Secret trial detainees speak out for CPT detainees
We reprint here, excerpts from an open letter written
by the secret trial detainees held in Toronto. The letter was sent to Arab
media outlets around the world in the hope that it will add to the millions
of voices calling for the release of the Christian Peacemaker Team members
currently held in Iraq.
To the people holding James Loney and the other
Christian Peacemaker Team Members in Iraq …
Our names are Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohammad Mahjoub and
Hassan Almrei, and we have been detained without charge for between four
and five and a half years. Some of us have spent as many as four years in
solitary confinement as well. We are being held captive under security
certificates because the government of Canada alleges we are linked to
terrorist organizations and that we pose a threat to the national security
of Canada. …
We are suffering a great injustice here in Canada
because the government stereotypes Muslims and because of our strong faith
and daily attendance to mosque. We have been suffering innocently.
Many Canadians have heard of our injustice and have
been supporting us in our fight for freedom by contacting politicians, by
holding demonstrations in front of the jail, by writing letters to
authorities and spreading the word all over Canada by way of media.
James Loney of the Christian Peacemaker Teams is one
of thousands of people who have been fighting to right this wrong. He is a
person who has organized and motivated people to participate in this
struggle for what is right. We have recently seen a photo of him in the
newspaper and it has saddened our hearts to learn that he is being held
captive in Iraq.
This is the same James Loney who has traveled to Iraq
on more than one occasion to help the people of Iraq. This is the same
James Loney who has reached out to the families of the Abu Ghraib
prisoners. This is the James Loney who was against the US invasion and is
against the US occupation of Iraq.
It pains our heart to know that a person of this
calibre is being held captive. We care about his freedom more than we do
our own.
If you love Allah, if you have goodness in your
heart, please deal with this matter as righteous Muslims and not let these
kind, caring, compassionate and innocent people suffer. …
We hope and pray to see these captives freed as much
as we hope and pray for our own freedom here in Canada, a freedom for which
James Loney has worked so hard.
For further information, contact Campaign to Stop
Secret Trials in Canada, 416.651.5800, tasc@web.ca