OTTAWA, June 7 (UPI) -- Canada can't strip a citizen of his rights and seize assets if he is blacklisted by the United Nations as an al-Qaida operative, a court suit contends.
The case of Abousfian Abdelrazik, backed by a coalition of rights groups, is asking Canada's federal court to strike down as unconstitutional sweeping sanctions against anyone on the U.N. list, Toronto's Globe and Mail reported Monday.
The suit claims Abdelrazik's blacklisting was based on confessions extracted under torture from al-Qaida leader Abu Zubudayah, the newspaper said.
"Imposing sanctions on Abousfian Abdelrazik based on information derived from torture violates customary international law,'' the suit charges.
"We don't believe the U.N. blacklist trumps the Canadian Constitution," Carmen Cheung, counsel for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, said.
The blacklist, she said, "violates fundamental human rights,'' as those on the list have no right to know their accusers or challenge the accusations.
"There's a complete absence of due process," Cheung said.
"This isn't simply about Abousfian Abdelrazik, it's about all Canadians" who might be arbitrarily added to a U.N. blacklist, Paul Champ, a lawyer for Abdelrazik, said. "This is McCarthyism on a global scale."
