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Tiny solitary cells under constant illumination, a mere 20 minutes of fresh air daily, and beatings at the hands of guards are indicative of the "torture" endured by some of the 17 people accused of plotting terrorist attacks in Canada, lawyers for the group said Monday.
The allegations of "cruel and unusual punishment" came as the court imposed a blanket publication ban on the legal proceedings, preventing the public from learning of any further evidence in a case of stunning allegations that has captured headlines around the world.
The treatment of the suspects, accused of plotting a number of terrorist strikes in Ontario that allegedly included bombings and taking senior politicians hostage, "constitutes torture," lawyer Rocco Galati said outside the court.
"That torture includes being kept in a room that's lit 24 hours a day, being woken up every half-hour, being beaten by the guards, on and on and on," said Galati, who represents Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, a 21-year-old health sciences graduate of McMaster University.
The solitary confinement cells in which the men and youths are housed at the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton are a scant 3.4 metres by 1.8 metres, are sealed by a concrete door with only a small slit for meal delivery, and have no windows, said lawyer David Kolinsky.
Twenty-year-old terror suspect Zakaria Amara was beaten by a guard after he giggled because he felt ticklish while being searched, alleged Kolinsky, who said the guard pinned his client to the ground, drilled his knuckle into the man's cheek and said, "Is this funny?"
Many of the conditions outlined by lawyers are standard practice, said Community Safety and Correctional Services Ministry spokeswoman Julia Noonan.
"All our institutions are lit 24 hours a day," said Noonan, who added the lights are dimmed in the evenings. "For security reasons, we need to ensure that proper supervision is possible."
Twenty minutes of "fresh air and/or exercise" is also standard, and the "standard dimension" solitary cells are expressly built for "one person."
Physical abuse, however, is not tolerated by the ministry, she said.
"All ministry employees are required to adhere to those policies and they're held criminally responsible for any excess use of force."
Male family members and supporters formed a protective ring around the women as they made their way into the courthouse Monday. Among them was wheelchair-bound Karim Khadr, the teenage son of Ahmed Said Khadr, an associate of Osama bin Laden who was killed in a fire fight with Pakistani forces in 2003.
Two of the terror suspects, Mohammed Dirie and Yasim Mohamed, are already in prison on weapons charges. Fifteen others were rounded up by police June 2 in a co-ordinated sweep, followed the next day by a news conference in which authorities displayed various items that they alleged were to be used in terrorist attacks.
The display included a computer, a gun, and a bag of ammonium nitrate a commonly available fertilizer that was used to deadly ends in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Stunning allegations contained in a Crown synopsis, and shared with the media by defence lawyer Gary Batasar outside the court last week, said that 25-year-old restaurant worker Steven Chand personally wanted to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
While bail hearings for three of the suspects who were youths when the crimes were allegedly committed and cannot be named begin this Friday, any evidence presented will be banned from publication.
The ban, imposed Monday by justice of the peace Keith Currie, drew the condemnation of some defence lawyers and members of the Muslim community.
"We call it a publication scam," Ahmad Shehab, the director of the Coalition of Muslim Organizations, said outside the courthouse.
"If you accuse people you might as well show things clear, transparent, due process, crystal clear evidence so the public could see."
Galati said he wants "the public to know exactly the allegations against my client."
He went as far as to say he wanted a live media feed of his client's bail hearing an extraordinary request given that cameras and recording devices are routinely banned from courts under normal circumstances.
The 17 suspects face a variety of charges including knowingly participating in or contributing to terrorist activity, providing or receiving training for terrorist purposes and providing or making available property for a terrorist activity.
The maximum sentence for participating in terrorism, training and making property available is 10 years in prison.
