Canada failed to issue passport for Montreal man detained in Sudan: Amnesty

The federal government has broken its promise to help a Sudanese-born Canadian detained in his home country to return to Canada, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

Abousfian Abdelrazik, 46, has been held in Khartoum for the last five years on accusations of ties to terrorism that were essentially cleared in 2006 after authorities found no evidence to support criminal charges.

Abdelrazik has been unable to return to Canada since then because he has no passport, which expired while he was in detention, and because his name appears on a United Nations no-fly list.

Amnesty International said that despite promises from senior Canadian Foreign Affairs officials to issue travel documents for Abdelrazik, he did not receive an emergency passport in time for his scheduled flight on Monday.

"If there are valid security concerns in this case, deal with them lawfully and fairly through Canadian law in Canadian courts," said Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.

"It is time for the government to take swift action to ensure Abousfian Abdelrazik is able to return to Canada. It is time for him to face justice, not injustice."

Abdelrazik was arrested by Sudanese authorities in 2003, based on a Canadian Security and Intelligence Service tip. He remained detained until July 2006, when he was released from a Sudan prison after authorities found no evidence to support criminal charges.

The Canadian embassy has since granted Abdelrazik "temporary safe haven" in Khartoum.

Abdelrazik, who is a dual citizen of Canada and Sudan, has been accused of having ties to al-Qaeda and other terrorist organization cells in Montreal in the late 1990s. He hasn't been charged with any crime in either country.

He lived with his family in Montreal before being detained in Sudan.