The Brunswickan (University of New Brunswick), FREDERICTON (CUP) – Abousfian Abdelrazik’s journey has not been an easy one.

The dual Sudanese-Canadian citizen told his story of accusation, torture and exile before a large crowd at the University of New Brunswick two weeks ago.

Abdelrazik is currently touring Canada with Project Fly Home, the campaign initially started in Montreal to return him from Sudan.

While living in Montreal, the trained machinist and parent of three became the target of investigations by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in 1997. These investigations continued until 2003. Abdelrazik was suspected of involvement with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.

Shortly after the World Trade Centre attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, CSIS’s investigation of Abdelrazik increased.

“After Sept. 11, their harassment became very, very harsh. Anywhere I went, I found them following me, like a shadow. And sometimes I find, in the middle of the night, one car parked in the front of the building and I move anywhere, they follow me,” he told the crowd.

Abdelrazik maintains he has never worked with any terrorist organization and was never charged.

He received word in spring of 2003 that his mother in Sudan was ill and he made plans to return to care for her. CSIS learned of his plans and their suspicions were immediately aroused. He was visited by two intelligence agents and Abdelrazik eventually called the police to have them removed from his property.

“While they walk away from me, one of them he turned to me and said ‘You are travelling to Sudan, you will see.’ Now me, I don’t take his word seriously,” he said.

Abdelrazik was arrested in Khartoum while taking care of his mother. He remained in detention there until the fall of 2004. 

He recounted the torture he endured in the Sudanese jail, including times where he was beaten with a rubber hose and forced to stand for hours on end.

At one point, Abdelrazik was visited in jail by Canadian intelligence agents.

“The last of the interrogation, the Canadian interrogation, I said to them ‘Look, I am a Canadian and I need you to help me to go back to Canada. They said ‘We are not going to help a terrorist person.’”

Following various attempts to come home and a second detention, Abdelrazik made a public plea to Canadian citizens. This is how Project Fly Home was born.

He took refuge in the Canadian embassy in Khartoum, where he lived in a changing room for 14 months. Abdelrazik was eventually returned to Canada on June 27 of this year after an overwhelming response by Canadian people.

Though he has been returned to Canada, Abdelrazik is still living under a travel ban and asset freeze because his name is on List 1267, the United Nations travel ban list. He is not allowed to work, make a salary, own a home or receive gifts.

Abdelrazik is currently working to have his name removed from the list and is suing the government for $27 million.

Published in Volume 64, Number 7 of The Uniter (October 15, 2009)