Please take action to demand that the Ontario government meet the demands of Hassan Almrei concerning detention conditions. Hassan Almrei has been detained for four years without trial on a security certificate, and is currently (Aug. 26) on Day 65 of a hunger strike (see below). Hassan Almrei is at imminent risk of permanent disability and perhaps death. Please do what you can to avert this outcome.
For further details, you can contact:
Janet Cleveland:
Email: janet.cleveland@umontreal.ca
Phone: 514-343-6111 (extension 8777)
Or
Matthew Behrens
Email : tasc@web.ca
Phone: 416-651-5800
Hassan Almrei is now on Day 65 of his hunger strike. He is emaciated and weakened, but his spirit has not yet been broken. The light flickers, but has not yet gone out.
Hassan Almrei, a refugee, has been imprisoned in solitary confinement without trial in a Canadian prison for 4 years under a security certificate, and is under threat of deportation to Syria where he risks torture. He is demanding minimally decent conditions of detention; his main demand is the right to one hour a day of exercise outside of his cell. The Ontario government (this is a provincial prison) has callously refused to make the tiniest concession.
In July, Alexandre Trudeau, Naomi Klein, Heather Mallick, Avi Lewis and other well-known personalities came forward to support Hassan Almrei’s request for release on bail (decision still pending). Questioned about his motives, Trudeau stated “I presume he's innocent”, adding that it is unacceptable that a person be imprisoned in Canada without being charged and without the right to a fair and public trial. Three of Hassan Almrei’s prison guards also testified in his favour, stating that he is an ‘honourable’, ‘trustworthy’ and decent man. One guard even stated that he would have no hesitation to have Hassan as a neighbour, saying “I would trust him”.
This is Hassan Almrei’s 6th hunger strike in four years. On previous hunger strikes he has asked for rights as basic as heating in his icy cell in winter, but had to go to court to obtain them. Almrei is waiting for a court date once again, but it may come too late.
By way of comparison: in 1981, Bobby Sands and 9 other IRA prisoners on hunger strike died after periods varying from 46 to 73 days, after sustaining severe organ damage (e.g., blindness). Several survivors of the strike remained permanently handicapped. In 1996, many Kurdish hunger strikers in Turkey died after periods of 65 to 69 days.
Please don’t let this happen to Hassan Almrei. Please don’t let the light go out.
Please write or call Monte Kwinter, the Ontario minister, immediately to ask that Hassan Almrei’s demands be met. A massive, immediate flood of calls, emails and faxes are needed in order to turn the tide.
Hon. Monte Kwinter
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
18th floor, 25 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, ON, M7A 1Y6
Phone: (416) 325-0408
Fax: (416) 325-6067
Email: mkwinter.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Here is a sample letter (feel free to copy)
August 26, 2005
Hon. Monte Kwinter
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
Government of Ontario
Object: Hunger strike of Hassan Almrei
Dear sir,
I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to meet the legitimate demands of Hassan Almrei, who has been detained without trial in an Ontario prison for four years and is now on a hunger strike to demand minimally decent conditions of detention. His main demand is for one hour a day of exercise outside of his cell.
As of today (Friday, August 26), Hassan Almrei is on Day 65 of his hunger strike. Hassan Almrei was already in poor health before beginning his current hunger strike. He is at imminent risk of permanent, severe impairment, and very possibly, of death.
By way of comparison: in 1981, Bobby Sands and 9 other IRA prisoners on hunger strike died after periods varying from 46 to 73 days after sustaining severe organ damage (e.g., blindness). Several survivors of the strike remained permanently handicapped. In 1996, many Kurdish hunger strikers in Turkey died after periods of 65 to 69 days.
Please intervene immediately to try to find a humane solution to this situation. You have the power, and therefore the moral responsibility, to resolve this crisis.
As Canadians, we pride ourselves on respecting basic human rights. Please remain true to this fundamental value. Should Hassan Almrei die or be permanently handicapped, it would be to our lasting shame and dishonour as Canadians and as members of the human family.
(signature)
Please cc Anne McLellan and Joe Volpe, the federal ministers responsible for security certificates, and add a demand for a fair and public trial for all 5 men currently detained on security certificates.
Anne McLellan, Phone: (613) 992-4524 Fax: (613) 943-0044 or McLellan.A@parl.gc.ca
Joe Volpe Phone: (613) 992-6361 Fax: (613) 992-9791 or volpej@parl.gc.ca
You can also cc correspondence to Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada at tasc@web.ca or fax (416) 651-9770 or by mail to PO Box 73620, 509 St. Clair Ave. West, Toronto, ON M6C 1C0, or let them know that you have phoned Kwinter’s office. Hassan Almrei needs to know that he is not alone, that there are people who care enough to take action. For more information: www.homesnotbombs.ca
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