United Nations Non - Treaty Standards
Non-treaty standards do not have the legal power of treaties but have the force
of having been negotiated by governments over many years and have been adopted
by political bodies such as the UN General Assembly, usually by consensus. They
are often considered to be as binding on states as treaties.
THE BODY OF PRINCIPLES FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL PERSONS UNDER ANY FORM OF
DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT
These principles were adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations by
resolution on 9 December 1988 and contain an authoritative set of
internationally recognized standards. The principles are applicable to all
member states on the treatment of detainees and prisoners and include the
requirement of representation provided by the state.
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/43/a43r173.htm
STANDARD MINIMUM RULES FOR THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS 1955 adopted by the First
UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offender and was
approved by the UN Economic and Social Council. In 1971 the UN General Assembly
called upon its member states to implement these rules.
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/treatmentprisoners.htm
UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS,
GROUPS AND ORGANS OF SOCIETY TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN
RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS.
Adopted by the UN General Assembly 9 December 1998 following 13 years of
negotiation amongst member states. The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
affirms the primary responsibility of states to protect human rights by
protecting human rights defenders.
http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/A.RES.53.144.En?OpenDocumen\
t
[if the above link is broken, cut & paste into browser]
======================================================================
U.S. Identifies 111,000 Immigrants With Criminal Records
By Julia Preston
The New York Times, November 12, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13ice.html
Federal authorities have identified more than 111,000 immigrants with criminal
records being held in local jails, during the first year of a program that seeks
to deport immigrants who have committed serious crimes.
Among the immigrants identified through the program, known as Secure
Communities, more than 11,000 had been charged with or convicted of the most
serious crimes, including murder and rape, domestic security officials said
Thursday. About 1,900 of those have been deported.
At a news conference in Washington, John Morton, the top official at Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, called the program “the future of immigration
enforcement,” because, he said, it “focuses our resources on identifying and
removing the most serious criminal offenders first and foremost.”
About 100,000 of the detained immigrants identified through the system had been
convicted of less serious crimes, ranging from burglary to traffic offenses, the
officials said. Of those, more than 14,000 have been deported.
Obama administration officials have worked to distinguish their immigration
enforcement strategy from the Bush administration’s, which centered on
high-profile factory raids and searches in communities for immigration
fugitives.
The Bush operations drew an outcry from immigrant advocates, who said they led
to racial profiling, especially of Latinos, and ensnared many immigrants who
lacked legal status but had not committed crimes.
Obama administration officials said Secure Communities, which was started under
President George W. Bush but rapidly expanded under President Obama, is a
relatively low-cost way for the authorities to concentrate resources on
deporting the most dangerous immigrants.
Immigration lawyers remain skeptical, saying the program lumps together
relatively minor offenses with serious felonies. They said the program
encouraged the local police to arrest anyone they suspect of being an illegal
immigrant.
“All you have to do is get them in jail and their immigration status can be
checked,” said Joan Friedland, immigration policy director at the National
Immigration Law Center, an immigrant advocacy group. Under the program, which
started in October 2008 in Houston, the fingerprints of every person booked into
jail by the local authorities — including legal and illegal immigrants and
United States citizens — are checked against federal immigration databases as
well as criminal databases.
When the check produces a match showing both an immigration record and a
criminal one, ICE agents can place a hold to ensure the immigrant will remain in
custody.
Under an agreement with agencies in the program, ICE agents must take action
within 48 hours to detain or initiate deportation proceedings against the most
serious offenders. Legal immigrants are subject to deportation if they are
convicted of certain crimes, while illegal immigrants can be deported even if
they have committed no crime.
In the first year, 95 cities or counties in 11 states have joined the program.
The police department of Washington, D.C., announced on Thursday that it would
join. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at the news conference
that she hoped the program would expand to the whole country by 2013.
Most immigrants identified in the program remain in this country because the
immigration authorities generally allow criminal prosecutions and sentences to
run their course before they carry out deportations.
The database checks still have flaws, lawyers said. According to ICE figures,
about 5,880 people identified through the program turned out to be United States
citizens.
+++
D.C. to help U.S. identify illegal immigrants in jail
Federal program checks fingerprints of local crime suspects
By N.C. Aizenman
The Washington Post, November 13, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/12/AR2009111209444.\
html?hpid=sec-metro
D.C. police will be the next department to take part in a federal program whose
ultimate aim is to check the immigration status of every person booked into a
local jail, homeland security officials announced Thursday.
The program, known as Secure Communities, matches inmates' fingerprints against
a federal database so that federal authorities can identify and possibly remove
deportable illegal immigrants before they are released from custody.
Similar checks are done at all 1,200 federal and state prisons. But authorities
have lacked the ability to do them across the nation's 3,100 local jails.
The Bush administration launched the program as a pilot project in October 2008,
and it is being expanded under President Obama as part of an effort to focus
enforcement on illegal immigrants who commit crimes, rather than those who
otherwise obey the law.
'We're excited,' said Kevin Palmer, a D.C. police spokesman. 'It's going to
enable our officers to have real-time information about the individuals they
have in custody and to help facilitate the removal of dangerous felons from our
communities.'
Fairfax County is one of 95 jurisdictions that participate in Secure
Communities, which differs from a national program that deputizes local police
to question suspects about their immigration status. Several county police
departments in Northern Virginia and Maryland participate in that program.
Similarly, Montgomery County police provide immigration authorities with the
name of anyone arrested for a violent crime or handgun violation.
The checks conducted through Secure Communities are automatic. Fingerprints of
suspects arrested by local authorities, already run through the FBI's criminal
database, are also matched against an immigration database maintained by the
Department of Homeland Security. The system does not flag illegal immigrants who
have not been fingerprinted.
Homeland Security officials announced Thursday that the program had identified
in its first year more than 111,000 criminal illegal immigrants in local
custody. More than 11,000 were convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape,
and kidnapping. About 1,900 of those immigrants have been removed from the
United States.
Richard Rocha, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the
agency planned to remove the remainder after they have completed their
sentences.
Immigrant advocates have expressed concern that Secure Communities will ensnare
many illegal immigrants who are convicted only of minor crimes or of nothing at
all.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ex-Peruvian foreign minister under arrest in Miami
Agence France Presse, November 12, 2009
Miami (AFP) - Peru's ex-foreign minister August Blacker Miller, on the run since
2005, was arrested in Miami for allegedly breaking immigration laws, a US
official said as Lima announced it will request his extradition to stand trial.
'Blacker-Miller was arrested on Monday... by ICE special agents for being in
violation of US immigration law,' said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement
official who requested anonymity.
