CAT/C/46/D/395/2009
was in Canada, called him and asked him to collect information on the Syrian army’s
activities in West Beirut. That November, the complainant was arrested by members of the
Syrian army and detained in Ramlet-el-Baida (Beirut) for seven days. He was severely
beaten in detention. In July 1994, the complainant’s brother returned to Lebanon for a
family visit; a week after his arrival, he was arrested by the Syrian army. The complainant’s
brother was detained at Adra in the Syrian Arab Republic for more than two years.
Following this incident, and aware that he too was being sought by the Syrian army, the
complainant went into hiding for two years with one of his sisters in the southern part of the
country. In April 1996, the complainant left the country with his brother’s two children in
order to seek asylum in Canada. On 18 December 1998, Canada granted him refugee status;
on 8 December 2000, he obtained permanent resident status in Canada.
2.2
On 15 November 2007, the complainant was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment
for aggravated assault following a knife attack on his ex-wife. On 13 December 2007, while
serving his prison sentence, the complainant was sentenced to 30 additional days’
imprisonment for harassing his ex-wife by mobile phone.
2.3
On 19 June 2008, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) informed the
complainant of its intention to request an Opinion from the Canadian Minister of
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism as to whether the complainant posed a
danger to the Canadian public under article 115 (2) (a) of the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act.1 On 20 March 2009, the Minister rendered a Danger Opinion in respect of
the complainant. This Danger Opinion assessed his propensity to violence, citing violent
incidents against his ex-wife during the course of their marriage, as well as allegations of
threats against his brother in 1998 (which had not led to a conviction), and three discipline
offences committed by the complainant while in prison. Such convictions and behaviour,
the Opinion claimed, would allow a host country to deny refugee status protection under
article 33 (2) of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. With regard to the risk of
torture which the complainant would allegedly be running in the event of his deportation to
Lebanon, the Opinion notes that the situation in Lebanon has changed since the
complainant was first granted refugee status. Hizbullah is reportedly now the protective
force for Shiite Muslims in the country (the complainant being Shiite) and the Syrian forces
withdrew from Lebanon in 2005. Since then they have no longer controlled Lebanese
territory. Based on the above, the Opinion weighs the danger that the complainant poses to
the Canadian public against the risk to which he would be exposed in the event of his
deportation to Lebanon, and concludes in favour of the complainant’s deportation to
Lebanon and of withdrawal of his permanent resident status.
2.4
The complainant’s application for leave and judicial review was denied by the
Federal Court on 7 July 2009 on the grounds of failure to submit his case file. On 13
August 2009, the complainant was informed that CBSA would be authorized to proceed
with his deportation as from 17 August 2009. Since 13 March 2009, the complainant has
been held by the immigration services in pretrial detention pending his deportation.
The complaint
3.1
The complainant argues that his deportation would constitute a violation by Canada
of article 3 of the Convention. Given that the State party granted him refugee status in
1998, it must be aware of the risks to which he would be exposed in the event of his
deportation to Lebanon. As a well-known member of the Shia party opposing the Hizbullah
political movement, he alleges that he would be subjected to torture and degrading
treatment; members of the Shia party, he argues, are victims of systematic, serious and
1
GE.11-43850
IRPA.
3