I wonder how Abousfian Abdelrazik feels at the moment.
Abdelrazik is presently suing the Canadian government, which illegally exiled him in Sudan and, thanks to CSIS, exposed him to torture.
And what is the Harper administration's response? After stealing a man's life for six years, and continuing to deny him the right to find employment now that he's back in Canada by court order, the government is calling Abdelrazik's lawsuit "frivolous and vexatious."
Paul Koring, as usual, is all over this:
Even if he was thrown in prison in Sudan at the request of Canadian agents, Abousfian Abdelrazik has no case against the federal government because Canadian law does not protect him overseas, Justice Department lawyers claim.
The government's filings go downhill from there.
One of Abdelrazik's lawyers, Paul Champ, for whom I have a lot of respect, may have been momentarily blinded by illusion: "I expected the government would approach us about an apology and a settlement," he said.
"Instead," he reports, "they have been entirely unrepentant."
But this is Stephen Harper's government, Paul. Canada's New Government, if now somewhat frowsy and shopworn. A government for whom some citizens are more equal than others.
Koring's article includes the background of this case. Go have a read, and remind yourself once again why the Harper regime needs to be tossed on the dustheap of history.
