It is now over sixteen months since Mr. Abdelrazik
returned to Canada after six years of exile - which included two years
of arbitrary and abusive detention and a further year trapped within the
Canadian consulate in Khartoum. As Federal Court judge Russell Zinn
concluded, Mr. Abdelrazik's initial detention probably took place at the
request of CSIS, Canada's spy agency.
Mr. Abdelrazik's life
remains in limbo. Not only have Canadian officials failed to take
responsibility for the central role they played in his wrongful
imprisonment, torture and exile in Sudan, they have failed to take steps
within their power to free him from the sanctions imposed on him when
his name was arbitrarily placed on the UN Security Council's notoriously
unjust "1267 list". Under these sanctions, Mr. Abdelrazik has been
subject to the harsh effects of a travel ban and complete asset freeze
for more than four years now. This means that in Canada it is illegal
for anyone to provide him with any financial aid - including a gift, a loan, or a salary.
Project
Fly Home is embarking on a new speaking tour with Mr. Abdelrazik, which
will bring him to five western cities, including Stephen Harper's home
town of Calgary.
Between 17 and 23 November 2010, Abousfian Abdelrazik will be speaking at public events organized in five cities across Western Canada. This tour follows the Breaking the Silence tour which brought Mr. Abdelrazik from Halifax to Winnipeg one year ago.
--Saskatoon--Regina--Edmonton--Calgary--Vancouver--
Vancouver
Tuesday, 23 November, 6pm
Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph Street
(south of Powell Street, west of Victoria Drive; Bus #20, 10 or 16)
