TORONTO - Canada's spy agency and the federal government are expected to be thrown on the defensive Monday as lawyers for an Egyptian man suspected of terrorist ties argue to have proceedings against him stopped.
Mahmoud Jaballah claims the government violated his constitutional rights by slapping him with a second national security certificate in 2001 because the courts had already ruled in his favour.
Jaballah initial security certificate in 1999 was found by the courts to be unreasonable and he was released after seven months behind bars.
However, the government argued it had new evidence against him and a second certificate was imposed. He spent six years in jail before his release under stringent house arrest.
Monday's application turns largely on whether "the government in fact really had fresh evidence that would justify having gone forward with a second certificate," one of Jaballah's lawyers, Marlys Edwardh, said Sunday.
Ottawa wants to deport Jaballah to Egypt, even though the courts have found he would likely be tortured or worse if sent back.
Jaballah's hearing before the Federal Court comes amid new questions about Ottawa's approach to foreigners who are deemed a risk to public safety but who face a serious risk of torture if deported.
Just last week, the courts lifted all restrictions on Adil Charkaoui of Montreal, an alleged al-Qaida sympathizer from Morocco, who has been under a security certificate since 2003.
Justice Daniele Tremblay-Lamer said the certificate would be quashed in the near future. The case against Charkaoui was weakened when federal lawyers withdrew evidence about him, saying disclosing such information would endanger national security.
Similarly, Algerian terror suspect Mohamed Harkat, who lives in Ottawa, saw most of his most onerous bail conditions lifted last week, with his lawyers saying they would press for more freedom.
Harkat has also lived under a national security certificate since 2002, amid allegations by Canada's intelligence service that he's a member of the al-Qaida terror network.
Hearings on the substance of the Harkat certificate have been delayed over revelations CSIS failed to disclose key information in the file.
Edwardh credited a group of "special advocates" -- lawyers with high-security clearances -- for a change in how the courts are starting to view the troubling security certificate cases.
Ottawa appointed the special advocates after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the laws, which allowed the government to use secret evidence that neither suspected terrorists nor their lawyers could see, were unfair.
The advocates are allowed access to the secret material, and can therefore argue its merits before a judge.
"The introduction of the special advocates has been significant," Edwardh said.
"(The courts) have had their eyes opened to some of the problems."
Mohammad Mahjoub and Hassan Almrei also face removal from Canada under certificates. They too, are fighting deportation
