RWANDAN WAR CRIMES SUSPECT FINALLY DEPORTED

Finally, war chimes suspect Leon Mugesera has been deported. The Supreme Court of Canada ruling of seven years ago clearing the way for his deportation  has been finally respected in law and in spirit. Canada should not be a heaven for war crimes suspects. This case has taken over 17 years. Incredible.

Timeline: Rwandan genocide suspect Mugesera's road to deportation

 

The Gazette

January 23, 2012

Léon Mugesera lost what most likely is his last attempt to avoid deportation when Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel Delorme ruled Monday the case for a stay belongs in the Federal Court of Canada.

Photograph by: Dave Sidaway, Gazette files

The long legal odessey of Léon Mugesera made its way through the Canadian courts for the last seventeen years, going from the Immigration and Refugee Board to the Supreme Court of Canada and back again.

1995 - Citizenship and Immigration began deportation proceedings against Mugesera.

July 1996 - Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator Pierre Turmel determined that a speech he gave in 1992 constituted “an incitement to violence and ethnic hatred” and ordered Mugesera deported. He appealed.

November 1998 - An Immigration and Refugee Board appeal panel upheld Turmel’s decision. He appealed.

April 2001 - The Federal Court ruled Mugesera can remain in Canada with his wife and five children. Ottawa appealed.

September 2003 - The Federal Court of Appeal ruled Mugesera may have used colourful and even brutal language, but was not responsible for genocide. Federal officials appealed.

June 29, 2005 - The Supreme Court of Canada issued a unanimous 8-0 ruling declaring Mugesera inadmissible to Canada because his speech helped incite the genocide. Mugesera for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment arguing he could face torture if repatriated. That federal review continued for nearly seven years.

December 2011 - Mugesera received an 80-page decision from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and his deportation was set for Jan. 12.

Jan. 9, 2012 – Lawyers for Mugesera ask Federal Court to halt the expulsion because he could face torture if returned to Rwanda.

Jan. 11, 2012 – Federal Court Justice Michael M.J. Shore cleared the way for Mugesera’s deportation. The United Nations Committee Against Torture intervened, asking for a six-month reprieve to study the likelihood of Mugesera being tortured. Meanwhile Mugesera was hospitalized in Quebec City.

Jan. 12, 2012 – Quebec Superior Court Justice William Fraiberg granted Mugeseraa temporary safeguard order until a hearing for a permanent reprieve on Jan. 20.

Jan. 14, 2012 – Mugesera was released from hospital in Quebec City, arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency and confined to an immigration detention centre in Laval.

Jan. 16, 2012 – IRB Judge Dianne Tordorf maintained Mugesera’s detention, fearing he had taken desperate measures to avoid deportation and might again.

Jan. 20, 2012 – Lawyers for Mugesera and the federal government squared off before Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel Delorme.

Jan. 23, 2012 – Delorme ruled Quebec Superior Court has no jurisdiction over Mugesera’s fate, suggesting it would encourage “tribunal shopping.” His lawyers returned to Federal Court while the IRB simultaneously held another detention review. The Federal Court dismissed Mugesera’s final motion. Mugesera was taken to the airport and deported.