(PEN Canada/IFEX) – The following is a 23 October 2003 PEN Canada press release: Charges Against Canadian Author a Threat to Freedom of Expression TORONTO, October 23, 2003 – All Canadians should be extremely concerned about the threat to freedom of expression posed by the decision to lay a series of new charges against author […]
(PEN Canada/IFEX) – The following is a 23 October 2003 PEN Canada press release:
Charges Against Canadian Author a Threat to Freedom of Expression
TORONTO, October 23, 2003 – All Canadians should be extremely concerned about the threat to freedom of expression posed by the decision to lay a series of new charges against author Stephen Williams, PEN Canada said today.
“Canadians should be watching this case very closely as actions taken by the authorities to date bear all the signs of attempts to intimidate and harass Mr. Williams in a conscious and deliberate attempt to curtail his freedom of expression,” said Christopher Waddell, Chair of PEN Canada’s National Affairs Committee.
“Efforts by law enforcement authorities to silence critics in this fashion have no place in Canada,” added PEN Canada’s president, Haroon Siddiqui. “It is simply unacceptable and intolerable to harass a writer in this way for what he or she has written.”
While the courts are the proper place to assess the charges of violating court orders laid against Mr. Williams, PEN Canada condemns three specific actions taken by the law enforcement authorities in this case to date.
1 – Police actions against Mr. Williams
On two separate occasions Mr. Williams’ residence was raided by squads of police in the very early morning. In the first raid, in May, Mr. Williams was arrested and held in jail over night. Mr. Williams is not a violent criminal and he has not been charged with violent offences. He poses absolutely no risk or threat to the safety and security of society. There is no excuse or explanation for jailing a writer in Canada in the absence of a criminal conviction for something he or she has written. This action is nothing more than a crude attempt at harassment and intimidation of Mr. Williams that is not worthy of this country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
2 – A fishing expedition by law enforcement authorities
In his writings, Mr. Williams has been very critical of the work of police, Crown Attorneys and the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario, with some of his conclusions perhaps relying on information from confidential sources. The raids and confiscation of Mr. Williams’ property bear all the signs of a fishing expedition by police trying to determine the identities of those confidential sources. The ability of a writer or journalist to protect his or her sources is fundamental to freedom of expression. PEN Canada concludes that the actions of law enforcement authorities in this case amount to trying to discover Mr. Williams’ sources, presumably to punish him, and therefore condemns these actions.
3 – Confiscation of property by police
During the course of a July raid on Mr. Williams’ premises, computers and other materials belonging to him and his wife, writer Marsha Boulton, were confiscated and to date have not been returned to either of them. This is also unwarranted and amounts to harassment and an attempt to deny both Mr. Williams and his wife the ability to earn a living. While the police have every right to take material they believe to be relevant to an investigation, there is no acceptable excuse or explanation for holding for months computers or material that bear no relation to the subject of the investigation. That material should have been returned within days of the raid to allow Mr. Williams and his wife to continue with their lives. The deliberate failure to do so effectively punishes Mr. Williams and his wife financially, by denying them access to their livelihoods, and is an unconscionable action for the police to take against someone who has been charged but not convicted.
Regardless of the outcome of the court action, PEN Canada believes no writer in Canada or anywhere else in the world should be treated in this fashion simply for practicing his or her profession. PEN Canada calls on law enforcement authorities in Ontario to explain why they have consistently and inappropriately treated a writer as if he were a violent and dangerous criminal who posed an imminent threat to society, punishing him in the absence of any conviction.
About PEN Canada
PEN Canada is committed to defending freedom of opinion and the peaceable expression of such opinion, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It campaigns on behalf of writers around the world persecuted for the peaceful expression of their thoughts. In Canada, it supports the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Section 2 (b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. PEN Canada is a centre of International PEN, the worldwide writers’ association founded in England in 1921.
