Former senator recalls being told Canada asked Sudan to hold Abdelrazik in detention

Former senator Mobina Jaffer says she was told by the Sudanese intelligence director that he felt Canadian officials had asked him to detain Montreal man Abousfian Abdelrazik.

Jaffer, who retired from the Senate earlier this year, testified today in Federal Court in Abdelrazik’s lawsuit against Ottawa over his detention and alleged torture in Sudanese custody two decades ago.

She recalled her September 2004 meeting in Sudan with Salah Gosh, who was then the director of the country’s intelligence service.

Jaffer, Canada’s special envoy for peace in Sudan at the time, said Gosh told her Canada thought Abdelrazik was a terrorist and wanted him to find out if he was indeed an extremist.

She said Gosh informed her Sudanese intelligence tried “all kinds of ways” to find out, but was completely satisfied he was not a terrorist, and that it was time for Canada to take him back.

Jaffer said it was no secret the intelligence service used brutal methods, so she immediately knew that Abdelrazik did not have a pleasant experience in custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.