Exiled on mere suspicion (Globe & Mail re: Abousfian Abdelrazik)000

[struggle4progress]

From Saturday's Globe and Mail, Saturday, Jun. 06, 2009 04:14AM EDT

The government of Canada acted as if citizenship meant nothing when it refused to allow Abousfian Abdelrazik, a suspected terrorist holed up in the embassy in Sudan, back into this country for six years. That is why its losing streak in four major foreign-policy cases continued this week when the Federal Court of Canada ordered it to bring Mr. Abdelrazik home within 30 days. Ottawa acted arbitrarily, went into court virtually empty-handed, and said, "Trust us."

Mr. Abdelrazik may or may not be a danger to Canada. But if he is, Ottawa surely has lawful processes to bring to bear in this country. It could charge him with a crime; failing that, it could have security agencies monitor him. At this point, nothing is on the public record against him except a stain from two acquaintanceships, and an alleged link to the senior al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Zubaydah that emerged, unreliably, from the U.S. use of torture techniques on Mr. Zubaydah. Ottawa acts as if a citizen can be treated as a non-person - barred from home and family, his assets frozen, with no realistic means of appeal - on the basis of suspicion.

Ottawa could show that it understands the errors of its arbitrary and unconstitutional ways by agreeing to take back Mr. Abdelrazik, rather than seeking a stay and appealing the ruling. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson could do what he does not seem to have done thus far, or at least, not done effectively: push the cabinet to act within accepted legal norms. Based on the Conservative government's track record, expect it to take "trust us" to a higher court.

Having asked a known torture state, Sudan, to detain a Canadian citizen - a citizen never accused of anything in a public forum where he could defend himself, or where evidence could be heard against him - Canada threw up its hands and said it had no obligation to bring that citizen home once he was set free. But when that citizen arranged for a flight home himself, Ottawa declared him a national security risk and wouldn't issue him an emergency passport. It never explained why ...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/exiled-on-mere-suspicion/article1172086/