He said the Peruvian faces deportation proceedings.
Peru's Interior Minister Octavio Salazar on Wednesday announced the arrest and
said Lima would at once lodge an extradition request with US authorities.
. . .
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20091113-179630.h\
tml
======================================================================
U.S. illegal immigration program costing county
By Joe Nelson
The San Bernardino County Sun (CA), November 7, 2009
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_13740432
San Bernardino County taxpayers have spent an estimated $54.5 million to jail
illegal immigrants since 2004, and officials have been fighting an uphill battle
to get the federal government to pick up more of that cost.
In all, federal officials have reimbursed the county about $6.7million since
fiscal year 2004 through the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.
County officials say the advent of the 287(g) program, which trains county jail
deputies to identify illegal immigrants and hold them for immigration
proceedings, gives local authorities their most precise picture yet of how many
illegal immigrants are being held and how much it costs.
But with the tough economy, there's little hope that local taxpayers will get
off the hook any time soon.
'The Board of Supervisors believes it should be fully reimbursed by the federal
government for the cost of incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants, and the
county works very hard at the federal level to preserve and maximize the SCAAP,'
county spokesman David Wert said.
In April 2008, the Board of Supervisors approved a resolution seeking additional
reimbursement from the federal government for the costs of jailing illegal
immigrants.
'San Bernardino County taxpayers shouldn't have to shoulder that burden,'
Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said at the time. 'It's an insult to our taxpayers to
reimburse us for only (a fraction) of our cost for housing illegal aliens in our
jails.'
The problem in securing additional reimbursement from the federal government,
Wert said, boils down to the usual suspect: money.
The last three presidents have proposed either cutting or eliminating the
reimbursement program as a way to help balance the federal budget.
The program also is under fire in the Senate, where the purse strings are
controlled by members from small states that tend not to have serious
immigration problems.
The Obama administration, in its budget submittal to Congress last year, asked
Congress to eliminate SCAAP, Wert said.
'The county grasps the reality that very little funding is available, and given
the political realities in Washington, the county is, in a sense, lucky the
program exists at all,' Wert said.
Members of the Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Rod Hoops have had personal
conversations with the county's congressional delegation in efforts to secure
more federal money.
That's in addition to the county's lobbying efforts, which the county has done
both individually and in conjunction with Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles
counties, Wert said.
Last week, the Board of Supervisors voted to extend the 287(g) program for three
years.
Under the agreement with U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, nine San
Bernardino County sheriff's custody specialists screen inmates suspected of
being in the country illegally. If it is determined that certain inmates are
illegal immigrants, detainers are placed on them, and they are turned over to
federal immigration officers once their criminal cases have concluded.
But some critics question whether the program is helping taxpayers or hurting
them.
'It's a burdensome cost to the local government,' said Suzanne Foster, policy
committee chairwoman for the Justice for Immigrants Coalition of Inland Southern
California. 'ICE does provide initial training, but it does not fund the
screening process, overtime hours, or any part of the housing of inmates. ... It
has been found all over the country to be quite burdensome to the local
governments, costing taxpayers more than is necessary.'
Foster says the program encourages police officers to arrest greater numbers of
illegal immigrants, leading to increased cost to taxpayers.
Indeed, the number of San Bernardino County jail inmates identified as illegal
immigrants has grown nearly five-fold since 2004.
But it's impossible to tell whether more illegal immigrants are being jailed or
simply counted more precisely.
Last year, the inmate screening program was streamlined to enable custody
specialists to screen inmates countywide via closed-circuit television. Since
then, the numbers of inmates who have had detainer holds placed on them has
increased dramatically, sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells said.
'I'm not sure it's cutting down on what we're spending on housing the inmates,
but we're removing criminals from the streets, and that's going to benefit the
county,' he said.
Center for Immigration Studies
1522 K St. NW, Suite 820
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 466-8185 fax: (202) 466-8076
center@...http://www.cis.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Daniel Brodsky
To: luo-members
Subject: [LawUnion] AIDWYC throws support to Ontario legal aid boycott
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:44:46 -0500
AIDWYC throws support to Ontario legal aid boycott
Toronto, Canada – November 10, 2009 – The Association in Defence of the Wrongly
Convicted (AIDWYC) today announced its support of the legal aid boycott
currently under way by criminal defence lawyers in Ontario. Since June 2009 a
large number of criminal lawyers in Ontario have stopped accepting legal aid
certificates for cases involving "guns and gangs" as well as homicide. The
purpose of the action is to highlight the large difference between the
government's funding of the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases and
its funding of the defence.
"One of AIDWYC's principal objectives is the elimination of conditions that can
lead to miscarriages of justice,” said Ralph Steinberg, AIDWYC Board
Co-President. “AIDWYC supports this boycott because it sees the serious and
chronic underfunding of the defence of criminal cases as a contributing factor
in wrongful convictions. The imbalance in resources between the prosecution and
defence in criminal cases continues to raise the spectre of further mistakes
being made in the criminal justice system, and to deny access to justice for
those without resources."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
From: dbrodsky@...
To: "Law Union of Ontario"<luo-members>
Subject: [LawUnion] Boycott
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:52:25 +0000
The work we do at AIDWYC is unpaid so we will not be getting more money even if
the boycott succeeds.
Underfunded defenders and the resource disparity between the prosecution and the
defence are some of the root causes of wrongful convictions.
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
AIDWYC is a non-profit legal organization advocating for wrongly convicted
Canadians. Its clients are mostly poor and forgotten, and have exhausted all of
their legal avenues for relief. In addition to championing the cause of
factually innocent persons who have been wrongly convicted, the organization
also works tirelessly to prevent wrongful convictions through legal education
and reform
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Layoffs coming to Ontario's legal aid program
Tracey Tyler
LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER
Published On Thu Nov 5 2009
Ontario's legal aid program, already hit by a lawyers' boycott, plans to lay off
staff to eliminate a $56 million deficit.
The move follows an announcement earlier this week that British Columbia's legal
aid system will lay off 54 employees, shut down its toll-free advice line and
close five offices next year.
In an internal email today, Legal Aid Ontario president Bob Ward said financial
pressures are forcing the agency to make "difficult but necessary" decisions
about the size of its staff.
"Involuntary layoffs will occur," he said.
The move might seem perplexing, given the Ontario government's recent promise to
pump an additional $150 million into the legal aid program over the next five
years. But in the memo, Ward said that extra money must be spent on defending
clients and not applied to the program's "funding shortfall."
About $40 million of the deficit is attributed to a drop in revenues from the
Law Foundation of Ontario, which helps fund legal aid services with interest
payments from lawyers' trust accounts.
