The Cases
Background
As a result of the 2013 military coup in Egypt, thousands of Egyptian nationals have sought refugee status in countries throughout the world. Among those seeking asylum are political activists, opposition figures, journalists, and human rights advocates. In the past several years, hundreds of people have come to Canada, many of them were members of different political parties, and some held various roles in the country’s first democratically elected government and Parliament. Some of these individuals were members of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).
In 2017, an Egyptian immigrant, Abdelrahman ElMady, sought asylum in Vancouver. The Egyptian government targeted his family, but he was able to flee to Canada. Unfortunately on arrival he was detained for months, and after being released he was deemed inadmissible by the CBSA due to his perceived membership in the MB in Egypt. While Canada does not view the MB as a terrorist entity, the CBSA officer took the position that the MB engaged in terrorist activities throughout the 1940s, and therefore Mr. Elmady was inadmissible by association. The case presented by the CBSA is tainted with Islamophobia and heavily relies on far-right sources, unreliable information, and Egyptian state-sponsored propaganda to justify the military coup.
After winning the case before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) due to Mr. Elmady’s attorney’s weak submissions, the CBSA officer suspended the refugee claims of other Egyptians who had landed in Vancouver and moved them all into inadmissibility.
Since 2017, activists, lawyers, civil society organizations, and communities across Canada have spoken out against CBSA officers’ biased actions. An official complaint was filed with the CBSA, but the CBSA President rejected it. Despite the fact that the cases are tainted by Islamophobia and bias, the Government of Canada and the Minister of Public Safety have done nothing to correct this injustice.
The Five Families
Since 2017 the CBSA in Vancouver has suspended the refugee claims of five separate Egyptian Muslim families who arrived at different times, and have no connections.
Each family’s story of coming to Canada is unique. All were Egyptians who supported democracy in various ways. They all came from different backgrounds and occupations. One was a labor union leader, another a medical doctor, another a human rights activist, and yet another a business executive. Following the Egyptian military coup, some were threatened by the Egyptian state. Security forces arrived in search of one of them and attacked his family. Another reason was that his child was detained and tortured. To protect themselves from persecution, each took significant risks to come to Canada.
Each of these families only met one another in Canada after discovering all of their refugee cases were suspended by a common CBSA officer, Mr. Jeffrey Wichurak, who placed them in inadmissibility under Section 34(1)(f) of the Immigration Act.
The CBSA used the same supporting documents and arguments for each family, and it wasn’t long before lawyers in Vancouver connected the dots and realized there was a pattern to all of the cases.
Mr. Wichurak’s stance is diametrically opposed to that of the entire CBSA agency across the country. Thousands of Egyptian families have come to Canada and have successfully received their refugee status.
The cases of the five families have posed a fundamental question.
When these families decided to come to Canada they did their due diligence. All Egyptians coming to Canada like them with similar backgrounds received their refugee status. This uncertainty, unpredictability, and different treatment due to an individual officer’s bias, is an injustice to them. They could have chosen any other country to find protection and start a new life. Instead, they are now persecuted by the Government of Canada after escaping persecution in Egypt. Why does the Immigration Act of Canada give an individual CBSA officer so much power to take a position that contradicts the agency and the Government of Canada?
Egyptian Refugee Statistics in Canada
Hundreds of Egyptian families are estimated to have come to Canada after the 2013 military coup in Egypt. In fact, Since 2016, over 4000 cases have been granted protection, many on similar grounds.
Aside from Vancouver, members of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) who entered Canada have received assistance and been granted refugee status. They have not faced allegations that they are inadmissible to Canada. An Access to Information Act request for all decisions from all Divisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board has confirmed this. There are many available decisions in which the Immigration and Refugee Board has accepted membership in MB and FJP as legitimate reasons for a refugee claim.
Major figures in the FJP such as an elected Parliament Member, a Minister in the government, and a senior advisor to the President have all been given refugee status, permanent residency or, citizenship. These are clear examples that prove IRCC, CBSA HQ, and Canadian security agencies do not view such individuals as a national security concern because of their membership or association.
