Canadian detained in Sudan begins trial after suing federal government 15 years ago

After waiting 15 years, Canadian Abousfian Abdelrazik will finally get the chance to hold the federal government accountable for its alleged complicity which led to his imprisonment and torture in Sudan.

On Monday, Abdelrazik, a 62-year-old father of six, expressed relief that his day in court had arrived.

"It's been very difficult. I can't express..." said Abdelrazik his voice trailing off as he walked into federal court for his trial.

Abdelrazik, who was never charged, was detained in Sudan between 2003 and 2006 and was blocked from returning to Canada until 2009 when a federal judge ordered the government to repatriate him.

The Montreal man is suing the Canadian government for $27 million over his wrongful detention abroad. His lawsuit also names former Conservative foreign minister Lawrence Cannon for refusing to issue an emergency travel document to bring him home.

Human rights lawyer Paul Champ calls Abdelrazik “one of the last remaining casualties of the war on terror” by the United States and allies like Canada and says his case will break new ground.

"This is a case for the highest amount of damages ever for a Canadian citizen. We will be alleging in court that this is the most serious violation of human rights of a Canadian citizen," said Champ to reporters outside court.

Paul Champ, a lawyer for Abousfian Abdelrazik, arrives to Federal Court in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)

Champ says his client became victim of "illegal detention and torture abroad with the direct or indirect complicity of Canadian state actors.”

In his opening arguments, Champ says the Canadian intelligence service was acting "rogue" that CSIS was spying on Abdelrazik to "collect information for their CIA friends."

The lawyer says they're not alleging the government wanted Abdelrazik tortured, but that "they wanted him never to set foot in Canada again." Champ said that the Sudanese officials were holding Abdelrazik at the request of Canada and knew they were holding an "innocent man."

Champ called Abdelrazik a "broken man" when he returned home.

Abdelrazik alleges his charter rights to life, liberty and personal security have been violated.

The crown laid out its defence in a pre-trial memorandum. It will argue that Canada had reasonable grounds to believe that Abdelrazik was a security threat. Although the government shared intelligence with its security partners, it did not request that the Montreal man be arrested.

Spies to testify

The precedent-setting case will be heard over the next eight weeks.

Among those scheduled to testify are two former foreign affairs ministers under the Stephen Harper government, a senator, diplomats, intelligence officers with Canada’s spy agency and RCMP officers.

Last month, Federal Court Justice Patrick Gleeson rejected the Crown’s motion that six government witnesses testify behind closed doors "to avoid injury to Canada's international relations, national defence and/or national security."

Justice Gleeson wrote that the crown had “advanced little evidence to establish the likelihood of the risk of inadvertent disclosure.”

Among the witnesses compelled to testify in open court are three Canadian Security Intelligence (CSIS) agents who will be questioned behind a screen.

Abdelrazik’s case was initially slated to be tried in 2018 but was delayed in order to review what evidence may reveal classified information. After five years of analysis, the court ordered redactions to 1,469 documents in August 2023.

"The government has thrown up roadblock after roadblock," said Champ outside court. "The Canadian justice system has failed Abdelrazik."

Abousfian Abdelrazik, centre, smiles as he returns to Canada at Pearson International airport in Toronto after a six-year exile in Sudan on Saturday, June 27, 2009. (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press)

National security concerns

Abdelrazik came to Canada as a refugee in 1990. He said he feared for his safety after participating in anti-government activities in Sudan.

He was in his mid-30s when he settled in Montreal and became a Canadian citizen in 1995.

Court documents show that he first piqued the interest of CSIS officials in 1996 because of his association to individuals who were national security threats.

CSIS was concerned about his alleged ties to North African Islamist extremists in Montreal and believed that he had ties to Al Qaeda.

Agents even interviewed him on September 11, 2001, the day of the terror attacks against the United States. And in 2002, Abdelrazik was put on a U.S. no-fly list.

In an agreed statement of facts, the crown acknowledged that information about Abdelrazik’s extremist associates were passed on to Mounties in 2000. But after a two-year investigation, it did not result in charges.

In March 2003, Abdelrazik returned to Sudan to visit his sick mother and was detained.

Champ says that the evidentiary record overwhelmingly points to CSIS working with the CIA to arrange for his arrest by the Sudanese authorities.

“In fact, Sudanese officials told Canadian diplomats repeatedly that they were only holding Mr. Abdelrazik because CSIS had asked them to do it,” wrote Champ in an earlier email.

Court documents reveal that CSIS agents, including one who interrogated Abdelrazik in Montreal, travelled overseas to interview him while he was in custody. The interview took place in front of three Sudanese officials.

The statement of facts reveals that in his first consular visit to Abdelrazik, Canada’s head of mission, David Hutchings, was told by Khartoum officials that Abdelrazik was being detained “because Canada had requested it.”

After his release from prison, Abdelrazik lived in the lobby of the Canadian embassy in Khartoum until a federal court ordered the government to issue him emergency travel documents and bring him home.

The crown will also argue that it was not aware that Abdelrazik suffered any torture or mistreatment at the hands of Sudanese officials and that it made reasonable efforts to return him to Canada. 

In its opening statement, the Crown said that events which took place 20 years ago must take into account the context of the time.

“In the wake of 9/11, CSIS perceived a wave of growing attacks, and Al Qaeda counted Canada among its targets,” said Andrew Gibb, lawyer for the Government of Canada.

Gibbs said that Canada had reasonable grounds to suspect Abdelrazik was a security threat and that he was the “author of his own misfortune.”

Gibbs said Abdelrazik departed for Sudan two days after the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003 and that officials had warned him not to go.