"The program doesn't have adequate stable funding. Because it depends on law
foundation money it's at the mercy of market forces," said Frank Addario,
president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association.
It's the opposite of how one would expect a social program to work. You'd think
it would have the capacity to do its best work in tough times," he said.
B.C. Attorney General Mike De Jong also blamed low interest rates for a drop in
legal aid revenue in that province. B.C.'s legal aid budget is about $74
million, while Ontario spends about $300 million a year on its program.
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/721857--layoffs-coming-to-ontario-s-
legal-aid-program
======================================================================
Khadr to face U.S. military commission
Decision 'devastating and shocking,' lawyer says
Last Updated: Friday, November 13, 2009 | 9:51 PM ET
CBC News
In this courtroom sketch from June, Omar Khadr sits with his defence team during
a hearing at the U.S. war crimes commission at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. (Janet
Hamlin/Reuters)A U.S. military commission will resume hearing the case against
Omar Khadr, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday, the same day the
Supreme Court of Canada heard a federal government appeal in his case.
It is unclear when or where the 23-year-old inmate will face charges, but he is
one of 10 high-profile detainees who the U.S. confirmed on Friday will face
justice.
Five of those inmates, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, will be put on trial in a federal civilian court in
New York City.
Five others, including Khadr, will be tried in military commissions on a variety
of terrorism charges.
Earlier, there were reports that Khadr would be transferred out of Guantanamo
Bay to face justice in the United States. But the U.S. Justice Department
confirmed to CBC News that no decision has been made as to where the commission
will take place.
Khadr's civilian lawyer, Barry Coburn, said the U.S. government's decision to
proceed with Khadr's case in a military commission was "devastating and
shocking" and that he had expected more from the Obama administration.
"We thought that the incoming Obama administration signalled a new day with
respect to these cases, a new respect for civil liberties, an abhorrence of
torture, a respect for the time-honoured legal procedures and protections that
are mandated by the constitution and enforced by the federal courts," he said.
News of Khadr's hearing came on the same day that the Canadian government
pleaded its appeal in the Supreme Court on Khadr's latest case.
Ottawa asked the top court to overturn a Federal Appeal Court decision to uphold
a lower-court ruling that required Ottawa to try to repatriate Khadr, the only
Western citizen still being held at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba.
On Friday, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre told reporters that "any decision to
ask for Mr. Khadr’s return to Canada is a decision for the democratically
elected government of Canada and not for the courts.”
Asked whether that meant the government would ignore the Supreme Court's
decision if it rules against it, Poilievre repeated that Khadr's fate should be
decided by an elected government and not the courts.
As for the U.S. decision to try Khadr in a military commission, Poilievre said
that “we believe the U.S legal process announced today should run its course.”
Toronto-born Khadr was captured by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, when he
was 15, and has been held at Guantanamo for seven years. The U.S. accuses him of
throwing the grenade that killed Sgt. Christopher Speer, a medic with the U.S.
army, but leaked documents have called into question the Pentagon's murder case
against Khadr.
Rights breached, court rules
In a 2-1 judgment in August, the Federal Appeal Court agreed with a Federal
Court judge's ruling that Khadr's rights under Section 7 of the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms — the rights to life, liberty and security of person — had
been breached when Canadian officials interviewed him at the prison in
Guantanamo in 2003 and shared the resulting information with U.S. authorities.
In early September, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the federal government's
appeal.
Ottawa's position is that Khadr should remain in U.S. custody so the U.S. can
try him, and that the court order to attempt to bring him home is meddling in
foreign policy.
"In my respectful submission, we're in the realm of diplomacy here," government
lawyer Robert Frater told the Supreme Court.
He denied the allegation that the government had ignored calls to bring Khadr
back to Canada: "Mr. Khadr's voice has been heard repeatedly."
But Nathan Whitling, counsel for Khadr, argued Friday that returning his client
to Canada would help "lessen the harm" he has suffered.
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said while there's no doubt Khadr had "suffered
greatly," she wondered how repatriating him would fix what's now in the past.
Whitling said Khadr's predicament amounted to "a unique case."
Khadr has been stuck in legal limbo since the swearing in of U.S. President
Barack Obama, who vowed to close Guantanamo and repatriate all but its most
serious prisoners.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was asked during a news conference whether a
Supreme Court of Canada directive to the Canadian government to request Khadr's
transfer back to Canada would trump the military commission process.
"We'll look at that matter," Holder said. "At this point, it's one of the cases
designated for commission proceeding.
"We will, as that case proceeds, see how it should be ultimately treated."
With file from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/11/13/omar-khadr-supreme-court-hearing.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. military to decide detainees' fate
But alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks will get benefit of civilian court
Mitch Potter
In Washington
Michelle Shephard
In Ottawa
Published On Sat Nov 14 2009
People line up outside the Supreme Court in Ottawa on Nov. 13, 2009 prior to an
appeal by the federal government regarding Omar Khadr's repatriation.
FRED CHARTRAND/THE CANADIAN PRESS
A U.S. military jury will decide the fate of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
unless Canada's Supreme Court forces Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene
on behalf of the Toronto-born captive.
After seven years of legal uncertainty in the Khadr case, the saga entered a
decisive stage yesterday in a dramatic series of developments on both sides of
the border.
In Ottawa, nine high court justices heard arguments and now will weigh whether
Ottawa must advocate for Khadr's repatriation.
But the question for Canadian jurists was overshadowed by events in Washington,
where U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder mapped out the countdown to Guantanamo
Bay's closure in a blockbuster announcement on the prosecutorial fate of its
best-known detainees, Khadr included.
Five prime suspects of the 9/11 attacks – including self-proclaimed mastermind
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – will be sent for civilian trials in New York City,
scene of the deadliest of the 2001 crimes. Holder expressed confidence the
trials will be both fair and open. And he expressed confidence that the suspects
will face the "ultimate punishment" of death, based on his review of evidence
not yet made public.
Five other high-profile detainees – including Khadr – will go before U.S.
military tribunals at a time and place still to be determined, Holder said.
Holder's announcement triggered an instant uproar across America's bitterly
divided political spectrum, from worries a Manhattan show trial might become a
magnet for more attacks, to questions over the prospects of locating an
impartial jury so near to Ground Zero.
Other critics condemned Washington's decision to keep military tribunals as part
of the Obama administration's prosecutorial toolbox.
Towering over all was the question of whether the civilian courts will weigh
evidence derived by torture, including the 183 episodes of waterboarding
Mohammed was subjected to by U.S. interrogators.
