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Abdelrazik - on the UN No Fly List has returned to Canada

by albertacowpoke | June 27, 2009 at 01:55 pm

191 views | 24 Recommendations | 5 comments

A man, who went to visit his ailing mother in Sudan in 2003, finally returned home today.

Abousfian Abdelrazik was accused by Sudanese authorities of being an associate of Al-Quaida was stuck in Sudan for almost six years.

Abdelrazkik has been a Canadian citizen since 1995. He ended up in custody for 11 and 9 months on two separate stints. He claims that he was tortured. While in jail his passport expired, adding to his problems.

While in jail he also found out that he was on the UN No-fly list.

Abdelrazik had been living in the Canadian Embassy in the Sudan.

Abdelrazik arrived back in Montreal this afternoon. In a short statement he said that he was tired and thanked all of his supporters from coast to coast.

In his words, Canada is the most beautiful country in the world and that he is proud to be a Canadian citizen.

Montrealer Abousfian Abdelrazik returned to Canada on Saturday after spending almost six years stuck in Sudan, where authorities accused of him of being an associate of al-Qaeda.

The 47-year-old Sudanese-born man, a Canadian citizen since 1995, was arrested in Sudan in the spring of 2003, a few months after he had arrived to visit his ailing mother. He claims he was tortured during two stints in custody — one lasting 11 months and the other, nine months.

Adding to his problems in jail, his passport expired and he learned he was on the United Nations no-fly list amid allegations he has ties to terrorism.

Abdelrazik had been living at the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum.

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Amy Judd

at 14:34 on June 27th, 2009

Wow, six long years, it's a lifetime really in that situation.

albertacowpoke

at 14:41 on June 27th, 2009

That it is. Sounds like he went through living hell.

sara star

at 16:28 on June 27th, 2009

A "false positive" occurs when a passenger who is not on the No Fly List has a name that matches or is similar to a name on the list. Such a passenger will not be allowed to board a flight unless they can differentiate themselves from the actual person on the list – usually by showing a middle name or date of birth. In some cases, false positive passengers have been denied boarding or have missed flights because they could not easily prove that they were not the person on the No Fly List.

sara star

at 16:31 on June 27th, 2009

In October 2008, it was revealed that Maryland State Police classified 53 nonviolent political activists as terrorists, and entered their names and personal information on the terrorist watch list. Also, protest groups were entered as terrorist organizations. During a hearing, it was revealed that these individuals and organizations had been placed on the list because of their opposition to the death penalty and the Iraq war.

...The government of Canada has created its own no fly list as part of a program called Passenger Project.The Canadian list incorporates data from domestic and foreign intelligence sources, including the U.S. No Fly List. It contains between 500 and 2,000 names

albertacowpoke

at 16:59 on June 27th, 2009

On July 31, 2006, at the request of U.S. authorities, Abdelrazik was listed under Resolution 1267," stated a Dec. 5, 2006, briefing note by the Privy Council Office recently released to Abdelrazik's legal team under the Privacy Act.

In addition to the travel ban, the UN's 1267 listing subjects listed people to a global asset freeze, and also prohibits anyone inside or outside Canada from providing funds to someone on the list.

Technically, that appears to mean Abdelrazik supporters who raised money for his April 3 plane ticket are also in violation of a UN resolution that bans helping anyone with an al-Qaida or Taliban link.

This is part of an article from the Windsor Star.

When I try to highlight it it triggers the spam filter.