Citizen's Human Rights Suspended
Abousfian Abdelrazik Has Been Denied his Citizenship Privileges
Mar 31, 2009
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.
Abdelrazik Suspected of Terrorist Connections
The reason given for his detention is that his name appears on a list of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists that was drawn up by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Because of that he is also on a United Nations blacklist that makes it impossible for him to fly on any commercial airline.
The reason seems to be that Abdelrazik knew Ahmed Ressam in Montreal. Ressam, the so-called Millennium Bomber, was convicted in 2005 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 20, 2009 story by Paul Koring, 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.
Canadian Jailed in Sudan
The events surrounding Abdelrazik are recorded in a Globe and Mail timeline. While in prison in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, Abdelrazik said he was interrogated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from the U.S. and by CSIS agents.
He was released in July 2004, rearrested, and finally set free in July 2006. He was never charged with any crime. Meanwhile, his Canadian passport expired and Ottawa has refused to issue him another or even temporary travel documents. That means he can’t leave Sudan where he fears for his safety. In April 2008, he sought refuge at the Canadian embassy in Khartoum and that’s where he languishes still.
Abdelrazik also says the Sudanese tortured him and that Canadian officials were aware of this.
On March 9, 2009, The Montreal Gazette reported that “…a Justice Department official later asked him, he says, to claim that scars on his abdomen were from self-mutilation.”
No Canadian Government Help but Public Assistance
In March 2009, more than 160 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-terrorism laws.
As reported by the CBC on March 12, 2009, the donors include former Solicitor General of Canada, Warren Allmand, as well as former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, Stephen Lewis.
When it looked as though he might find a way home, 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 points out, “Though Canadian officials have repeatedly pointed to the UN no-fly list as an obstacle to Mr. Abdelrazik leaving Sudan, the one specific exception allowed is for the listed person to travel to their country of citizenship.”
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 Comes Home
After months of blocking his return to Canada, the Canadian government relented. Obeying a court order, Ottawa issued Abousfian Abdelrazik a passport and he returned to Canada on 27 June 2009.
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