Adil Charkaoui flashes a victory sign as he leaves a news conference on June 26, 2008 in Montreal after the Supreme Court ruled that Canada's spy service breached his rights by relying on tainted evidence summaries. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

A federal judge has eased some of the strict conditions imposed on Adil Charkaoui, an accused al-Qaeda sleeper agent.

Federal Court Judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer ruled Friday that some of the restrictions had become disproportionate, given the number of years that had passed since Charkaoui first faced terrorism allegations.

Charkaoui, a landed immigrant from Morocco, was arrested under security-certificate legislation in 2003 and put in jail.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleged Charkaoui was an al-Qaeda agent prepared to wage attacks against Western targets.

Charkaoui has steadfastly denied the allegations.

Never charged

No charges were ever laid against the father of three, and he was released 21 months after his arrest.

In the four years since his release, Charkaoui has been living under a series of conditions that have severely restricted his movements and ability to communicate.

He has been monitored by a global positioning device and has only been able to leave his house accompanied by his father, his mother or a friend. His use of the phone and computer have also been also restricted.

As part of Friday's Federal Court ruling, Charkaoui can now use the Internet on his home computer and leave his house unsupervised.

However some conditions remain, including the requirement to wear the GPS tracking bracelet.

Mary Foster, a member of a coalition of human rights organizations that has been involved with the Charkaoui case, called Friday's ruling a major victory.

"Before this morning Mr. Charkaoui was not able to leave his home without his mother or father accompanying him. He couldn't use the Internet. He couldn't use any cellphone," she said.

"Now all of that is gone."

Charkaoui has scheduled a news conference for 5:15 p.m. Friday in Montreal to react to the judge's decision.

With files from The Canadian Press