Activist's deportation case adds to increased calls for oversight of border services

An Egyptianhuman rights activist is fighting to stay in Vancouver, sayingthe political affiliations that forced him to seek asylum in Canada are now being used to justify his deportation.

In 2011,Abdelrahman Elmadyjoined other Egyptians in an uprising against the country's then president, Hosni Mubarak, overissues ofincreased police brutality, high unemploymentand the lack of political freedoms.

Following Mubarak's resignation, the country heldfree elections in 2012, which saw the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), of which Elmady was a member, capture the popular vote.

The victory, however, was short lived. In 2013, a military coup overthrew the government and raided Muslim Brotherhood supporters,killing hundreds, before labelling the party a terrorist organization.

Elmady says, in the years that followed, Freedom and Justice Party members were "persecuted."He was working in Saudi Arabia for fear of his safety when Egyptian authorities started asking his family about him.

"If Igo back to Egypt,I'm going tobe in jail, tortured and detained ... maybe dead"said the 38-year-old.

But while he believes Canada "values human rights," Elmadysays the political ties that make him a potential target, resulted in him being profiled by the CanadaBorder Services Agency (CBSA).

In particular, he accuses oneCBSA officer of presenting an Islamophobic and inaccurate documentto the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), painting the Freedom and Justice Party as terrorist organization, and him asa national security threat.

Documents shared with CBC also show Elmady, who has a hearing disability,was subsequently detained by the IRB at a correctional facilityfor two monthsand went more than a week without his hearing aidas he waited for staff to providereplacement batteries.

CBCcontacted the CBSAfor comment, but the enforcement agencydid not respond before deadline.

The case highlights the sweeping powers of the CBSA, whichoperates withoutindependent oversight,despite recent federal attempts at reform. It also showsthe effect those powers can have on asylum seekers like Elmady, who the IRBdeemed inadmissible to Canadain October 2017, and who last week deemed he must be deported back to Egypt decisions he's fighting in Federal Court.

Muslim Brotherhood not listed as a terrorist organization

Those familiar with Middle Eastern politics, meanwhile, say no Western country identifies theMuslim Brotherhood orFJP as terrorist organizations.

"There were two investigations of this issue ... the first was in Britain ... and then President Trump ... put forward the proposition to his own national security people that it might be a terrorist organization" said Robert Springborg, adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University's School of International Studies."And the ruling came back 'No.' "

Springborgsays Egypt convinced other Arab governments, as well as Russia,to endorse its view that the groups were terrorist organizations.

Canada does not currently list the Muslim Brotherhood as aterrorist entity.

Elmady's lawyer says the decision to deport him was based on a "rather serious error" and shows that Canada's inadmissibility rules aresometimes too broad.

"It sometimes catches individuals who, at first blush, wouldn't appear to have done anything wrong," said immigration and refugee lawyer Molly Joeck.

She says the CBSAcan be inconsistent in how it treats people like Elmadybecause itmountscasesor providesdocumentationagainst some asylum seekers but not others.

Two attempts at reform

Janet Dench, executivedirector of the Canadian Council for Refugees,says it can be hard for those without secure immigration status to levy complaints against the CBSA, and that the agency should be subject toindependent oversight.

To date, the federal Liberals have twice attempted legislation that would make the CBSA subject to the same civilian complaints process that applies to the RCMP.Both bills died in Parliament.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the minister "looks forward to tabling legislation that will strengthen oversight in our agencies and increase public trust" andis"committed to doing that work as quickly as possible."

With less than three weeks until he's supposed to leave, Elmadyhopes a Canadiancourtwill overturn the two IRB decisions against him.

"Iknow that Canadian people are different," he said "But what ... Ifaced is a bias and Islamophobic ...I believe that."