OTTAWA - A Canadian citizen the United States has accused of being an al-Qaida agent is trying again to have his name taken off the UN Security Council's terrorist blacklist.
Abousfian Abdelrazik made his first application to be "delisted" in 2007, but was denied without explanation or ever facing his accusers.
And though he's been formally cleared of the terrorist allegations by CSIS and the RCMP, Abdelrazik's lawyer, Paul Champ, is doubtful his client will fare much better with his second attempt.
"We don't have a great amount of optimism that Mr. Abdelrazik will be delisted," Champ told The Canadian Press on Saturday, noting the process requires all Security Council members to agree and that any member can veto the application without giving cause.
The difference this time is that the application will be reviewed by the UN's newly appointed ombudsperson, former Canadian jurist Kimberly Prost, who will then report her observations to the Security Council's 1267 committee.
The committee, named for the resolution that created the blacklist in 1999, is under no obligation, however, to act on Prost's advice.
A response to the application is expected within four to six months.
Despite his pessimism about the outcome, Champ said they put forward strong submissions that Abdelrazik was listed in error based on faulty evidence derived from torture.
"It's now a matter of record that the United States of America tortured some of the people that it seems quite clearly to be the sources of the information against Mr. Abdelrazik."
Abdelrazik, 46, who now lives in Montreal with his two children, spent six years in forced exile in Sudan. And some of those years were spent in prison where he says he was tortured.
Being on the UN's blacklist means he can't leave Canada, and that all his financial assets, including the pension he was awarded after his wife died of cancer, have been frozen.
"If he wants to pay a telephone bill he needs approval from Ottawa and New York," said Champ, adding that getting a job is virtually impossible because every paycheque must be approved by the UN Security Council.
Along with his UN battle, Abdelrazik is also challenging the blacklisting process in Federal Court, claiming it tramples the Charter rights of Canadians.
And he has filed a lawsuit against Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and the Harper government seeking $27 million in damages.