Even as Canada's Supreme Court weighs the question of Khadr, it remained unclear
whether U.S. authorities would recognize any request to repatriate the detainee
to Canada.
Holder evaded the question yesterday, saying: "We'll look into the Khadr matter
... and we will, as that case proceeds, see how it should be ultimately
treated."
A senior U.S. defence department official told the Star the military trial
against Khadr is "a ways off" but declined to comment on the process that led to
the decision, or whether the Canadian detainee's age and nationality were
factors.
"There is a way to go in this case and I'm sure – and this is really up to the
prosecutors – they will be considering all of their options with regard to how
to handle the (Khadr) case," the official said.
The milestone decision in Washington, which marks a crucial step in winding down
the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, effectively divided high profile
detainees into two groups – one set to face civilian courts for alleged roles in
killing civilians on American soil, another to face military justice on charges
of attacks on military targets overseas.
Civil rights groups Friday celebrated the transfer of the 9/11 cases to the
federal courts while denouncing the continued use of military commissions.
"The only conceivable basis for prosecuting cases in the discredited military
commission system is that the administration lacks the confidence that it can
obtain a conviction in the legitimate courts," said Ben Wizner, of the American
Civil Liberties Union.
Changes have been made to the military law that was first established for
Guantanamo detainees under the Bush administration, but critics say the process
still lacks basic legal safeguards.
"Despite cosmetic improvements, the military commissions still permit the use of
evidence obtained unconstitutionally and still permit the government to conceal
details of its mistreatment of prisoners from the public," Wizner said.
But conservative critics and some relatives of 9/11 victims railed from the
other side. Debra Burlingame, whose brother piloted the plane hijacked and flown
into the Pentagon, said in a statement that a civilian trial "will be a
travesty."
"In open court, it will be Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who will hold forth," she
said, "mocking his victims, exulting in the suffering of their families,
ridiculing the judge, his lawyers and the American justice system, and worst of
all, rallying his jihad brothers to kill more Americans."
Khadr's American lawyer Barry Coburn, who was among the more than 200 spectators
who watched the Ottawa hearing Friday, said he found the U.S. Department of
Justice's decision to prosecute Khadr before a military commission "devastating
and shocking."
"We are deeply disappointed," said Coburn. "We thought that the incoming Obama
administration signalled a new day with respect to these cases – a new respect
for civil liberties, an abhorrence of torture, a respect for the time-honoured
legal procedures and protections that are mandated by the Constitution and
enforced by the federal courts."
In Ottawa, government lawyers argued Friday that Canada has done enough to
protect Khadr's rights and the courts should not meddle in issues of foreign
affairs.
Khadr's repatriation is a political choice, not a legal obligation, counsel
Robert Frater told the hearing. Canada's position, reiterated Friday by MP
Pierre Poilievre, parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister, has been that
the government will not intervene in the U.S. legal process.
"We believe the U.S. military process announced today should run its course, "
Poilievre said.
"Any decision to ask for Mr. Khadr's return to Canada is a decision for the
democratically elected government of Canada and not for the courts."
New Democrat MP and justice critic Joe Comartin said Poilievre's comments come
"very close to contempt of the Supreme Court of Canada and our Constitution."
"They clearly reflect this government's attitude towards the court. It also
shows their ignorance of the role that an independent judiciary plays in
Canada."
The Federal Courts ruled Khadr's rights as a Canadian citizen had been breached
at Guantanamo and the only way to rectify that violation was to now ask for his
return.
Khadr's Canadian lawyer, Dennis Edney, told reporters outside court that he
believed the U.S. administration has concerns about Khadr's age and would
welcome a chance to return him to Canada.
"It is very clear that information we've received south of the border and
elsewhere, that the Americans would like to send Omar Khadr home and all it
would take is a simple call from the Prime Minister," Edney said Friday.
Khadr, now 23, was 15 when he was shot and captured in Afghanistan following a
July 2002 firefight. The Pentagon charged him with five war crimes, including
murder in the death of U.S. Sgt. Christopher Speer.
Khadr is the youngest of the remaining 215 detainees at Guantanamo and the only
Westerner. His trial will mark the first time in modern-day history that a child
soldier has been prosecuted for war crimes.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/725782--u-s-military-to-decide-detaine\
es-fate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Walkom: Omar Khadr heading for a kangaroo court»
By Thomas Walkom
National Affairs Columnist
Published On Sat Nov 14 2009
Let me get this straight. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind
of the 9/11 terror attacks, gets a fair trial with all the constitutional
trimmings. But Omar Khadr, the Canadian child-soldier accused of killing an
American sergeant during battle, will still be tried before a kangaroo court.
Incidentally, the kangaroo court label isn't mine. That's how U.S. military
lawyers describe the commission that is supposed to try the 23-year-old Toronto
man.
As Lt.-Col. Darrel Vandeveld, a former military commission prosecutor, wrote
last month in a letter to the Washington Post, these bodies were designed "to
secure convictions where prisoner mistreatment ... would otherwise preclude
them."
True, President Barack Obama has eliminated some of their worst elements. Under
amendments passed into law last month, the military commission that tries Khadr
will no longer be able to use information gained under torture. So that's
something.
But as the American Civil Liberties Union has pointed out, the law still permits
evidence obtained through both hearsay and coercion, as long as this coercion
does not involve "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Neither hearsay nor
coercion will be permissible in the civilian trial of alleged mass murderer
Mohammed. Neither is permissible in a military court martial. But both may be
allowed in the trial of Khadr, who at the age of 15 was sent off by his father
to aid pro-Taliban forces resisting the American-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Why the difference? U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder insists he merely wants to
differentiate between those accused of attacking civilians and those charged
with crimes against the military.
He says that's why Mohammed, accused of bringing down the twin towers, will be
tried by a civilian court in Manhattan. And he says that's why Khadr and four
others charged with attacking U.S. soldiers will be tried by military
commissions.
This is the excuse. The real reason, I suspect, is that Washington knows that
9/11 ringleaders like Mohammed will be happy to publicly acknowledge their
crimes, thus making their convictions a near certainty.
But Khadr is not angling for martyrdom. And in a real court of law, the case
against him would almost certainly fail.
First there is his age. Fifteen at the time of his capture, he would be
considered a child soldier under United Nations conventions (military
commissions are specifically entitled to disregard this).
Second, as my colleague Michelle Shephard writes in her book, Guantanamo's
Child, Khadr – seriously wounded in the Afghan firefight – was in such bad shape
during questioning that even his U.S. interrogator feared he might die.
