Federal government must bring Abousfian Abdelrazik home immediately - Prime Minister Harper is failing to protect the rights of his citizens

June 7, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Montreal, Quebec, June 7th, 2009- The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) welcomes the recent decision from the Federal Court of Canada ordering the Canadian government to bring Abousfian Abdelrazik home from Sudan within 30 days. Mr. Abdelrazik, a Canadian citizen, has been stranded in Sudan since 2003.

 

“We call on Mr. Harper to act swiftly and comply with the ruling, by issuing Mr. Abdelrazik an emergency passport and arrange for his transportation home,” said Salam Elmenyawi, president of MCM. “He has suffered needlessly for many years and it is time for the Canadian government to put an end to this injustice. Abousfian Abdelrazik is a citizen and has a right to come home to Canada immediately.”

 

Federal Court Justice Russel Zinn’s ruling on the case found that Mr. Abdelrazik’s charter right to return home has been breached. He also found that CSIS was complicit in his initial detention in Sudan in 2003 and that there was no evidence of him being a terrorist.

 

“It is inexcusable that our government treated Mr. Abdelrazik in this manner, asking a known torture state to detain a Canadian citizen,” Elmenyawi said. “It is time for Mr. Harper to accept the basic principle of law that people cannot be detained for years on the mere basis of suspicion.”

 

 

CONTACT:

Salam Elmenyawi

Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM)

Ph.: (514) 748-8427

E-mail: info@muslimcouncil.org

Website: http://www.muslimcouncil.org

 

 

The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) is an umbrella organization representing a number of Islamic institutions in the Montreal region. There are over 175,000 Muslims in Montreal, about 825,000 in Canada and 1.5 billion worldwide.

 

 

 

-30-