Pro-Palestinian activists charged with criminally harassing Immigration Minister Marc Miller

Three pro-Palestinian activists were arrested and charged with criminally harassing Marc Miller, a Montreal MP and the federal immigration minister, prompting a group of protesters to rally at the Montreal courthouse to denounce the arrests as a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

Samar Alkhdour is one of those activists.

Alkhdour — who is identified in legal documents as Samar Elkahlout but uses her maiden name — has taken part in regular protests to condemn Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza and criticize what she described as Canada's inaction in the face of a growing death toll.

Since March, many of her protests have been sit-ins in front of Miller's riding office.

Alkhdour and the other two accused appeared in court on Tuesday.

According to Barbara Bedont, Alkhdour's lawyer, the charges come from a protest that took place last Thursday in front of the Liberal campaign office, with Miller nearby.

Bedont said Alkhdour was packing her belongings after the protest, when Miller showed up in a vehicle. She said Alkhdour approached the vehicle and «expressed her feelings about his policies.»

«They said 'shame on you' and 'you're a child killer.' Things like that — political speech,» the lawyer said, adding that Miller was in the vehicle the whole time before it drove off.

She said the interaction lasted about five seconds, with Alkhdour standing about a metre away from the vehicle, and the other two people charged standing further back.

«At no time was he ever threatened,» Bedont said. «There was no violence. It was a purely peaceful expression of her political views.»

In addition to criminal harassment, Alkhdour and the two others were charged with mischief.

Alkhdour's supporters gathered inside and outside the