In civilian court, statements obtained under such circumstances would be
dismissed as coerced.
Lurking behind all of this is the Canadian government's obdurate refusal, in
Parliament and the courts, to request his repatriation.
It's not clear that the U.S. would agree to such a request if one were made.
Holder was deliberately opaque when asked yesterday, saying only "we will, as
that case proceeds, see how it should be ultimately treated."
What we do know, however, is that after seven years in custody in Afghanistan
and Guantanamo Bay, this particular Canadian citizen is heading for a low-level
show trial.
Shame on Obama for keeping the military commission farce alive. Shame on Canada
for failing to object.
Thomas Walkom's column appears Wednesday and Saturday.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/725779--walkom-omar-khadr-heading-for-\
a-kangaroo-court
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Detainees to face civilian trial
Alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks among five slated to face
justice in New York City
Associated Press
Published On Sat Nov 14 2009
Photos (1)
Clockwise from top left: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Waleed bin Attash, Ramzi
Binalshibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, Omar Khadr
AP FILE PHOTOS; SUPPLIED PICTURE (Khadr)
MILITARY JUSTICE
The five headed for military commissions in the U.S. are:
Omar Khadr, born in Toronto. He was 15 when captured after allegedly killing a
U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
Ahmed Mohammed al-Darbi, allegedly plotted to blow up a ship off Yemen.
Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, allegedly worked as a bodyguard for Osama bin
Laden.
Noor Uthman Muhammed, allegedly an Al Qaeda member who became a weapons
instructor.
Mohammed Kamin, accused of placing missiles near U.S.-occupied areas in
Afghanistan. He allegedly trained as an Al Qaeda operative.
WASHINGTON–The five Guantanamo Bay detainees heading to civilian court in New
York to face charges they orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are:
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who admitted to interrogators that he was the mastermind
of the attacks. He allegedly proposed the concept to Osama bin Laden as early as
1996, obtained funding for the attacks from bin Laden, oversaw the operation and
trained the hijackers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Waleed bin Attash, a Yemeni better known as Khallad, allegedly ran an Al Qaeda
training camp in Afghanistan, where two of the 19 hijackers were trained. Bin
Attash is believed to have been bin Laden's bodyguard. Authorities say he was
prevented from being a hijacker following his detention in Yemen in early 2001.
Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni, allegedly helped find flight schools for the
hijackers, helped them enter the U.S. and assisted with financing the operation.
He allegedly was selected to be a hijacker but was unable to get a U.S. visa. He
also is believed to be a lead operative for a foiled plot to crash aircraft into
London's Heathrow Airport.
Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, also known as Ammar Al-Baluchi, allegedly helped nine of
the hijackers travel to the United States and sent them $120,000 for expenses
and flight training. He is believed to have served as a key lieutenant to Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed in Pakistan.
Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, a Saudi, allegedly helped the hijackers with money,
clothing, traveller's cheques and credit cards.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/725777--detainees-to-face-civilian-tri\
al
----------------------------------------------------------------------
GTA Topic: Crime Three charged in slaying of Don Jail inmate
Entertainer struggled with mental health issues, mother says
John Rieti
Staff Reporter
Published On Tue Nov 10 2009
Photos (1)
Jeff Munro, 32, was kicked and punched to death in his cell.
SUPPLIED PICTURE
Toronto police have charged three men with first-degree murder in the killing of
a Don Jail inmate.
Jeffrey Munro, 32, of Toronto was confined and beaten to death in his cell
around 8 p.m. Saturday, police said.
"What has happened here should never have happened," said Munro's mother,
Christine, from her home in Paris, Ont.
She said her son moved to Toronto to pursue a career in dancing. He worked as an
entertainer on several cruise ships in the Caribbean, she said, but he also
struggled with drug use and mental health issues and bounced around downtown
homeless shelters.
Munro had been arrested before, but had always been sent to the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health on Queen St. W. to serve his sentences. The centre,
Christine Munro said, always called when her son had gotten in trouble.
She didn't hear anything about her son's latest arrest, or that he'd been sent
to the Don Jail, she said.
"The police know Jeff," Munro said. "There's supposed to be a profile that says
he's mentally ill and that he should be taken to the centre."
Homicide Det. Sgt. Wayne Banks said police believe Munro's slaying followed an
altercation. Three inmates accused Munro of theft, then allegedly retaliated by
kicking and punching him to death, he said.
Jail staff rushed to the cell area after hearing a commotion to find Munro
unconscious, with obvious signs of trauma to his face.
For privacy reasons, the cell area isn't monitored by surveillance cameras,
Banks said. The doors on the cell "range" were open at the time, allowing the
assailants to corner Munro, he said.
Police would not say why Munro was in jail. Court records show Munro had
previously been convicted of failure to comply.
He had no future court dates booked, the records show.
Police said the charges Munro faced had nothing to do with the altercation that
took his life.
The Don Jail is designated as a short-term prison and holds inmates who are
awaiting trial or sentencing.
"I just want some answers, somebody has to be accountable," Munro's mother said.
Charged are Troy Victor Campbell, 24, Osman Sarikay, 22, and Kevin Andre Veiro,
21, all of Toronto. They are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.
With files from Jesse McLean
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/723505--three-charged-in-slaying-o\
f-don-jail-inmate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Canada
Squabble over bag of potato chips led to inmate's death, Toronto court told
November 11, 2009 4:52 p.m.
TORONTO - There are reports that a fatal beating at Toronto's Don Jail this past
weekend may have been touched off by a squabble over a bag of allegedly stolen
potato chips.
Police made the allegation Tuesday during a court appearance of three suspects
charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jeff Munro, 32.
The attack occurred in an area of the jail where there are no surveillance
cameras.
The Don Jail holds short-term prisoners who are generally either awaiting trial
or sentencing.
But lawyer Barry Swadron says the decision to put Munro - who struggled with
mental illness and drug addiction - into that jail was "outrageous."
Munro was put on probation early this month after spitting at a police officer
and knocking her hat off, but ended up in the Don Jail after allegedly violating
the terms of his probation order.
The men charged in the attack are Troy Victor Campbell, 24, Osman Sarikay, 22,
and Kevin Andre Veiro, 21.
http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/canada/article/366385--squabble-over-bag-of-pota\
to-chips-led-to-inmate-s-death-toronto-court-told
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Correctional Service of Canada
Media Room News
http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/media/rgnlrls/ont/index-eng.shtml
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DFAIT SOS Mail:
Legal Letters to AICAP to be posted next week.