There are only 8 inadmissibility cases of Egyptians since 2013. The two in 2016 involve an Egyptian Military General who was involved in the military coup and the Rab’aa massacre. The second case is unknown.
The single case in 2017 against Mr. Abdelrahman Elmady took place in Vancouver and is the only case that has been completed to date. Those in 2019 and 2020 are the other Vancouver families who arrived after him and are still awaiting decisions.
Allegations of Vancouver CBSA
Vancouver CBSA officers singled out these Egyptian Muslim refugee families and prevented them from obtaining refugee protection in Canada due to their direct or indirect ties to Egyptian political organizations.
There is absolutely no specific allegation of personal wrongdoing against any of these claimants as individuals.
The CBSA has provided a very uneven retelling of history, ignoring those components that do not suit their narrative.
- The CBSA argues that the MB took part in the Egyptian resistance against British colonization in the 1940s, long before any of the asylum seekers were born.
- The CBSA alleges that the MB engaged in terrorism through the assassination of a Judge in 1948, the assassination of the Prime Minister of Egypt in 1948, and a few other incidents. The CBSA ignores that two different Egyptian courts absolved the Brotherhood of involvement in the assassination.
- The CBSA further alleges that the MB participation in the Arab-Israel War in 1948 was evidence of subversion by force. This suggestion is untenable. First, “Israel” did not yet exist at the time, and as such the war was not against a government. Second, they were there as volunteers to the Arab League and were trained by the Egyptian military. Finally, following Israel’s ‘Declaration of Statehood’ in May 1948, Israel did not immediately have a government. A government cannot be said to have existed until after they succeeded in the Arab-Israel War in 1949.
Without any requirement to demonstrate the complicity of the refugees in these acts, the CBSA officers have relied on their affiliation with the FJP to establish them as members of the MB. Although neither the FJP nor the MB in Egypt are considered national security threats by the Government of Canada, CBSA officers in Vancouver continue to allege these asylum seekers are members of a group that has possibly engaged in an act of terrorism and/or subversion of democracy.
These refugees pose no national security threat. According to the CBSA intelligence branch, members of Egypt’s FJP or MB do not pose a security threat to Canadians.
What Evidence is the Case Built On
Instead of relying upon the CBSA intelligence division or other Canadian agencies to build the case, Vancouver CBSA officers retained the consultation of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), an Israel-based think tank founded by high-ranking Israeli military officials with past and present connections to Mossad (Israel’s Intelligence Service), which routinely produces Islamophobic and anti-Arab analysis on terrorism.
The CBSA has also relied upon reports commissioned by the Government of Egypt as propaganda to support the military coup and the killing of thousands of Egyptians.
Some of the evidence is sourced from unauthored blogs, or individuals who are known to be extremely Islamophobic, unreliable, unsubstantiated, and heavily criticized. In general, the evidence would fail to meet even a low threshold of reliability and has been debunked by a number of experts and organizations, including human rights organizations and media outlets. The evidence was factually inaccurate and written without any consideration of the geo-political history and realities of the region.
Is This A Systemic Issue in Canada
No, it is limited to CBSA Vancouver.
Hundreds of Egyptian families are estimated to have come to Canada after the 2013 military coup in Egypt. In the past 6 years over 3000 Egyptians have been granted protection in Canada. There are no known cases in other parts of Canada where Egyptian families have not been given refugee claims on similar grounds. In fact, documents show that CBSA Toronto and CSIS confirmed that membership in the Muslim Brotherhood is not a concern.
In 2017, upon the arrival of the first refugee in Vancouver, the CBSA consulted CSIS for its intelligence position. A report was sent back that stated “not enough adverse information on the MB in Egypt to pursue membership concerns.”
The Refugee Protection Division in November 2017 asked the CBSA if they were concerned with a claimant’s membership in the Muslim Brotherhood and if they wanted to intervene before the Division. The CBSA in Toronto (HQ) declined.
The position of CBSA Vancouver officers is inconsistent with the Government of Canada, which has not listed the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity. Similarly, the United Nations, European Union, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Germany among most countries around the world have all agreed to not designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
The only countries that have listed the organization are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Russia.