The UN Human Rights Committee has requested that Canada stay the deportation of a man to Saudi Arabia.
The man, who isn’t named to protect his safety, was scheduled to leave Montreal via a flight from Toronto on Wednesday.
But instead, he was hospitalized for “stress-related” issues, his lawyer said.
While he is still in Canada for now, lawyer Stephanie Valois, said the case is still up in the air.
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The man first came to Canada in 2017, after fears of religious persecution because he’s a Shia Muslim.
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Shiites are a religious minority in Saudi Arabia and they’re targeted by the government, Valois explained.
“My client is saying that he made some comments at work because of the situation and because of that, the authorities were aware of his position against them and he was questioned and fearful that he’d be arrested and a victim of torture and other treatment,” she said.
He applied for refugee status then, but had to cancel his application when he found out his wife and children, who were still in Saudi Arabia, were having trouble.
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He brought his wife and children to Canada by crossing the U.S. border and claiming asylum status in May 2018.
He was briefly detained and then released by border officials.
While his family was given refugee status, he was not because you can only claim refugee status once in Canada, Valois said.
Valois and her team were asking for the Canadian Border Services Agency to stay the deportation because he feared for his well-being in Saudi Arabia.
She says officers haven’t given him a pre-removal risk assessment, which would evaluate whether or not a person is being deported to an unsafe country. While the rules say a claimant would have to wait one year after their refugee claim – it also says exemptions are allowed to be granted.
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The federal court denied the stay on Tuesday afternoon, Valois said, and the man was set to leave Wednesday morning.
After the legal options were exhausted, the UN Human Rights Committee sent the letter overnight Tuesday requesting that the man is allowed to stay.
A spokesperson at the UN Human Rights office confirmed the Committee has agreed to register the case to view it in the future.
Committee members will review the complaint – filed by Valois’ team – but it could take one to two years.
It wasn’t clear if the man was allowed to stay in Canada because of the Human Rights Committee request or for health reasons, but a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told Reuters in general, “Canada provides time for the committee to take a look at a case” when it asks.
The official said they would not comment on the particulars of the case.
The case comes as Canada and Saudi Arabia are in the midst of a dispute over human rights.
After a post on Twitter from Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland calling for the release of a jailed blogger in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom responded by kicking the Canadian ambassador out of the country, freezing certain trade and recalling Saudi Arabian students.
“You know we’ve been hearing a lot about Saudi Arabia in recent days and the relationship with Canada,” Valois said. “Even Saudi students who would not leave Canada could have problems with their government.”
“It was kind of particular that the government would pursue deportation in these circumstances.”
Canada deported 30 people to Saudi Arabia in the first nine months of last year, and 21 the year before. Last year, the country received 362 refugee claims from Saudis.
*with files from Reuters
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