Lankan gem merchant seeks refuge after being ‘kidnapped’ twice
November 7, 2010 08:21 am
A wealthy Lankan gem merchant who showed up at the Canadian border with his family and $85,000 in precious stones and filed a refugee claim that failed is being given another chance to plead his case.
Mohamed Razakdeen Aziz, who lives in Toronto, said he had been attending a 2009 gemstone conference in Arizona just before he came to Canada with his wife, Fathima, and their five children.
Their claims were rejected by an Immigration and Refugee Board but successfully appealed to federal court that ordered a new hearing.
Court heard Aziz sought refugee protection arguing he was kidnapped twice in Sri Lanka because he was a rich Tamil Muslim businessman. He paid a $250,000 ransom for release after one kidnapping.
His Toronto lawyer Kumar Sriskanda said the gem dealer was forced to flee Sri Lanka and leave homes and properties behind.
“He now works as a security guard in Toronto,” Sriskanda said. “He had to leave it all behind.”
Aziz paid more than $6,000 in taxes on the gems and is not entitled to welfare or Ontario Legal Aid, he said.
“He is very optimistic and hopes a board member can understand his plight and his need of protection,” Sriskanda said.
“Rich people are still being targeted in Sri Lanka,” he said.
“I find that the claimant was targeted as part of a large group of business persons who are perceived to be well off,” Justice Douglas Campbell said in his Oct. 28 decision.
“It became obvious that Muslims were openly kidnapped, extorted and those who refused to pay were killed,” the judge stated.
“Many Muslim businessmen were kidnapped and some even left the country for good,” he said.
“There is more than a mere possibility that the applicant will be persecuted” if he returns to Sri Lanka.
No date has been set for a new hearing, The Toronto Sun reports.
