Opposition MPs spoke out today in favour of a review of the case against Adil Charkaoui, who is accused of being a terrorist.

Liberal MP Andrew Telegdi, vice-chairman of the Commons citizenship and immigration committee, was one of several MPs who gathered on Parliament Hill calling on Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day to abandon the security certificate system under which Charkaoui was originally detained.

Adil Charkaoui talks with reporters as he arrives at federal court on April 6, 2006, in Montreal. Charkaoui was held without charge from May 2003 until February 2005.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

"I want to clear my name," Charkaoui said at a press conference.

The Moroccan-born Charkaoui was arrested in May 2003 on suspicion of being an al-Qaeda operative. He was held without formal charges for 21 months until his February 2005 release on $50,000 bail.

Charkaoui is one of three men who launched a successful constitutional challenge of security certificates, leading to the Supreme Court ruling that the certificates violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The high court's unanimous decision came down in February.

However, the high court suspended its ruling for a year to allow time for the government to rewrite its security laws. In the meantime, Charkaoui hangs in legal limbo as the case against him is still pending.

Charkaoui's lawyers said they would ask the court to scrap the case against him because CSIS destroyed records and withheld information from his defence counsel.

A dramatic new turn gave Charkaoui more ammunition to attack the case against him: on April 20, a key witness against Charkaoui recanted his testimony.

Stress led to dubious testimony

Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian-born Montrealer, was arrested in 1999 while trying to cross the B.C.-Washington border with a bomb intended for Los Angeles International Airport. In exchange for a lighter sentence, Ressam agreed to co-operate with authorities, providing information on other suspected terrorists.

Ressam told CSIS that he first met Charkaoui at an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, an accusation Charkaoui denies. 

But in a letter to the Journal de Montreal, Ressam retracted that testimony, saying that psychological stress stemming from his conviction caused him to give inaccurate information.

Charkaoui's lawyers and supporters say the new revelation only strengthens his case.

Charkaoui's case has attracted many high-profile supporters. Filmmaker Denys Arcand, singer Bruce Cockburn and former cabinet ministers Flora MacDonald and Warren Almond all contributed to the $50,000 bail to obtain Charkaoui's release in February 2005.

In March, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of the security certificate case against Charkaoui, although that appeal has yet to take place.