CCPR/C/117/D/2387/2014
violation of his rights under articles 2 (3), 6 (1), 7, 17 and 23 (1) of the Covenant, as he
fears he would be exposed to threats to his life and torture. The Optional Protocol entered
into force for Canada on 19 May 1976. The author was represented by counsel, Laura
Brittain; on 4 February 2016, Benjamin Liston replaced her as the author’s counsel.
1.2
On 5 May 2014, pursuant to rule 92 of its rules of procedure, the Committee, acting
through its Special Rapporteur on new communications and interim measures, requested
the State party to refrain from deporting the author to Somalia while his case was under
consideration by the Committee. On 13 March 2015, the State party informed the
Committee that it had temporarily deferred the enforcement of the author’s removal, and
requested that the Committee lift the interim measures with respect to the author, arguing
that he had failed to establish a prima facie case, that he has a criminal record, and that his
communication does not present any new evidence. That request was rejected by the
Committee on 27 July 2015. The author currently resides in Canada where he remains in
immigration detention.
The facts as presented by the author
2.1
The author was born and lived in Mogadishu until the age of 11. He comes from a
high-profile political family in Somalia. His mother is the daughter of one of the founders
of the Federal Republic and he is related to the first and second Presidents of Somalia and
the first Chief of Police; her first husband was the Mayor of Galkayo and later the Minister
of the Interior and a Member of Parliament from 1964 to 1969. Her second husband, the
author’s father, was a member of the Somali Youth League and an influential businessman
and political adviser. He owned property adjacent to that of the first President of Somalia,
and he allegedly remains well-known throughout Somalia.
2.2
In 1990, the author and his mother left Somalia for Kenya. On 5 December 1992, he
arrived in Canada with his mother and three siblings. His mother claimed refugee
protection in Canada for herself and her four children. On 12 March 1993, the author, his
mother and his three siblings were recognized as refugees. In 2007, the author’s halfbrother returned to Somalia from Kenya to reclaim his family land. He was publicly critical
of Al-Shabaab and the Union of Islamic Courts. He was killed within a month of his return
as a result of his profile. The author’s cousin and one of his uncles were also killed within a
month of returning to Somalia from abroad.
2.3
The author has been convicted in Canada 12 times since 1998, including for the use
of weapons, threats of bodily harm, stalking, harassment, aggravated assault and robbery.
He submits that his crimes were linked to alcohol abuse and addiction. On 7 April 2008, the
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada issued a deportation order for the author to be
expelled for “serious criminality”, as defined in section 64 of the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act. Although the removal order was legally enforceable, no date was set for the
deportation. As the author has no travel documents, he fears being removed to Somalia on
the basis of a statutory declaration by the Border Services Agency, which he refused to sign
out of fear. His refusal to sign the declaration has prevented the State party from removing
him, and he remains in immigration detention.
2.4
On 1 May 2008, the author submitted an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division
against the deportation order. On 8 April 2009, it rejected the appeal for lack of jurisdiction
under section 64 (2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which provides that a
person sentenced for two and more years of imprisonment has no right of appeal. On 19
November 2009, the Canada Border Service Agency requested the Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration to issue a danger opinion, pursuant to section 115 (2) of the Act and the
author’s case was referred to the Minister to that end. On 15 June 2012, the Minister’s
delegate determined that the author would not be at personal risk if returned to Somalia and
that the author represented a danger to the public in Canada on the basis of the seriousness
and nature of his criminal offences and the likelihood that he would reoffend in the future.
In that decision, it was considered that humanitarian and compassionate hardships did not
outweigh the danger the author posed to the public. On 16 July 2012, the author applied for
leave for judicial review of the danger opinion that had been issued by the Minister’s
delegate. On 30 November 2012, the Federal Court of Canada dismissed the author’s
request for leave. On 10 April 2014, the author requested the Minister to reconsider his
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