Abousfian Abdelrazik's statement at House of Commons Abousfian Abdelrazik - like Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, Muayyed Nureddin and Maher Arar, other victims of a Canadian programme of outsourcing torture - was, according to documents released by the Department of Foreign Affairs, jailed on the recommendation of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) while on a visit to Sudan. In prison, he was beaten and tortured. In this context, he was interrogated by CSIS officials. He was never charged.
Eventually released and cleared of all suspicion by Sudan, as well as the RCMP and CSIS, his many attempts to return home to Montreal have been blocked. In an attempt to draw attention to his plight, he went public with his story in April 2008. Since then, he has been living in "temporary safe haven" inside the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum.
In December 2008, the government stated in a letter to Mr. Abdelrazik's lawyer that he must present a fully-paid-for plane ticket before Passport Canada would agree to issue an emergency passport. (Mr. Abdelrazik's passport expired while he was in prison in Sudan.) At the same time, the government took the position that anyone who paid for his ticket could be charged under section 3 of the Al Qaida and Taliban Regulations (which says no Canadian shall "provide or collect by any means, directly or indirectly, funds with the intention that the funds be used" by a person on the UN list).
In March 2009, over one hundred people joined together to buy a plane ticket home for Abousfian Abdelrazik, despite the risk of being charged. People have continued to join in and there are now over 200 people from all parts of Canada and all walks of life who have contributed to the solidarity fund. The full list of contributors can be seen here. Surplus money will be offered to Mr. Abdelrazik as a symbolic reparation fund on his return to Canada.
