Dual Canadian Citizens “Convicted” Abroad
On April 21st 2007 Egyptian born Canadian Mohammed El-Attar was ultimately convicted as a spy in an Egyptian court this past weekend. He was accused of spying for Israel and recruiting Arabs in Canada to assist him in his activities. While the court claims to have obtained a confession of his activities, it is said by El-Attar that his confession was obtained under torture and that much of the evidence against him is falsified. While Canadian officials are looking into the case, no overt actions have been taken to assist El-Attar in his dilemma in Egypt. He has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour.
Assistance to Canadian citizens abroad has become an issue since last summer’s conflict in Lebanon, where many Canadian citizens of Lebanese origin were seeking assistance from the Canadian government but resided and had legal citizenship in Lebanon at the same time. While no formal differences or rights exist in Canadian law distinguishing citizens who immigrated to Canada and those who were born in Canada, there may be some customary distinctions made by a response to those who hold dual citizenship in Canada and another country, and are convicted of crimes in their country of 2nd nationality and birth.
This past month another Canadian citizen of foreign birth was convicted in China. Huseyin Celil was charged and convicted for terrorist acts against the Chinese government and sentenced to life imprisonment. Celil, a member of China’s small Muslim population initially escaped a Chinese prison in 2000 and eventually came to Canada and gained citizenship in 2005. Canadian officials claim that their calls for diplomacy with the Chinese government have gone unanswered and that they will make strident efforts to assist Mr. Celil. With the number of cases of Canadians being convicted of political crimes abroad and some being tortured in the process, the rights of foreign born Canadians will likely continue with future convictions of Canadians in foreign countries. Canada currently has one of the highest percentages of foreign born citizens in the world.
April 26th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Good post. I also commented on Huseyin Celil on Immigration Orange. There is also the Canadian that was detained in Georgia. I also recommend you check out this piece on Bhutan that I just wrote, as I think it would interest you considering the subject matter of this blog.
I didn’t know that Canada has one of the highest percentages of foreign born citizens in the world but it makes sense considering their liberal immigration policies. I wonder if people like Huseyin Celil or Mohammed El-Attar are considered less Canadian for their heritage, though.
May 24th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Good Day Kyle,
Thanks for your reference to the Canadian detained in Georgia..it was quite interesting and it seems that many more Canadians are having justice issues abroad. I think much of this has to do with the number of people who have gained citizenship in the last decade or so and also having citizenship in their place of birth. This is where much of the debate comes from, as while many of these individuals are Citizens of Canada, they are also dual citizens with their place of birth and actively work or live in countries outside of Canada. It may be difficult for the Canadian government to claim sovereignty in these matters as while another country may not be as humanitarian in their legal proceedings, under international law the individual has as much right to Canada as to their place of birth, but also has many obligations to both states as well. Even if I am a Canadian citizen and I commit a crime abroad, I am linked to their local legal system. If I am a citizen there, diplomacy does become a sensitive issue as rights of representation really are not clearly defined in International Law. Certainly a Diplomatic Rubix Cube…
Regarding heritage, I do not doubt there is a question of “Who is Canadian” in Canadian society, but I do not think its that severe and really the cases of Celil and El-Attar are difficult as they are very new Canadians for the most part who have very strong links to other states, as well as legal citizenship in those countries. Many people use Canada and other countries as a base point to work and live internationally, and really if you look at the current immigration laws you really do have to be fairly high skilled and have a certain level of education to even be able to gain citizenship…so its not surprising that there are many dual citizens, but I dont know if its about being less Canadian as much as just being perhaps an untraditional immigration situation where diplomacy and sovereignty have not yet established the legal tools to confront the issues like Celil and El-Attar.
In reality there is a remarkable amount of equality in many parts of Canada. This may have to do with the fact that in many major cities immigrants or children of immigrants make up major portions of the population. There are also a very diverse groups of people in Canada and for the most part there is not issues of large groups of illegal immigration from one specific country or region as in the US or many European States. The major issue here actually is quite unique, as currently you need high levels of education and skills to even qualify as a normal immigrant in Canada, but the local qualification agencies and associations are very strict in allowing foreign professional to requalify. Im posting an article today on the topic (May 24th), its a link to a TV show here which will give you a perfect essay on the topic…need i say more!