Ottawa need not pay legal bills of man stranded in Sudan, court rules
PAUL KORING From Monday's Globe and Mail July 6, 2008 at 6:36 PM EDT
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The government doesn't have to pay the legal bills for a Canadian citizen even if he is broke and holed up in Canada's embassy in Khartoum, a Federal Court judge has ruled.
Abousfian Abdelrazik, once fingered as an al-Qaeda operative by Canadian security agents and blacklisted by the United Nations as a suspected terrorist, has been given “temporary safe haven” in the embassy by the Harper government, which now says it wants him off the blacklist. But, that doesn't mean it should pay his legal bills, Madam Justice Anne Mactavish said Friday. She did, however, order Canadian diplomats not to read confidential papers sent by his lawyers nor to delay delivery of them.
The judge suggested Islamic groups, Mr. Abdelrazik's family or perhaps Amnesty International Canada should pick up the tab for his legal efforts to force the government to issue him a new passport and bring him home.
“Suffice it to say that, at this juncture, there is at least a chance that Mr. Abdelrazik may be able to obtain an exemption from the application of the United Nations al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations so as to allow his supporters to assist him with his legal expenses,” Judge Mactavish wrote.
Abousfian Abdelrazik has been granted 'temporary safe haven' in the Canadian embassy in Khartoum. (Passport Photo)
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Timeline: Exiled in Sudan
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The UN rules don't make clear whether paying his legal bills amounts to illegally aiding a blacklisted person. Mr. Abdelrazik, who has never been charged with any crime and denies any links to terrorist or extremist groups, can't return to his family in Montreal. He remains on international and Canadian “no-fly” lists because some unidentified country – likely the United States or France – blocked Canada's effort to have him removed from the UN Security Council al-Qaeda blacklist.
Getting blacklisted on the so-called 1267 list, named for the UN Security Council Resolution originally co-sponsored by Canada, is easy. Any UN-member country can finger a suspect. Getting off is almost impossible and once listed all UN countries are required to seize the assets of any individual and enforce a travel ban, although returning home is explicitly permitted.
Yavar Hameed, an Ottawa lawyer, has been working on Mr. Abdelrazik's case since last year but told the court that he can't afford to keep working for nothing. He was seeking an order requiring the government to pick up the costs of the litigation.
Although the judge refused to order the government to pay the legal bills, the larger issue of whether the government will be ordered to repatriate Mr. Abdelrazik has yet to be decided.
For more than two months, Mr. Abdelrazik has been living inside the Canadian embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum while the government decides whether to fly him home.
Judge Mactavish did issue an order requiring Canadian diplomats to cease interfering with communication between Mr. Abdelrazik and his lawyers, forbidding diplomats from intercepting and reading such communications.
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PAUL KORING From Monday's Globe and Mail July 6, 2008 at 6:36 PM EDT
Article Link
The government doesn't have to pay the legal bills for a Canadian citizen even if he is broke and holed up in Canada's embassy in Khartoum, a Federal Court judge has ruled.
Abousfian Abdelrazik, once fingered as an al-Qaeda operative by Canadian security agents and blacklisted by the United Nations as a suspected terrorist, has been given “temporary safe haven” in the embassy by the Harper government, which now says it wants him off the blacklist. But, that doesn't mean it should pay his legal bills, Madam Justice Anne Mactavish said Friday. She did, however, order Canadian diplomats not to read confidential papers sent by his lawyers nor to delay delivery of them.
The judge suggested Islamic groups, Mr. Abdelrazik's family or perhaps Amnesty International Canada should pick up the tab for his legal efforts to force the government to issue him a new passport and bring him home.
“Suffice it to say that, at this juncture, there is at least a chance that Mr. Abdelrazik may be able to obtain an exemption from the application of the United Nations al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations so as to allow his supporters to assist him with his legal expenses,” Judge Mactavish wrote.
Abousfian Abdelrazik has been granted 'temporary safe haven' in the Canadian embassy in Khartoum. (Passport Photo)
Related Articles
Recent
Canadian languishes in embassy in Sudan
From the archives
Ottawa cites UN watch list for stranding of Canadian in Sudan
Canadians knew of his torture, Abdelrazik says
Trying to get off the UN's terrorist list described as 'Kafkaesque'
Abdelrazik sues Ottawa to bring him home
Bring home Canadian from Sudan, Ottawa told
Ottawa wants terrorism suspect taken off watch list
Holed up in embassy, a citizen's fate in limbo
Internet Links
Timeline: Exiled in Sudan
Affidavit: Abousfian Abdelrazik's torture claim
The UN rules don't make clear whether paying his legal bills amounts to illegally aiding a blacklisted person. Mr. Abdelrazik, who has never been charged with any crime and denies any links to terrorist or extremist groups, can't return to his family in Montreal. He remains on international and Canadian “no-fly” lists because some unidentified country – likely the United States or France – blocked Canada's effort to have him removed from the UN Security Council al-Qaeda blacklist.
Getting blacklisted on the so-called 1267 list, named for the UN Security Council Resolution originally co-sponsored by Canada, is easy. Any UN-member country can finger a suspect. Getting off is almost impossible and once listed all UN countries are required to seize the assets of any individual and enforce a travel ban, although returning home is explicitly permitted.
Yavar Hameed, an Ottawa lawyer, has been working on Mr. Abdelrazik's case since last year but told the court that he can't afford to keep working for nothing. He was seeking an order requiring the government to pick up the costs of the litigation.
Although the judge refused to order the government to pay the legal bills, the larger issue of whether the government will be ordered to repatriate Mr. Abdelrazik has yet to be decided.
For more than two months, Mr. Abdelrazik has been living inside the Canadian embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum while the government decides whether to fly him home.
Judge Mactavish did issue an order requiring Canadian diplomats to cease interfering with communication between Mr. Abdelrazik and his lawyers, forbidding diplomats from intercepting and reading such communications.
More on link