======================================================================
[legal mail] att serge boudreau, consulars, doj, parl, et al
to: [estate of] a.i.c.a.p.
dated: october 28, 2009
dear sir/madam
i am incarcerated in taft, california. i noticed an article on the
bulletin board, in regards to treaty transfer violations by the
canadian [u.s.] government. could you please forward me any
information that would help me to speed up my treaty transfer process.
i was approved by the united states [!?] government on jan 22, 2009,
and i made my application with the canadian government back in
feb 11, 2008.
sincerely,
manohar (tony) kondolay
33853-086
po box 7001
taft, california 93268
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[legal mail] att: consulars, et al
to whom it may concern
received: november 6, 2009
re: case #08-1-02040-6
my name is christopher miskelly #333283 and i am currently serving
101 months in monroe prison. i am an irish citizen and would like
to be transferred back to ireland to do my time. i got your
information from my law library here and was told i could receive
help from your organization with the transfer process.
i am not quite sure how long this process takes but i would like
to start it please.
thank you for your help.
c. miskelly
christopher miskelly #333283
mcc b401
wsru
po box 777
monroe, wa 98272
usa
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Nov 2009
National Post
Canwest News Service
CANADIAN GETS 2 YEARS IN PLANE-THEFT CASE
St. Louis, Mo.
A Canadian man who stole a plane from his flying school in Thunder Bay, Ont., in
April and flew it across three U.S. states has been sentenced in Missouri to 24
months in a federal prison. Adam Dylan Leon, pictured, a Turkish-Canadian
citizen, stole a Cessna 172 training aircraft, took off without permission and
failed to make any radio contact with authorities in the United States. A U.S.
Customs and Border Protection plane and two Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16
jet fighters chased Leon after he crossed the U.S. border. He landed near
Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., and was apprehended. Leon, 31, pleaded guilty to
charges of interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, importation of a
stolen aircraft and illegal entry into the United States.
Printed and distributed by NewpaperDirect | www.newspaperdirect.com, US/Can:
1.877.980.4040, Intern: 800.6364.6364 | Copyright and protected by applicable
law.
http://digital.leaderpost.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lax laws allow US companies to be used for crimes
Source: The Associated Press
Posted: 11/05/09 3:14PM
Filed Under: Main
Lax state laws allow arms traffickers, drug kingpins and money launderers to use
U.S. companies to hide their illicit activities from investigators, government
officials said Thursday.
An example is the case of Viktor Bout, a Russian businessman accused of
supplying dictators and warlords with weapons used in civil wars in South
America, the Middle East and Africa.
Bout used a network of shell companies around the world, including a dozen U.S.
corporations, to carry out his activities, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said during
a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.
One Delaware-based holding company linked to Bout was used in the late 1990s to
sell cargo planes to the militant Taliban government then in control of
Afghanistan.
"Our 50 states are forming nearly 2 million companies each year and, in
virtually all cases, doing so without obtaining the names of the people who will
control or benefit from those companies," Levin said.
Officials from the Treasury and Justice departments agreed the problem is
serious and growing. They stopped short, however, of endorsing Levin's bill to
require states to collect and log into databases the names and addresses of the
actual owners of corporations.
The information on so-called "beneficial owners" would be made available as
needed to financial crimes investigators.
David Cohen, assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing, said the
ability of criminal enterprises to form corporations while hiding their true
identity is a "serious vulnerability."
But he warned that the bill's definition of beneficial owners is too broad and
makes compliance uncertain, time consuming, and expensive.
Jennifer Shasky, senior counsel to the deputy attorney general, said the Levin
bill authorizes states to use homeland security grant money to implement the
bill's requirements. But she said another funding source should be found because
that money is needed to pay for responding to emergency situations.
Several senators said they also were concerned about imposing costly new
requirements on states unable to pay for them and adding a new layer of
bureaucracy on small businesses already struggling in a bleak economy.
Bout was arrested in March 2008 in Thailand as part of a sting operation in
which U.S. agents posed as arms buyers for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, which the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization.
The U.S. is seeking Bout's extradition on charges he conspired to sell millions
of dollars worth of weapons to FARC. He was indicted on four terrorism-related
charges in New York and could face up to life in jail.
http://money.aol.ca/article/lax-laws-allow-us-companies-to-be-used-for-crimes/73\
3463/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Polanski tries for bail a 3rd time
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 | 5:27 PM ET
CBC News
Roman Polanski is shown Dec. 17, 1977, just before he fled the U.S. on the eve
of sentencing for unlawful sexual intercourse. (Nick Ut/Associated
Press)Polish-American director Roman Polanski has made a third appeal for bail
in Switzerland a Swiss court confirmed Tuesday.
But government officials rejected an offer of a higher bail as a surety to
guarantee Polanski will not flee justice.
His lawyer had offered what he described as a "very, very significant" amount of
cash, but officials said he remains a flight risk.
The director of Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown is in jail in Switzerland awaiting
extradition to the U.S. on a 30-year-old conviction for having sex with a
13-year-old girl.
Meanwhile, a California Appeal Court has agreed to hear arguments from
Polanski's lawyers over whether a lower court should hear a plea to dismiss the
charges, whether the director is present or not.
In July, before he was arrested in Switzerland, Polanski appealed a decision by
a Superior Court judge not to dismiss the criminal case against him because he
didn't appear in court.
His lawyers will now be allowed to present oral arguments on Dec. 10 that a
lower court should again look at the case.
They plan to argue there was misconduct by the judge in the original case.
Prosecutors are expected to counter that no arguments for the case to be
dismissed can be presented as long as Polanski refuses to appear in a U.S.
court.
Successful extradition of Polanski to the U.S. could also change the course of
the case before Dec. 10.
Los Angeles authorities have considered the Oscar-winning director a fugitive
since he fled the U.S. in February 1978, just before he was to be sentenced for
a conviction of unlawful sexual intercourse.
Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, who got a civil settlement from the
director, has asked for dismissal of the charges against Polanski, saying the
re-emergence of the case is causing her stress and health problems.
With files from The Associated Press
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/11/03/roman-polanski.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, November 6, 2009
Entertainment Daily Dish
Cali court sets date for Polanski case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 3rd November 2009, 4:43am
LOS ANGELES -- A California appeals court is stepping into the Roman Polanski
case.
The California Second District Court of Appeal yesterday set oral arguments in
the case for Dec. 10.
Polanski's attorneys asked the court to order a Los Angeles Superior Court judge
to decide a motion to dismiss the case against the Chinatown director,
regardless of whether he is present in a Los Angeles courtroom.
