Human Rights and Prisoner Rights

To,
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
The Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice
The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety,
The Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
The Honourable Michael Bryant, Attorney General
The Honourable Monte Kwinter, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services

As concerned Canadian citizens, who believe strongly in the values of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, we feel that it is our duty to bring to your attention the plight of at least twelve of the accused in last summer’s arrests in Toronto, commonly known as the Toronto 18. We are particularly concerned about their treatment at the Maplehurst Correctional Facility in Milton, Ontario.

These individuals, most of whom have launched constitutional challenges, have been kept in isolation, deprived of basic rights, including human interaction, communication, religious rights as well as rights and privileges that even convicted criminals are granted, etc. It is important to note that these individuals have not been convicted of any crimes and yet they are treated worse than convicted criminals.

We would also like to bring to your attention an extremely disturbing incident which occurred on Sunday May 13, 2007 (which was covered by the mainstream media) at the Facility. The incident in question involved the mistreatment, abuse and assault upon Mr. Steven Vikram Chand. We have heard reports that he was dragged out of the shower by his hair, his head was banged against the wall and he was dragged back to his cell for simply asking for an extra minute to wash out the soap from his long hair. He apparently also asked for a doctor and this request was denied. The incident was witnessed by some of the other accused and as a result they refused food from the Facility as an act of civil disobedience.

Other accused have also reported mistreatment for simply voicing their concerns, testifying in court and voicing opposition to their mistreatment.

In a free and democratic society based on the rule of law, we believe that the violations of the rights of the accused and the inappropriate acts against Mr. Chand and others are an insult to the Charter and the standards set by international law.
We believe that any such punishment given to any prisoner, whether convicted or not, is inhuman and violate fundamental human rights. The government and the people of Canada have committed to protecting the rights of all human beings and must take notice, and take action.