Mahmoud Jaballah

Mahmoud Es Sayyid Jaballah (
محمود جاب بالله
) is an Egyptian who has been detained in Canada without charge on a "security certificate" since August 2001 due to his association with members of al Jihad. He has consistently asserted that he does not believe in violence, and just because he phones or visits people, does not mean that he shares their beliefs.

While studying at the University of Zagazig in Egypt, Jaballah was involved in a student group named Badr which distributed pamphlets, a weekly periodical and arranged field trips for students. He stated that the University dean eventually expelled the professor who organised the group for his "anti government political activity". He has denied claims from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that he also fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya. He claims to have stayed in Azerbaijan from September 1995 through March 1996. He married Husnah Mojammad El Sayyed El Mashtouli, with whom he has six children. stated that he had also used a false Iraqi passport in the past, in order to travel from Pakistan to Yemen, and from there to Azerbaijan, from 1994 to 1996. Muayyed Nureddin offered to drive him around the city if necessary because he was a newcomer without transportation, but the two never became friends. By November 2006, he had arranged a postal box in the city [what city? ], and registered [with whom and for what reason?] under the name Bellal.

The month after entering Canada, CSIS alleges Jaballah began phoning suspected al Jihad members still living in Pakistan and spoke of acquiring new clothing, which Canadian authorities allege was a code word for travel documents. He also remained in contact with al Jihad ruling council members Ahmad Salama Mabruk and Thirwat Salah Shehata, the latter had served as Jaballah's lawyer in Egypt and married Jaballah's sister. He denied any relationship with Mabruk. On December 13, Jaballah was informed that his friend "Najib" had been hospitalised, which authorities suggest was a reference to Ahmad Salama Mabruk being imprisoned along with Ayman al Zawahiri and Mahmud Hisham al Hennawi by Russian authorities as they tried to cross into Chechnya. Jaballah promised to raise funds in Canada to help Nijab while Shehata did the same in Azerbaijan. In the summer of 1998, following the bombings of two American embassies, Eidarous, Bary, al Sebai, Khalid al Fawwaz and Sayyid Ahmed al Maqsud were among eight men arrested in London, England for their relationship with al Jihad. Canadian authorities interviewed Jaballah on September 21 and again on the 26th to question him since he had phoned all five men. He further stated that the bombings were likely carried out by the Egyptian Intelligence Service to allow them to arrest those opposed to the regime. In 1998, Barakat Fahim Ali Mohamed was contacted by Jaballah, who wanted an immediate set of false documentation for himself and his family in case Canadian authorities declined his request for refugee status or pursued him. In October 1998, he asked Mohamed whether he had received the necessary photographs of his children and was disappointed to learn that he had not. It was later claimed by the government that he had in fact taught the Khadrs while working as a teacher at two schools in the city, and that his wife had asked the family to deny any closer connection than what he'd previously mentioned to the authorities. Jaballah and Mustafa Krer met through mutual friends, and Jaballah has said that he phoned Krer for help finding Egyptian newspaper articles he felt could help his refugee claim, and that Krer occasionally visited Jaballah in Toronto. The only time they met in Montreal was when Krer met Jaballah and his wife at Hassan Farhat's apartment to celebrate the birth of a child while Jaballah was in the city seeking cheaper car insurance than he could obtain in Toronto. Jaballah met Farhat in 1996 at the Medina Mosque in Toronto, and received help finding a local apartment and learning English. Farhat introduced Jaballah to Ali Hussein, once telling him that Kassem Daher would appreciate any religious audiocassettes that Farhat and Jaballah could send him.

In July 1997, a fax believed to have been sent by Mabruk, was sent to Jaballah offering advice on how to approach and recruit Canadians to al Jihad. He sent a reply stating that he had already begun making contacts in the community, and had found several Muslim Brotherhood members whose loyalty he had "tested" and that he was convinced they were reliable friends. He was congratulated and reminded that al Jihad could use as many brothers as they could find. Islamic groups accused the Canadian government of bowing to pressure from Egypt to extradite Jaballah back for a third attempt to convict him of membership in al Jihad. He was held at Toronto West Detention Centre until April 2006, when he and the other security certificate detainees were moved to a newly constructed facility two hours north of Toronto named Kingston Immigration Holding Centre. In October 2006, Jaballah's lawyers Paul Copeland and Barbara Jackman again sought bail, this time noting the support of former Iraqi hostage James Loney and the release of Mohamed Harkat on bail from a security certificate four months earlier.

On April 14, 2007, Jaballah was released on house arrest by judge Carolyn Layden Stevenson, a day after Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub was similarly released and escorted to his family home. A CSIS agent identified only as J. P., the Deputy Chief of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation in the Ottawa Regional Office as of 2005, testified against the petitions for release by Almrei, Jaballah and Charkaoui. In December 2007, security officials petitioned Layden Stevenson to allow them to install 14 surveillance cameras inside the Jaballah home to watch the day to day activities of the family. When asked to review clandestine photographs the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) identified as his house, Jaballah "stunned the court" by appearing perplexed and answering that these were not even photos of his house. The agents had accidentally submit photos from the wrong stakeout, instead labeling photos of Tamil gang leader Jothiravi Sittampalam's house as being the Jaballah residence, The court also noted complaints that Muslim women are only able to walk around without their niqab or hijab inside the home away from the eyes of strangers; and that federal agents would be intruding on their privacy. Jaballah had phoned Bell after the internet line was installed in the kitchen, and was told that the account was being set up and paid for by the city. Jaballah's lawyer John Norris questioned the city's agents in court, and was told that the CBSA had never mentioned anything about the scholarship program. Following the release of information that CSIS had been illegally monitoring the privileged conversations between Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub and his lawyer, Jaballah and Mahjoub filed a joint motion alleging that the conditions of their house arrest were unreasonable; stating their tracking bracelets, wiretapped phones and curfews were acceptable intrusions on their lives, while having their family photographed and physically followed at every opportunity and their mail seized were unreasonable. Judge Anne MacTavish ruled against this motion. The Summary Report drafted by CSIS in 2008 had a number of demonstrable errors, including identifying Amr Hamed and Essam Marzouk as the same person, stating that four of Ahmed Khadr's sons had attended training camps when only two had, that Mustafa Krer was arrested on December 18, 2004, rather than May 2, 2002, and alternatingly referring to the same interview occurring on either August 21 or September 21.