The judge refused to rule on the dismissal motion earlier this year. The appeal
was filed before Polanski's arrest in September.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/entertainment/dailydish/2009/11/03/11614571-sun.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just So Everyone Is Clear On Who The Ontario Govt. Thinks Is More Important
« on: October 30, 2009, 09:02:50
»http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/10/30/11575836-sun.html
Cons to get shots, but not guards
Decision to snub staff 'ridiculous'
By SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: 30th October 2009, 4:55am
Inmates at Ontario jails and correctional centres will be vaccinated for the
swine flu Monday, while the guards protecting them have been told their clinics
have been cancelled, the Sun has learned.
"This puts us at risk," says Matthew Duffy, an officer at the Toronto West
Detention Centre who's a shop steward for OPSEU Local 517 and a "wellness"
representative.
"They've told us they are holding a clinic for the inmates Monday, Nov. 1, but
not one for us? It's ridiculous," he said yesterday.
The decision to take care of the health concerns of the inmates and not the
officers is "insulting," Duffy said.
'POOR TURNOUT'
To suggest the clinics were cancelled because "there was poor turnout" in other
years is ludicrous, he said.
"I mean this year there's a pandemic, isn't there?" Duffy said. "It's a little
different."
And to add insult to injury, he said, the guards will be part of the security
for the clinic.
"They want us to help put the clinic on and we're not getting the vaccine?" said
Duffy, a 23-year veteran. "We have pregnant women on the job. It's not right."
The correctional services ministry couldn't be reached for comment last night.
MEMO
A memo sent to staff said the decision to not give flu shots to staff was based
on poor turnout in other years.
"While inmates will be vaccinated at all institutions, the decision was made to
not hold staff vaccination clinics at institutions this year due to the small
uptake by staff in previous years," says the memorandum from Loretta Eley, of
the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.
Also, a memo from Nancy Ogden, a nurse adviser in the ministry states: "Over the
last three years of collecting data on our flu clinics, it was identified that
in the majority of facilities that conducted flu clinics the employee turnout
was poor and some cited this as 'disappointing,' not cost effective, etc."
Of course it escapes the 9 to 5er's who run Corrections, and are so far removed
from what working on a jail floor actually consists of, that at any one time
only about 20% [or less] of your Correctional Officers are actually on duty. So
if you schedule a clinic for a day, and then between those that decide not to
get a shot and those that never get a chance to leave their post to get a shot,
say less than half of those workers might actually get vaccinated.
Great way to justify stating very few show up...............I guess they got
tired of trying to bash us with the Auditor's report about our 32 sick day
average, oops, no wait, I forgot, the contracts been signed, now the average is
magically 12 days. Logged IF YOU REALLY ENJOY THIS SITE AND WISH TO
CONTINUE,THEN PLEASE WIGGLE UP TO THE BAR AND BUY A SUBSCRIPTION OR SOME SWAG
FROM THE MILNET.CA STORE OR IF YOU WISH TO ADVERTISE PLEASE SEND MIKE SOME
DETAILS.
"There are lots of things you can't beat in life," .
"You can't beat child pornography, you can't beat crime. But do you stop? Do you
give up? Absolutely not."
Mishelle Brown
http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=90136.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
PRISON SMOKING: Inmates at Joyceville Penitentiary continue their work stoppage
-- as they fight for the right to smoke outdoors.
October 30, 2009
SINCE EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING, ALL INMATES AT JOYCEVILLE INSTITUTION HAVE
REFUSED TO GO TO WORK OR ATTEND THEIR PROGRAMS.
THE MOVE FOLLOWS THE RULING OF A QUEBEC JUDGE THAT SAYS THE LAW BANNING TOBACCO
AT FEDERAL PRISONS IS "UNREASONABLE."
HOLLY KNOWLES
"INMATES ARE ESSENTIALLY SENDING A MESSAGE TO THE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT THAT
THEY WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN PURCHASING TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND BEGIN SMOKING OUT
DOORS."
BUT THAT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN ANY TIME SOON.
THE RENEWED SMOKING DEBATE WAS SPARKED LAST WEEK WHEN A GROUP OF QUEBEC INMATES
LAUNCHED AN APPEAL.
A FEDERAL COURT JUDGE AGREED TO LIFT THE NO-SMOKING BAN.
BUT THE RULING DOESN'T COME INTO EFFECT FOR 90 DAYS.
AND DURING THAT TIME, CORRECTIONS CANADA IS EXPECTED TO APPEAL THE JUDGE'S
DECISION.
AND IT WILL DO SO WITH THE BLESSING OF THE GUARDS UNION WHICH SEES IT AS A
HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE.
STEWART
"THE BAN ON TOBACCO MEANS THERE IS VERY LITTLE GETTING IN NOW.
OBVIOUSLY BY SMUGGLING...ILLEGAL CONTRABAND.
AND THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE INSTITUTIONS ACROSS CANADA IS MUCH CLEANER.
THE AIR IS AS CLEAN AS IT EVER HAS BEEN IN FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS."
AND THAT CLEAN AIR MAKES IT MUCH EASIER TO FIND INMATES WHO ARE BREAKING THE LAW
BY SMOKING.
IN 2006, THE GOVERNMENT FORCED INMATES AND STAFF TO BUTT OUT WHILE INSIDE PRISON
BUILDINGS.
AT THAT TIME, IT WASN'T ILLEGAL TO POSSESS TOBACCO OR SMOKE OUTDOORS.
STEWART
"NO ONE RESPECTED THAT INDOOR SMOKING BAN AND THE AIR WAS JUST AS BLUE AS IT WAS
BEFORE 2006."
SO IN MAY OF LAST YEAR, OTTAWA EXTENDED THE BAN TO INCLUDE PIRSON GROUNDS --
INSIDE AND OUT.
SINCE THEN, THE PRICE OF CONTRABAND CIGARETTES HAS JUMPED DRAMATICALLY.
A PACK NOW SELLS FOR AS MUCH AS 5 HUNDRED DOLLARS AMONG THE INMATE POPULATION.
THE GUARDS UNION SAYS THERE HAVE BEEN NO DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE AS A
RESULT OF THE TOTAL BAN.
BUT MANY WONDER IF INMATES AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS WILL FOLLOW THEIR COUNTERPARTS
AT JOYCEVILLE AND JOIN THE PROTEST.
HOLLY
"THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICE OF CANADA IS PREPARING FOR THAT POSSIBILITY.
HOWEVER, CURRENTLY IT'S JUST JOYCEVILLE INSTITUTION THAT IS INVOLVED IN A WORK
REFUSAL."
CURRENTLY CORRECTIONS CANADA IS WORKING WITH AN INMATE COMMITTEE AT JOYCEVILLE
TO TRY AND GET PRISONERS BACK TO WORK.
