Canadian judge invalidates US extradition treaty

A deep bow of respect for Judge Phelan!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/…

From the article

Canadian Judge Invalidates Country’s Refugee Treaty With U.S.

By Joe Schneider

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — Canada’s treaty with the U.S. on the treatment of refugees is illegal because the U.S.

doesn’t comply with conventions protecting asylum seekers and sometimes sends people to countries where

they may be tortured, a Canadian judge said.

Canada entered into an agreement on the treatment of refugees with the U.S. in 2004, as part of the two

countries’ “Smart Borders Declaration.” The accord bars Canada from considering refugee applications from

people who arrive in the country from the U.S. by land. Canada is required to send those asylum seekers back

to the U.S.

Canada’s Parliament approved the law, subject to some conditions, including that the U.S. comply with

international cconventions designed to prevent asylum seekers from being sent back to countries where they

may be persecuted, or to countries that engage in torture.

“The United States’ policies do not meet the conditions,” Judge Michael Phelan said in a 126-page ruling

released today in Ottawa by the Federal Court of Canada.

The judge cited the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who in 2002 was mistakenly identified as a terror

suspect during a stop in New York. U.S. officials sent him to his native Syria where he was jailed and tortured,

according to a Canadian inquiry that found Arar was not linked to terrorism.

The Canada-U.S. asylum treaty also is unconstitutional, Phelan said, because it treats people in identical

refugee situations differently by applying only to land crossings.

….

It will be interesting to see if this is beneficial for cases of war resisters who seek residency in Canada:

http://www.resisters.ca/index_…

And don’t miss Valtin’s essay on the APA “on the road to Damascus” regarding its position on torture:

http://valtinsblog.blogspot.co…