August 28, 2013
Tunisian refugee claimant accused of being a member of the al-Qaeda network will be deported back to his country
In 1995, Mr. Zouhair El Maghraoui used a false Dutch passport purchased in Italy to fly to Montreal, where he filed for refugee status. In 1997, shortly after his refugee claim was rejected, he married a Canadian citizen and filed a sponsorship application.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada refused his application because, according to the officer, Liliane Pare, Mr. Maghraoui “chose to hide important information about his relationship with people linked to al-Qaeda network.” He had provided false information about his relationship with Raouf Hannachi and Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who were connected to the “Millennium bomber”. According to the CIC report Mr. Maghraoui had “repeated and continuous contact [with] and had provided support to several members of al- Qaeda by offering advice, by transferring money or referring those interested to jihad.”
Mr. Maghraoui challenged the decision at the Federal Court and asked to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, but last week Justice Yves de Montigny dismissed his case.
Mr. Maghraoui will soon be deported back to Tunisia.