Greater than twenty years after Abousfian Abdelrazik was imprisoned in Sudan, a former diplomat who labored on the case says he nonetheless would not know whether or not the Canadian authorities requested for the Montreal man’s detention.
Scott Heatherington, who served as director of international intelligence at International Affairs, testified Friday in Abdelrazik’s $27 million lawsuit in opposition to the federal authorities over his ordeal overseas.
Abdelrazik, a Sudanese-born Canadian citizen, claims Ottawa organized for his arbitrary imprisonment, inspired his detention by Sudanese authorities and actively obstructed his repatriation to Canada for a number of years.
The 62-year-old was arrested in Sudan throughout a 2003 journey to go to his mom. Court docket has heard he was interrogated whereas in custody by Sudanese officers and Canadian Safety Intelligence Service brokers about suspected extremist hyperlinks. He has denied any involvement in terrorist exercise.
Abdelrazik returned to Canada six years later after the Federal Court docket dominated that Ottawa had breached his constitutional rights by refusing to present him an emergency passport.
Heatherington testified Friday that International Affairs had heard from Sudan’s safety service that Abdelrazik was solely being held as a result of Canada had requested that he be detained.
“This was a little bit of a shock,” Heatherington mentioned.
CSIS has denied making that request.
Retired Canadian diplomat Scott Heatherington, far proper, listens throughout a information convention in Ottawa on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
The query of whether or not Canada performed a task in Abdelrazik’s detention is an important side of his case.
A federal lawyer requested Heatherington Friday if he has a “remaining understanding” of whether or not somebody from Canada requested that Abdelrazik be detained.
“To at the present time, I do not know,” he responded.
Diplomats apprehensive about consular providers
Heatherington additionally testified a couple of irritating interval when Sudan wouldn’t verify to Canada’s international service that it had detained Abdelzaik. CSIS, which was investigating Abdelrazik as a terrorist menace, was knowledgeable earlier than International Affairs officers have been that he was in jail.
CSIS officers have been the primary representatives of the Canadian authorities granted entry to Abdelrazik to query him.
Heatherington testified that whereas he wasn’t happy by the sequence of occasions, permitting CSIS to have first entry was “the one means” for his division to get to Abdelzaik.
“I assumed this was the the way in which ahead and finally we did get consular entry to him,” he mentioned.
“Was I pleased about it? No.”
Abdelrazik’s lawyer has argued in courtroom that CSIS was working to disrupt efforts by consular employees on Abdelrazik’s behalf.
Testifying final week, a former CSIS official denied these allegations and mentioned CSIS cannot forestall International Affairs employees from offering consular providers.
“Clearly you may’t forestall them, however you may scare them. You may maintain giving them inflammatory labels about Mr. Abdelrazik,” mentioned Abdelrazik’s lawyer Paul Champ as he cross-examined the CSIS official.
“You may inform them that Canada will likely be criticized if he will get launched and he does one thing. And to do all that to affect International Affairs of their decision-making. That is what the service was doing, right?”
The previous CSIS official, whose identification was saved confidential through the courtroom listening to, mentioned that was not the case.
Champ has known as Abdelrazik “one of many final remaining casualties of the battle on terror.”
Legal professionals for the federal authorities have rejected claims that the Crown breached its responsibility of care to Abdelrazik, or that any such breach contributed to his alleged imprisonment, torture and abuse.
Abdelrazik’s civil trial had been set to start in 2018 however was adjourned pending a overview of emails, memos and different documentation associated to the case beneath the Canada Proof Act.
