Pubdate: Fri, 28 May 2010
Source: Telegram, The (CN NF)
Page: 6
Copyright: 2010 The Telegram
Contact:  http://www.thetelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/303
Author: Brian Jones
Note: Brian Jones is a desk editor at The Telegram.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)

JUSTICE TWISTED, TWICE

Every time the RNC or RCMP parade a haul of illicit drugs before the 
cameras to boast about the great job they are doing keeping Canadians 
safe from dope and dopers, we are reminded of the inanity, hypocrisy, 
foolishness, ineffectiveness and outright injustice of Canada's drug 
laws, even if the boastful displays of criminal loot reassure some 
people that the country's streets will never resemble those they see 
on TV cop shows.

The police, of course, are just doing their jobs, according to the 
instructions of the laws and the lawmakers of the land.

But for a sense of extremely twisted justice, you can't do much 
better than comparing the cases of Marc Emery and Hassan Almrei.

Marc Emery

A Canadian citizen, Emery was extradited to the U.S. by his own 
government even though he has never set foot in the United States.

His heinous crime: he runs a mail-order business selling marijuana seeds.

The Canadian Press (CP) erroneously reported this week Emery "was 
arrested in the U.S. in 2005."

In fact, the 2005 arrest took place in Halifax.

So, a Canadian citizen who has never visited a foreign country, let 
alone broken its laws while there, has been shipped out of his own 
country by his own government, to face a foreign judge.

Emery will serve five years in a Seattle prison. He pleaded guilty in 
return for a five-year sentence, he told reporters in Vancouver, to 
avoid facing the maximum penalty of 50 years' imprisonment.

Emery has waged a very public, years-long campaign against Canada's 
drug laws and in favour of the legalization of marijuana. He has been 
dubbed the "Prince of Pot," although it would now be more accurate to 
label him the "Prisoner of Pot."

According to The Vancouver Sun, a B.C. Court of Appeal judge said 
Emery's transgressions, under Canadian law, would warrant a month's 
detention and a bit of probation.

Instead, he'll likely be in a U.S. prison until 2015, unless he can 
get transferred to a Canadian jail.

Hassan Almrei

Unlike marijuana-promoting Canadian citizens who can easily be kicked 
out of their own country, refugee-claiming suspected terrorists have 
a firm hold upon Canadian soil.

Hassan Almrei is a 36-year-old Syrian man who came to Canada in 1999 
"on a false United Arab Emirates passport and attained refugee status 
the following year," CP reported earlier this month.

In October 2001, Almrei was arrested in Canada "on terror suspicions" 
and held on the basis of a security certificate.

Those infamous security certificates get a lot of bad publicity, and 
a lot of good publicity for opponents who condemn them.

Oddly enough, when the facts finally come out, the subjects of the 
certificates often look somewhat less than heroic.

In releasing Almrei in December 2009, a Federal Court judge "said 
there were reasonable grounds to believe Almrei was a security danger 
when detained just after the 9/11 attacks - but no reason to support 
that belief now," CP reported.

CP also reported, "(The judge) found that Almrei had lied to Canadian 
authorities, provided a forged passport and money to an Arab-Afghan 
associate who crossed the border illegally, arranged a marriage of 
convenience for a failed refugee claimant and traded in illicit 
drivers' licences."

Apparently, Almrei was never charged.

Nor, obviously, was he ever deported.

Instead, he lawyered up and is suing the federal government for, 
among other things, false imprisonment, violation of his Charter 
rights and, laughably, defamation.

He wants $16 million. And an apology. He'll probably win.

Let's say sorry in writing and put the cash in a big bag, and make 
Marc Emery deliver it.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom