Ottawa: Canada's highest court has ruled that the country's spy agency breached the rights of a man accused of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent by relying on tainted evidence summaries.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service destroyed the original notes and tapes of its interviews with Adil Charkaoui, a Morrocan-born man who was arrested in Montreal in 2003 on terrorism-related charges. He denies any terrorist links.
CSIS argued today that the practice of destroying evidential material is mandated by Parliament. However, the Supreme Court said that the agency must retain the information it gathers.
Charkaoui spent 21 months in jail under Canada s controversial security certificate measure, which allows authorities to hold a detainee indefinitely without charges. He was released on bail in 2005 and is fighting deportation.
