Supporters of Abousfian Abdelrazik are preparing to organize what they call a “Sanctions-busting Telethon” in open defiance of Canadian and United Nations law.

The 28th April fund-raising event, organised by Project Fly Home will include a free spaghetti dinner and a host of poets, musicians, performers, and speakers.

 Under federal law, anyone who contributes money to Mr. Abdelrazik risks prosecution. Canadian regulations state that no Canadian shall “provide or collect by any means, directly or indirectly, funds with the intention that the funds be used” by someone on the UN 1267 terror list.

Two years ago, on 28th April, 2008, Abousfian Abdelrazik went public with his story of detention, torture and exile and claimed refuge in the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum. He lived in the Embassy for fourteen months, unable to leave the grounds, until the Canadian government was forced to bring him back to Montreal in June 2009.

Under federal law, anyone who contributes
money to Mr. Abdelrazik faces prosecution.

Despite its official position that Mr. Abdelrazik should be removed from the 1267 list, the Canadian government has made no serious attempt to have him delisted. Nor has it made any move to lift sanctions from Mr. Abdelrazik in Canada, although it is within its power to do so immediately.

For years, Ottawa denied Mr. Abdelrazik travel papers so he could return home from a trip to Sudan seven years ago. The government claimed it had to abide by the UN sanctions against al-Qaeda suspects, which include a travel ban and the seizure of all assets.

Federal regulations require banks and other financial institutions to freeze accounts of anyone on the UN Security Council terrorist blacklist.

In mid-April this year, a bank account belonging to Mr. Abdelrazik containing his entire life savings was frozen.

“The fact that Caisse Desjardins froze my bank account indicates to me that I’m still in prison,” Mr. Abdelrazik is quoted as saying in an article by the Globe and Mail. “I don’t have the right to even have normal things like a bank account.”

Canadian law also makes it a crime to employ Mr. Abdelrazik.

Mr. Abdelrazik has never been charged with a crime. He was cleared by both the RCMP and the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, who gave written assurances to ministers that there was no continuing reason to keep Mr. Abdelrazik on the UN 1267 blacklist of suspected al-Qaeda operatives. In early 2009, Project Fly Home bought Mr. Abdelrazik’s plane ticket home despite federal government insistence that financially supporting Mr. Abdelrazik could violate the law.

The sanctions busting telethon is part of a sixmonth campaign launched by Project Fly Home leading up to the first anniversary of Mr. Abdelrazik’s return to Canada. The six-month campaign demands that Canada: immediately free Mr. Abdelrazik from the 1267 sanctions and delist him.

The telethon will be held at the Georges Vanier Cultural Centre in Montreal between 7 and 9 p.m. For those outside Montreal, call 1 877 737 4070 toll free to make a donation to Abousfian Abdelrazik.

More information is available at: www.peoplescommission.org/en ■