Montreal Imam Said Jaziri protests his deportation flight - CBC Article:
A Tunisian-born imam deported from Montreal for falsifying his refugee application described his treatment by Canadian authorities during his 13-hour trip home as torture.
Good overview by the Gazette:
Saïd Jaziri, who has been one of Quebec's most quoted Muslim leaders during the debate on reasonable accommodation, was ordered deported after his refugee status, granted in 1998, was revoked last June.
It was revoked after authorities discovered Jaziri, a Tunisian native, had not disclosed a criminal conviction in France in 1994. That conviction was related to his role in an assault on an individual whose actions had led to the closing of a prayer room.
Jaziri, spiritual leader of a Bélanger St. E. mosque, is married and expecting a child with his wife, Nancy Ann Adams of Laval. He was arrested last Monday after he was judged likely not to show up for his deportation.
Jaziri, who has bragged about converting at least one Quebec woman a week to Islam over the past few years, drew criticism recently for stating in a television interview with TV5 host Luck Mervil that homosexuality was an illness.
He also has complained about alleged heavy infiltration of mosques by federal intelligence operatives.
More articles on Said Jaziri:
Canada.com article.
Jaziri's interview at 940 Montreal after his removal here.
Interesting article from the Suburban - it doesn't appear that all Montreal Muslims are sad at Jaziri's removal:
“And it’s about time,” said Gibreel Ghassan. “This guy was giving us all (Montreal’s Muslim community) a bad name.”
Ghassan is a well-known downtown businessman with excellent contacts in Montreal’s new Muslim and Arabic communities. As much as he was amused by the media circus created by Jaziri’s arrest and imminent deportation, he is also worried the Muslim community may draw the wrong conclusions from what happened to Jaziri.
“There’s a big difference between using the media,” he said, “and being used by the media.”
While some supporters in the city’s Muslim community believe Jaziri is the victim of a racist and biased government, others say he was nothing more than a hustler with loud, annoying and very public opinions. As usual, Ghassan believes the truth lies somewhere in the middle and nobody much cares about it as they all get on with their lives.
“In the end, Jaziri was a fool,” said Ghassan, “and a fool is always the author of his own mistakes.”
While I'm not familiar with the exact facts of Jaziri's situation, it would appear that he was stripped of his refugee status because of an omission or misrepresentation that dealt with a criminal record. Alternatively, if he was granted permanent resident status after his successful refugee claim, that status was stripped of him using the serious criminal inadmissibility provisions within the IRPA. It appears his counsel exhausted all other avenues, including a stay application to the Federal Court.
Jaziri's 8 month pregnant wife was in the hospital, and could not attend at the airport for Jaziri's flight.
Tunisia does indeed have a dismal human rights record - however it appears that Jaziri returned to Tunisia in the past without incident (something called re-availment in the refugee context).
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