Alleged Tiger suspect re-detained in Canada
An alleged member of the LTTE, whom Canadian officials say travelled
between Sri Lanka and Hong Kong on fraudulent passports, was ordered
detained for the fourth time Friday as the authorities tried to verify
his true identity, the Globe and Mail reported.
The man came to Canada in August aboard the MV Sun Sea with 491 other
Tamil migrants including his wife. His is the second case in which the
Canada Border Services Agency has raised security concerns.
He is being detained because his identity cannot yet be confirmed.
However, the man's counsel, Larry Smeets, said the CBSA is alleging that
his client is a member of the LTTE, a banned terrorist organisation in
Canada.
During the migrant's hearing on Friday at the Fraser Regional
Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge, the CBSA said the man had withheld
information about his travels to Hong Kong but later admitted to
travelling from Hong Kong to Sri Lanka on a fake passport after he was
ordered deported. He returned 10 days later to Hong Kong with a fake
passport, the CBSA said. Reasons for his deportation or presence in Hong
Kong were not divulged at the hearings.
"As a result, it appears he is proficient in obtaining fraudulent
identity documents," CBSA counsel Jennifer Friberg said, adding that the
migrant hid information about his relatives in Canada.
She said that in earlier questioning the man said he had no relatives
in Canada, but his wife contradicted him and said they did have a family
in the country. His wife then said she had no contact information for
those relatives.
The IRB adjudicator, Rolland Ladouceur, pointed to those
contradictions as he ordered the man's continued detention. "A
reasonable person might come to the conclusion that you are hiding
something," he said. The man is due to have another hearing in 30 days.
Meanwhile, lawyers for some of the migrants say their clients are
being questioned by CBSA investigators about a possible additional
vessel bringing more Tamil migrants to Canada.
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