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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (364182)	2/27/2003 9:57:30 AM
From: Lino...	Respond to of 769670

Palestinian terrorist still in Canada 4 years after being ordered deported Making new legal appeal: 59-year-old took part in attack on Israeli jet in 1968 Tom Blackwell National Post Thursday, February 27, 2003 A Palestinian man who carried out a deadly attack on an Israeli airliner, then lied about his past to get into Canada, is still in the country and is preparing to argue a new legal appeal four years after authorities ordered him deported. Canada first learned Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad's past in 1988, and began efforts to force him from the country. The latest hearing in his drawn-out case is scheduled for April 16 in the Federal Court of Canada. His file now includes more than 13,000 pages of documents in 24 thick volumes. The prolonged effort to deport Mr. Mohammad, who is living freely in Brantford, Ont., is another example of Canada's porous border and its inability to properly deal with terrorists who manage to make their way into the country. "This is really turning into the never-ending story ... It's a bit bewildering," said Eric Vernon, spokesman for the Canadian Jewish Congress. "He committed these horrible crimes and he needs to be held accountable for them.... He has to pay the price." Simone MacAndrew, a spokeswoman for Immigration Canada, said the government cannot deport anyone until all legal avenues have been exhausted. "Removing people who don't have a right to be in Canada is a priority for us, especially if they pose a danger to the Canadian public," she said. She also noted that under the new immigration legislation implemented last year, a confirmed terrorist would not be able to claim refugee status or appeal a deportation order, both rights under the old law that have delayed the Mohammad case. Barbara Jackman, his lawyer, could not be reached for comment. She has said that her client has long since abandoned his guerilla past and wants simply to lead a peaceful, law-abiding life here with his wife and three children, who have spent most of their lives in Canada. Mr. Mohammad, 59, was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine when he and another Front member attacked an Israeli jetliner about to take off from Athens airport in December, 1968. They sprayed the plane with automatic gunfire and hurled six grenades. Although they later claimed they had no intention of killing anyone, a piece of shrapnel smashed into the cabin of the El Al craft and killed an Israeli man. A Greek court sentenced Mr. Mohammad to 17 years in jail. But a separate band of Palestinian terrorists hijacked another plane two years later and demanded his release. The Greek government complied, issuing a pardon to Mr. Mohammad. He arrived in Canada and won permanent residence status in 1987, neglecting to mention his unsavoury past. Authorities discovered his real background a year later, but deportation procedures were halted when the Palestinian lodged a refugee claim, which was finally rejected in 1995. Instead of resuming the earlier deportation inquiry, the federal government initiated a new one in 1996. As a result, an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator ordered him deported in 1999. He appealed to the board's appeal division, arguing in part that the pardon issued by the Greek government under duress should be recognized by the Canadian courts. The board again ruled against him in November, 2001. Mr. Mohammad then asked the Federal Court to strike down the decision. The hearing on that request for "judicial review" is to start on April 16. Mr. Mohammad has simply taken advantage of the system, as is his right, but he should at least have been kept in custody, argues Sergio Karas, a veteran immigration lawyer based in Toronto. "What I find outrageous is that an individual with this kind of a past could remain in this country for 14 years," he said. "That is the single biggest criticism anyone could make of how the system works."