
The protest was staged in conjunction with other Canadian demonstrations marking the fourth anniversary of the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, where the United States has been detaining terror suspects.
"What we're saying is this shouldn't happen in Canada," said organizer Alison Murray, another student of peace and conflict studies at the University of Waterloo.
None of the five Muslim men have been convicted of criminal offences in Canada, Murray said.
The Canadian government should release the three still in custody, or charge them and allow them a fair and open trial, she said.
Through security certificates, the Canadian government can declare a foreign national or permanent resident inadmissible to Canada and detain them without charge, according to a Canadian Border Services fact sheet.
A certificate cannot be appealed. When judged to be reasonable, it becomes a deportation order.
"It's a fundamentally flawed process," Murray said.
rcureatz@therecord.com
Photo: PETER LEE, RECORD STAFF / Saleh Waziruddin hands out leaflets at a protest in Kitchener on Saturday against Canada's so-called 'Guantanamo.'
Credit: RECORD STAFF
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