SASKATOON – Jamila Bibi, the Saskatoon woman facing a criminal charge for adultery in Pakistan, was deported this week after she was put on a plane from Saskatchewan in accordance with a deportation order.
Bibi was working legally at Meg’s Restaurant in Saskatoon when she was deported, according to her lawyer Bashir Khan and she becomes a latest victim of Stephen Harper Conservatives’ deportation heavy immigration policy.
Khan said his 63-year-old client is at risk of being killed by her husband’s family in her native land but even she wasn’t, she has committed no crime in Canada t warrant such forced deportation, reported CBC News.
On Monday, a judge from the Federal Court of Canada rejected Bibi’s latest appeal of her deportation order, setting the stage for her removal early Tuesday morning.
Escorted by officials, she was put on a plane in Saskatoon and left the province.
Bibi arrived in Canada on a visa in 2006, and submitted a refugee claim hoping to remain in the country. That application was rejected. In addition to the adultery charge, Bibi faces an assault charge in Pakistan, although the details of what is alleged are not known.
Khan says Canada risks breaking international law if Bibi is sent back to Pakistan.
He called the woman’s detention and deportation an arbitrary move by federal authorities.
According to Khan, because Canada is a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment the government should have allowed Bibi to stay in Canada until a UN review of her case was completed.
On Monday an official from the Canada Border Services Agency sent a prepared statement to CBC News saying the agency has a duty to enforce removal orders “as soon as possible.”
“As well, prior to removal a person has access to a number of legal avenues of recourse,” the statement added. “Once all legal avenues of recourse have been exhausted, the person is expected to respect our laws and leave Canada or be removed.”
“Canada has one of the most generous immigration systems in the world, admitting 250,000 new immigrants each year,” the statement said. “Canada welcomes those who play by the rules and obey our laws. At no time will we compromise the integrity of our immigration system.”
The minister’s office also declined to address Bibi’s situation directly, noting they cannot comment due to the Privacy Act.
