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Fateh Kamel is an Algerian who was arrested in 1999 on charges of supporting a terrorist plot against attacks against French targets in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. He was released early for good behaviour, and returned to Canada.


Early life

Kamel is believed to have fought the
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, and moved to Canada in 1987 or 1988.CNEWS
No passport for terrorist, court rules
, January 29, 2009
He married a schoolteacher in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
, and was granted
Canadian citizenship Canadian nationality law details the conditions in which a person is a national of Canada. With few exceptions, almost all individuals born in the country are automatically citizens at birth. Foreign nationals may naturalize after living in Ca ...
in 1993, and owned the ''Artisanat Nord-Sud Craft Store'' in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
.Williams, Paul L. "Al Qaeda: Brotherhood of Terror", 2002 In the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having starte ...
, he was injured in the foot while fighting in
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
. Evan Kohlmann has suggested that he served as third-in-command of a
Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The city is know ...
mujahideen battalion during 1995 under Abdelkader Mokhtari.Kohlmann, Evan. Global Terror Alert
Abu el-Maali
, 2005
Described as possessing a "slick, polished exterior" and "especially handsome",Kohlmann, Evan. "Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe", p. 186 he traveled between Milan, Montreal, Paris, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Zagreb, Bosnia, Copenhagen, Australia, Slovenia, Freibourg, Morocco, Acone, Istanbul, Belgium and Amsterdam over a period of three years from 1994-97. In 1996, he stated to friends that he would "prefer to die than go to jail", speaking of how he almost lost his wife and newborn son. When authorities pursued French militant Christophe Caze, it was discovered that his address book contained the contact information of Kamel. Returning to Canada, he is alleged to have led a group of radical Montreal
Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...
, including
Ahmed Ressam Ahmed Ressam ( ar, احمد رسام; also Benni Noris or the Millennium Bomber; born May 9, 1967) is an Algerian al-Qaeda member who lived for a time in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He received extensive terrorist training in Afghanistan. He was c ...
. In 1991 he is believed to have attended an Afghan training camp, and returned to Montreal where he stole money and identity documents to support his group's plans to bomb Parisian metro stations, and a series of attacks in the city of
Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...
.


Arrest

He was arrested in Jordan in March 1999, and extradited to France, where he was convicted and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for providing false passports in support of terrorism. After his early release from prison for good behaviour, he returned to Montreal in January 2005, where he was living with his wife and son until Canada brought
deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
orders against him.MacLeon, Ian.
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...
,
The warning lights were all blinking red
", February 23, 2008


Return to Canada

Kamel returned to Canada on January 29, 2005. Conservative
Public Safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...
critic Peter MacKay urged the government to revoke his citizenship and deport the "bad dude" to Algeria.Bell, Stewart.
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
, "Terrorist Returns", February 26, 2005
Some critics alleged he was being allowed to return simply to allow the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating in ...
to track his movements to discover future plots. Five months after returning to Canada, Kamel applied for a passport explaining that he needed to fly to
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
on a business trip. On November 30, Pierre Pettigrew wrote an internal memo suggesting the application be denied. The Harper government exercised
Royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in t ...
when it denied Kamel a new passport. In March 2008, Federal Court justice Simon Noel ruled that this had infringed Kamel's rights under the Canadian Charter. However, the ruling was set aside by the
Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal (french: Cour d'appel fédérale) is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "add ...
in January 2009 in which the court unanimously agreed the denial of passport on national security ground is justified, despite the arguments of lawyer Johanne Doyon. Kamel launched an appeal to the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...
but the court declined to hear his case and thus ends the legality challenge of the
Canadian Passport Order Passport Canada was an independent, special operating agency of the Government of Canada with bureaucratic oversight provided through Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Formerly known as the Passport Office prior to June 2006, Passpo ...
. In 2010, Kamel attempted to re-apply for a Canadian Passport but was once again refused by the Minister on grounds of national security. He sought judicial review but was dismissed by the Federal Court and subsequently, by the Federal Court of Appeal in 2013.Kamel v. Canada (Attorney General)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamel, Fateh Living people Algerian emigrants to Canada People from El Harrach Canadian Islamists Islamic terrorism in France Islamic terrorism in Canada 1961 births