TerrorismCanada considered deporting train terror suspect – but he was stateless
Raed Jaser, who is accused of planning an “al Qaeda supported” bomb attack aiming to derail a Canadian passenger train, was arrested nine years ago in Toronto and was facing deportation because he had a criminal record. Jaser is a Palestinian who grew up in the UAE. The UAE never gave his family a UAE citizenship, and they refused to take him back. The Canadian authorities say his case is not unique.
Raed Jaser, who is accused of planning an “al Qaeda supported” bomb attack aiming to derail a Canadian passenger train, was arrested nine years ago in Toronto and was facing deportation.
Jaser, who is now a Canadian resident, was charged with three counts of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Globe and Mail reports that Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier are accused of conspiring to commit murder and acts of terrorism.
In 2004 Jaser was arrested on five counts of fraud. He also took on several fake identities while committing his crimes. When federal agents caught up to Jaser, they arrested him on an outstanding deportation warrant which was issued in 1998. Canada’s immigration authorities stated that although Jaser had been in the country since 1993, he had to leave because of his criminal record. It took the police six years finally to apprehend Jaser.
Jaser, however, said in his defense that he was stateless, and that Canada could not send him back home because no country has ever claimed him. Jaser said that he was born in the United Arab Emirates to migrant workers from Palestine, but the UAE did not give them citizenship.
“I am a Palestinian by blood; that does not give me any rights whatsoever in my place of birth,” Jaser told an adjudicator at the 2004 hearing, according to a transcript.
When Jaser was arrested, the UAE embassy in Canada was quick to release a statement saying that both suspects “are not nationals of the United Arab Emirates.”
Originally, Jaser arrived in Canada as part of an Arab family of five on false passports.
These situations are not uncommon. In order to solve them, Canadian officials often try to persuade foreign diplomats to issue passports for people tied to foreign lands by birth or heritage. According to experts, however, the effort usually hinges on whether the government considers the deportee to be dangerous and worth the effort.
After his deportation hearing, an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator ordered Jaser to be released on $3,000 bail to live with his uncle, while he files an appeal.
“He is a person who is stateless at this time,” reads the adjudicator’s ruling. He ordered that Jaser “not engage in any activity that may result in a conviction under an Act of Parliament.”
