Please forward the appeal below from Toronto Action for
Social Change, and help stop a deportation to torture
in Syria. Today (Wed., December 21) is a crucial one,
since the deportation is scheduled for tomorrow.
Thanks!
Stop a Christmas Deportation to Torture: Demand The
Canadian Government Offer Protection to Syrian Refugee
Ahmed Abou Ramadan and Halt A Deportation Scheduled for
Thursday, December 22
WE NEED FOLKS CONCERNED ABOUT STOPPING A DEPORTATION TO
TORTURE TO IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC
SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, ANNE MCLELLAN, AND
IMMIGRATION MINISTER JOE VOLPE AT THE NUMBERS BELOW,
WITH A QUICK NOTE DEMANDING THAT THEY STOP THE
DEPORTATION AND GRANT PROTECTION TO A SURVIVOR OF
SYRIAN TORTURE
Background "Amnesty International believes that as a
failed asylum seeker, with an expired passport who
reports a period of previous incarceration for his
political views Mr. Ramadan has reason to believe that
he will be detained and possibly tortured if he is
forcibly removed to Syria." Dec. 12, 2005
While politicians have said they will not violate
the sanctity of the holiday season by campaigning for
election over the Christmas break, the Canadian
government has made no similar promise with respect to
deportations to torture, where the grind of business as
usual continues unabated. Currently, the Government of
Canada is preparing to deport on Thursday, December 22
Ahmed Abou Ramadan, a 68-year-old survivor of six years
of detention and torture in Syria. Mr. Ramadan suffers
epileptic seizures as a result of having had his head
repeatedly smashed against Syrian prison walls. He
frequently and without warning can blackout as a
result. That Canada would continue pursuing
deportations to Syria in light of that regime's dismal
human rights record as well as the revelations of Maher
Arar, Ahmed El-Maati, Abdullah Almalki, Arwad Al-Buchi,
and Muayyad Nureddin -- all Canadians tortured in Syria
-- is reprehensible. Mr. Ramadan says that he is a
devout Muslim who was critical of the brutal Syrian
regime both within and outside that country. In October
1985, he was arrested, tortured, and detained without
charge or trial for six years. After his release,
Syrian intelligence demanded that he act as an
informant, but he refused. He was eventually able to
find the right political connections to leave the
country, and moved to the U.S. to stay with his oldest
son. When Mr. Ramadan heard that Syria had declared an
amnesty for, and released, many political detainees, he
decided to return home. However, he was immediately
arrested and punished for leaving without permission.
He was jailed an additional two months, and upon
release was often taken in by intelligence for
questioning. Fearing that the surveillance and
harassment at the hands of Syrian authorities would
never end, and that he might be arbitrarily imprisoned,
Mr. Ramadan decided to leave Syria for good and came to
Canada in 1999. Unfortunately, the government of Canada
has come to the remarkable conclusion that Mr. Ramadan
does NOT qualify as a Convention refugee (the
acceptance rate for refugee claimants has gone from a
high of over 80% to less than 40% over the past few
years). The lack of a merit-based appeal process
(promised in the last immigration act but still not
established almost four years later) makes it even
harder for folks like Mr. Ramadan. In the opinion of
groups such as Amnesty International, Mr. Ramadan is at
risk of serious human rights abuses if returned to
Syria. The government of Canada is hoping to wash its
hands of direct complicity in the matter by deporting
Mr. Ramadan first to the United States, where he would
likely be placed in detention for many months before
acquiring the necessary paperwork for a return to
torture. (The U.S. deported Canadian Maher Arar to
torture in Syria). Conditions of immigration detention
are miserable, and for a 68-year-old man with seizures
which cause blackouts, it is a situation that is
described by the Vermont Refugee Assistance and
Vermont Immigration Project as "life threatening" for
Mr. Ramadan. Indeed, a recent report broadcast on
National Public Radio revealed immigrant detainees
often suffer harsh conditions and abuse (in one
immigration jail, for example, guards ordered dogs to
attack immigrant detainees while at another detainees
were handcuffed and beaten). The kind of medical
attention required for someone of Mr. Ramadan's age and
condition is simply not available there.
We are calling on Canada to stay the deportation
pending consideration of a new pre-removal risk
assessment, an application for which clearly shows that
Mr. Ramadan is in need of protection and would likely
face arrest, detention, torture, and possibly death if
returned to Syria. Mr. Ramadan currently lives in
Windsor with his daughter
In a document filed with the Federal Court, Mr.
Ramadan says, "I cannot go back to Syria. If I am
returned there I will be imprisoned for the rest of my
life. Prison life in Syria is horrifying. I consider
myself fortunate for surviving, but I do not want to
experience Syrian Intelligence brutality again, not
even for a moment."
TAKING ACTION 1. Please write a letter to the following
politicians and demand that they stop this deportation.
Please cc [EMAIL PROTECTED] to let us know you have written
or called. Calls may work during this period since time
is of the essence.
Anne McLellan, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness (also in charge of the Canadian Border
Services Agency), House of Commons, 306 Justice
Building, Ottawa, K1A 0A6, (613) 992-4524, Fax: (613)
943-0044, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Joe Volpe, Immigration Minister, Rm 658, Confederation
Bldg, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6, (613)
992-6361, Fax: (613) 992-9791, [EMAIL PROTECTED] AND
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please CC Paul Martin at : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
2. Fax Removals Officer Placide Kalisa and politely,
diplomatically, request that the removal be stopped
until a proper assessment which will hopefully lead to
protection is completed. Her fax is (519) 985-4756
Sample Letter
Dear....
Why is there no room at the Inn this holiday season? I
am shocked to hear that a 68-year-old man who suffers
from epilepsy -- a result of his six-year detention
without charge or trial and torture at the hands of
Syrian authorities -- is to be deported from Canada on
Thursday, December 22.
According to Amnesty International, Syrian refugee
claimant Ahmed Abou Ramadan "has reason to believe that
he will be detained and possibly tortured if he is
forcibly removed to Syria." Given that the deportation
of Mr. Ramadan will mean he is soon back in Syrian
hands violates Canada's commitment under international
law never to return someone to torture.
Why would we deport a man who lives happily with his
grown daughter and who has family ties here in Canada?
There is nothing left for him in Syria other than
shackles, detention, and torture.
Last week. Prime Minister Paul Martin stated that
"there is such a thing as a global conscience."
Increasingly, the use of torture and deportation to
torture is condemned by the courts of civilized
nations, yet Canada continues to engage in this cruel
and heartless practice.
I urge you to reconsider the decision to deport Mr.
Ramadan and to provide him with the protection that he
so richly deserves.
Name address
(This appeal issued by Toronto Action for Social
Change, PO Box 73620, 509 St Clair Ave. West, Toronto,
ON M6C 1C0, [EMAIL PROTECTED], (416) 651-5800,
www.homesnotbombs.ca)
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