A senior Conservative Party politician wants an investigation into an Algerian-Canadian who served a prison term in France for extremist activities but who has now returned to Canada. "It's startling to think he has returned to Canada," Peter MacKay told CTV Newsnet on Saturday, referring to Fateh Kamel, 44.On Saturday, the National Post reported that Kamel was convicted in France in 2001 of "participating in a criminal association for the purposes of preparing acts of terrorism" after being arrested in Jordan in December 1999. He had also supplied fake passports to militants. Kamel was sentenced to eight years, but was freed after four for good behaviour. He reportedly arrived in Montreal on Jan. 29. Kamel has a wife and son here. "Given the conviction in France and his previous involvement with terrorist activity, including close associations with a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda and linked as well to Ahmed Rassam ... it's very, very disturbing to think Kamel is back in the country," says MacKay, the Tories' deputy leader and public safety critic. Ressam is better known as the Millennium Bomber. The former Montrealer was caught trying to smuggle a bomb into the United States in 1999 that was to be used to attack Los Angeles International Airport.
Kamel is associated with GIA, which is the French acronym for the Algerian Armed Islamic Group. MacKay thinks Canada should be doing "everything we can" to send Kamel back to his native Algeria. While he didn't have any information on the matter, MacKay said he "hoped" that France had informed Canada about Kamel and that CSIS is monitoring the man's whereabouts. "This is the type of individual who should be of real concern to Canadian officials at Immigration and CSIS and poses a real threat to Canadians," he says.
A spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, who is also in charge of public security, wouldn't say much other than the federal government was aware of Kamel's return. "Certainly this gentleman is a Canadian citizen and we're aware of his arrest and conviction in France, but we don't comment on any individual or operational matters around persons of interest," Alex Swann told The Canadian Press. "He is a citizen and he has the right to return to Canada."