Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
19 November 2010
Canadian Citizen Stranded in Sudan
Whether because of bureaucratic bungling or malicious intent, Abousfian Abdelrazik languished in Sudan for six years before a public outcry caused the Canadian government to pay attention to his plight
Abousfian Abdelrazik came to Canada as a refugee from Sudan in 1990 and has been a Canadian citizen since 1995. In 2003, he returned to Sudan to visit his ailing mother. He was arrested by Sudanese authorities and held in jail for 11 months.
Weak Link to Terrorist
The reason given for his detention is that his name appears on a list of suspected
al-
The justification seems to be that Mr. Abdelrazik knew Ahmed Ressam in Montreal. Mr. Ressam was convicted of plotting to blow up Los Angeles Airport. Mr. Abdelrazik testified he knew Ahmed Ressam, but had no knowledge of his plans to attack the United States.
In a March 2009 story, The Globe and Mail published parts of documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The papers were marked “secret” and said, in part: “Abousfian Abdelrazik was arrested on September 10, 2003 [words blacked out] recommendation by CSIS (Canadian Security and Intelligence Service), for suspected involvement with terrorist elements.” CSIS claims it had nothing to do with the arrest.
Questioned in Prison
While in prison in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, Mr. Abdelrazik said he was interrogated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from the U.S. and by CSIS agents.
Mr. Abdelrazik also says the Sudanese tortured him and that Canadian officials were
aware of this. Now, Canada’s Justice Department gets into the story. After a six-
He was released in July 2004, rearrested, and finally set free in July 2006. He was never charged with any crime. In fact, the RCMP and CSIS have cleared him.
Meanwhile, his Canadian passport expired and Ottawa refused to issue him another or even temporary travel documents. That meant he couldn’t leave Sudan where he feared for his safety. In April 2008, he sought refuge at the Canadian embassy in Khartoum.
In March 2009, more than 100 Canadians raised enough money to buy Mr. Abdelrazik
a ticket for a flight home. They did this in defiance of a government order that
anybody helping him could be charged under anti-
Government Blocks Return
But, the federal government put a new barrier in his way. Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said at the end of March 2009, that Mr. Abdelrazik must get himself off the UN terrorism blacklist if he wants to come home.
However, as Amnesty International pointed out, “Though Canadian officials have repeatedly
pointed to the UN no-
The Montreal Gazette summed up Abousfian Abdelrazik’s plight on March 9, 2009: “This Canadian citizen, convicted of nothing, legally charged with nothing, is for practical purposes being confined by the Canadian government.”
“And if they can do this to him, they can do it to you.”
Abdelrazik received a lot of public support from Canadians and lawyers took his case to the Federal Court. On June 4, 2009, a judge ordered the Conservative government to issue travel documents.
Abdelrazik returned to Canada a couple of weeks later and has since launched a lawsuit against the federal government seeking damages of $27 million.
On October 15, 2009, the Hamilton Spectator reported that: “We learned recently the Harper government spent more than $800,000 in legal fees fighting a losing battle to keep Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik from coming home, according to Justice Minister Robert Nicholson.”
Sources
“Terror Claims Trap Canadian in Khartoum.” Paul Koring, Globe and Mail, March 30, 2009.
“This is a Vile Way to Treat a Citizen.” Montreal Gazette, March 9, 2009.
“The Optics from Ottawa are very White.” Hussein Hamdani, Hamilton Spectator, October 15, 2009.
© Canada and the World, May 2009
Updated June 2010
CTV News says that Abousfian Abdelrazik “has filed a lawsuit against Ottawa, claiming the federal government's adherence to a United Nations blacklist contravenes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
The UN no-