Toronto: The Canadian government on Friday refused to grant a passport to a man who has been living in the lobby of the Canadian embassy in Sudan for the past year, over suspected Al Qaida links.
Abousfian Abdul Razik, a dual Canadian-Sudanese citizen, was set to fly home to Montreal on Friday after spending six years in Sudan, but his passport was denied two hours before his flight was set to take off, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokeswoman Lisa Monette
"Mr Abdul Razik was refused a passport by the Canadian Government for national security reasons. Mr Abdul Razik is on the UNSC's 1267 list as an individual associated with Al Qaida," Monette said.
On a visit to see his ailing mother in Khartoum in 2003, Abdul Razik, now 47, was picked up by local police for alleged ties to Al Qaida. Canadian Security Intelligence Services documents suggest agents recommended Sudanese authorities arrest Abdul Razik on terrorist suspicions.
Abdul Razik, who claims he was beaten and tortured in prison, denies any links to terrorist activity and has never been charged with any crimes.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian intelligence officials have since acknowledged there is no information linking him to any crime.
He was released without charge in 2004, only to be arrested and jailed a second time in October 2005. Monette would not comment on what led to that arrest. Abdul Razik's lawyer Yavar Hameed said the grounds for that arrest have never been clear.
He has been living inside the Canadian embassy in Khartoum for the last year, where he sleeps on a cot in the foyer.