THEY SAY THE PROTEST HAS BEEN PEACEFUL AND THE INSTITUTION IS OPERATING UNDER A
"NORMAL ROUTINE"
STU HAY CKWS NEWSWATCH KINGSTON.
INMATES AT JOYCEVILLE PENITENTIARY CONTINUE THEIR WORK STOPPAGE -- AS THEY FIGHT
FOR THE RIGHT TO SMOKE OUTDOORS.
CORRECTIONS CANADA SAYS IT'S BEEN A PEACEFUL PROTEST SO FAR, BUT THEY WORRY
INMATES FROM OTHER PRISONS MAY SOON JOIN THE FIGHT.
THE INMATE PROTEST WAS SPARKED AFTER INMATES IN QUEBEC CHALLENGED THE SMOKING
BAN IN COURT.
THE DETAILS FROM NEWSWATCH'S STU HAY.
http://www.ckwstv.com/index.cfm?page=news&id=1385
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alberta girl who murdered parents, brother given outside freedoms
By The Canadian Press
Tue. Nov 3 - 6:48 AM
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — A southern Alberta teen convicted of fatally stabbing her
parents and younger brother will eventually be given more freedom to help her
reintegrate into society.
A judge in Medicine Hat agreed Monday to loosen the terms of the girl's custody
so that her supervisors at an Edmonton psychiatric hospital can escort her on
visits to places such as banks and malls.
The girl, who can't be identified, appeared in court in via closed circuit
television and thanked the judge when asked if she had anything to say.
The girl's treatment team will have to receive approval from the Solicitor
General's Department before any such trips, which are still 12 to 18 months down
the road.
The girl, now 16, was 12 when her family was slain in 2006, has been restricted
to a secure building at Alberta Hospital Edmonton.
Crown prosecutor Ramona Robins did not oppose open custody, but asked Justice
Scott Brooker to clarify if all of the dozen goals for rehabilitation set out in
his original sentencing should be satisfied before granting a change.
She was concerned about the 11th goal, which is to get the girl to understand
the process that led up to the murders and the impact of her crime.
``When I review the (girl's psychiatric) report, I don't see that goal being
achieved as well as perhaps other ones have,'' said Robins.
Dr. Vinesh Gupta, the psychiatrist in charge of the girl's treatment, says the
teen may never understand why she killed her parents and brother and the
consequences.
``In some ways we feel that we will not be able to achieve that goal,
specifically, in its entirety,'' Gupta told the court.
``The expectation is not that she will fully achieve that before she is
discharged but we will continue to work on it.''
Gupta added the teen has made significant improvements in that area over the
last six months.
She has met with family members in the last few months, which has also been
beneficial, Gupta told court.
Details of those meetings are contained in the psychiatric report that has not
been released to the public.
The judge agreed to Robins' request to increase the teen's sentence reviews to
every six months from once a year.
Outside court, Katherin Beyak told reporters open custody will allow her client
to gradually integrate back into society.
When asked if the girl still poses a threat to the community, Beyak said the
risk is manageable.
``That is why (the treatment team) has suggested the open custody setting.''
Robins told reporters she is still troubled by the girl's lack of recognition of
her role in the murders.
Jeremy Steinke, 25, the girl's former boyfriend, was convicted of first-degree
murder for his part in the killings and was sentenced to life in prison with no
chance of parole until April 2031.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/9013879.html
======================================================================
Canwest publishing OKs Post transfer
Rejoins other newspapers after four years
National Post
Published: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Canwest's publishing division signed a deal last night to reunite the National
Post with its other newspaper assets after a four-year absence.
Pending court and senior lender approval, the 11-year-old national newspaper
will be transferred from Canwest Global Communications Corp.'s holding company,
Canwest Media Inc. (CMI), to Canwest Limited Partnership (LP), which operates 10
major city dailies across the country. The move follows weeks of negotiations
between debtors of the two entities over the price of the Post and terms of the
move.
"I can attest that the return to the fold is prompted not by misguided altruism,
but by good business sense," said National Post CEO and President Paul Godfrey.
" The publishing group leadership understands the true value of the Post, and
its contribution to the larger group,'' said National Post President and CEO
Paul Godfrey.
"I came to the Post in January knowing there is a bright future for this paper.
The move into the LP confirms that,'' he said.
Gordon Fisher, Publisher of the National Post, said: "This brings stability to
the Post and will result in stronger, more strategic newspaper operations with
print and online assets in virtually every major city across Canada.''
In September, 2005, Canwest announced a trust offering of a 26% stake of its
newspaper holdings as part of a bid to raise $1.45-billion. The CanWest
MediaWorks Income Fund initial public offering included dailies Victoria Times
Colonist, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver's The Province, Edmonton Journal, the Calgary
Herald, Saskatoon
StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Windsor Star, Ottawa Citizen and Montreal's The
Gazette, as well as the free dailies Dose and its share in the commuter
give-away Metro in Vancouver and Ottawa. Also included were 26 community
newspapers and Canwest's multiple Internet properties.
It did not include the National Post because its financial situation at the time
would have been viewed as a drain on the trust. Instead, it was transferred to
the holding company for the parent, where it has resided pending resolution of
the court-requested transfer.
The following month, when the trust went public, Canwest raised $550-million. A
year later, the federal government announced it would stop issuing advance tax
rulings for potential income trusts and eliminate the tax-advantaged status of
trusts by 2011, which significantly cooled investor interest in the investment
vehicle. In May 2007, Canwest announced it was buying back the newspaper income
trust for about $55-million less than the original sale price. The transaction
was completed in July, 2007 and the wholly owned division was renamed Canwest
Limited Partnership.
Meanwhile, CMI, which directly holds Global Television and a host of specialty
channels, remains in creditor protection in order to reorganize its assets and
satisfy debtor arrangements. As CMI restructures with a view to emerge from
creditor protection, the LP continues to operate as usual and is meeting current
debtor commitments, after temporarily being in breach of loan covenants in the
spring. The newspaper unit, which pulls in about $1-billion in annual revenue,
holds about $1.5-billion in debt, much of that from the buyback of a 25% stake
in 2007 for just under half a billion dollars.
Canadian companies file for protection under the Companies' Creditors
Arrangement Act (CCAA) when they need time to negotiate with their creditors.
During the time in which the company is under CCAA, its creditors cannot demand
payment or take any action against the company. Debtors are generally allowed to
keep possession of their assets under the control of existing management.
Suppliers are paid for services provided.
http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=2158405
======================================================================
Offline 