Sudanese torture victim speaks at Queen's Law

Photo by Aimee Burtch

Abousfian Abdelrazik speaks to students and faculty in Macdonald Hall on October 5, 2009.

 On October 5, 2009, just months after returning to Canada, torture victim Abousfian Abdelrazik told his story to an audience at Queen's Law. Close to 150 students and faculty listened to Abdelrazik describe his six-year fight to return home. The talk, part of a national tour aimed at shedding light on the abuses he suffered, provided a concrete example of the dangers of governmental overreaction to allegations of terrorism.

Arrested in Sudan in August 2003 without charges and at the instigation of Canadian authorities, Abdelrazik was subjected to four years of on-and-off imprisonment and abuse, followed by two more of legal limbo. Speaking softly but candidly, Abdelrazik recounted his experiences in the Sudanese prisons where he spent a large portion of the six years.

“[They] would slap me in the face, push me [into] the wall” Abdelrazik said. “Imagine what kind of fear [was] inside me. What kind of thinking…[and they didn’t stop until] they convinced me to give them what was in their mind.”

Abdelrazik recounted his frustration and fear, as even after he was released due to a lack of evidence, the Canadian government refused him a passport because his name had been placed on United Nations' 1267 Committee list of alleged terrorists.  The Canadian government argued that he should get himself removed.  This would entail proving his innocence against allegations without actually knowing what they were. Finally, in June 2009, Federal Court Justice Russel Zinn ruled that the Canadian government had violated his rights and must allow Abdelrazik to return to Canada immediately.

That ruling made his return, and the reunion with his Canadian family, possible. His national tour is aimed at, among other things, convincing the Canadian government to remove his name from the United Nations' 1267 Committee list.

Abdelrazik’s tour is made possible by Project Fly Home, a non-profit grassroots organization that was instrumental in bringing his story to light, and is now involved in the effort to further clear his name.

The Queen’s Law visit, one of two he made in Kingston, was aimed at offering students the rare chance to engage with issues of international law and human rights first-hand. It was made possible by the International Speakers Series and the Law Students’ Society, and organized by Professor Darryl Robinson and Gerard Kennedy, Law ‘10.

Gerard saw the visit as part of a growing interest in international law at Queen’s.

“Not only do we see [international issues] in person, we realize how we can actually get involved in these situations,” Gerard said, “and we see a human face to issues which often seem to be strictly academic.”