Maxine Bernier makes his way to Federal court to appear as a witness, in Ottawa, on Oct. 30.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
As Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Maxime Bernier says he was so concerned about the case of a Montreal man subjected to torture in Sudan that he sent representatives to meet with Abousfian Abdelrazik.
During their 2008 meeting with Mr. Abdelrazik, he showed Mr. Bernier’s representatives markings on his body that indicated he had been beaten in Sudanese custody. The representatives then reported back to the minister, who was in Sudan at the time for an official visit.
Mr. Bernier said he became more alarmed.
“If the federal government did ask the Sudanese government to put that guy in prison, and if that person was tortured and there’s no charges, no proof coming from the RCMP or CSIS about him being a terrorist, that was very concerning,” Mr. Bernier told a Federal Court trial on Wednesday.
Mr. Abdelrazik, who was born in Sudan and became a Canadian citizen in 1995, has launched a $27-million lawsuit against the federal government and former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon. He is accusing the defendants of abandoning him in Sudan for six years – 2003 to 2009 – which he says included detention and torture by Sudan’s intelligence agency over suspected links to terrorism.
Head of Sudan intelligence denounced Canada’s handling of Montreal man’s case, former senator says
In his testimony, Mr. Bernier recalled events in 2008 when he became aware of the circumstances of Mr. Abdelrazik, who was trying to get home from the northeast African country after being held in custody there.
As a Canadian citizen, Mr. Bernier said Mr. Abdelrazik had the right to come back to the country of his citizenship.
“But also there was the question of the cost of doing that. You know, I was part of a Conservative government and cost was very important – and public opinion,” Mr. Bernier said.
The case came across Mr. Bernier’s desk because he was foreign affairs minister, under prime minister Stephen Harper, from August, 2007, to May, 2008.
Mr. Bernier said he first became aware of Mr. Abdelrazik’s case in December, 2007, because there had been discussions in his department about applying to have Mr. Abdelrazik delisted from a United Nations list of terrorists. Mr. Bernier said the department recommended the action. However, the action failed.
Recalling the discussions, Mr. Bernier said there was a memo from the RCMP indicating that Mr. Abdelrazik was not a terrorist.
During his March, 2008, trip to Sudan, Mr. Bernier said he sent his chief of staff, Aaron Gairdner, and parliamentary secretary, MP Deepak Obhrai, to meet with Mr. Abdelrazik because he wanted more information.
“I wanted to know from the mouth of the horse,” he said in court, explaining the urgency of a meeting with Mr. Abdelrazik.
Mr. Bernier said he thought it prudent, as a minister, to keep a distance from engaging personally with Mr. Abdelrazik.
Following the meeting, he said the pair reported back. “The plaintiff did show torture on his body, back and front, and that was concerning to me,” said Mr. Bernier.
He said that he urged his chief of staff and Mr. Obhrai to brief the RCMP upon their return to Canada, and that he knows they had that discussion.
He also said he agreed with consular staff in Sudan that Mr. Abdelrazik needed to be brought home.
Upon his own return to Canada, Mr. Bernier said he answered questions on the case in Parliament, but could not say when Mr. Abdelrazik would be brought home because multiple departments, including public safety and the Prime Minister’s Office, were involved in the case.
“I know that my chief of staff was working and my department also, the Department of Foreign Affairs, were in agreement with him to be back in Canada,” said Mr. Bernier.
“I was foreign affairs minister until May, 2008, and I did resign and, after that, I don’t know what happened.”
He subsequently founded and now leads the People’s Party of Canada.