Dual Canadian Citizens "Convicted" Abroad

On April 21st 2007 Egyptian born Canadian Mohammed El-Attar was ultimately convicted as a spy in an Egyptian court this past weekend. He was accused of spying for Israel and recruiting Arabs in Canada to assist him in his activities. While the court claims to have obtained a confession of his activities, it is said by El-Attar that his confession was obtained under torture and that much of the evidence against him is falsified. While Canadian officials are looking into the case, no overt actions have been taken to assist El-Attar in his dilemma in Egypt. He has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour.

Assistance to Canadian citizens abroad has become an issue since last summer's conflict in Lebanon, where many Canadian citizens of Lebanese origin were seeking assistance from the Canadian government but resided and had legal citizenship in Lebanon at the same time. While no formal differences or rights exist in Canadian law distinguishing citizens who immigrated to Canada and those who were born in Canada, there may be some customary distinctions made by a response to those who hold dual citizenship in Canada and another country, and are convicted of crimes in their country of 2nd nationality and birth.

This past month another Canadian citizen of foreign birth was convicted in China. Huseyin Celil was charged and convicted for terrorist acts against the Chinese government and sentenced to life imprisonment. Celil, a member of China's small Muslim population initially escaped a Chinese prison in 2000 and eventually came to Canada and gained citizenship in 2005. Canadian officials claim that their calls for diplomacy with the Chinese government have gone unanswered and that they will make strident efforts to assist Mr. Celil. With the number of cases of Canadians being convicted of political crimes abroad and some being tortured in the process, the rights of foreign born Canadians will likely continue with future convictions of Canadians in foreign countries. Canada currently has one of the highest percentages of foreign born citizens in the world.