Exclusive: Accused Toronto terrorist Raed Jaser ordered deported in 1998
By Sam Pazzano ,Toronto Sun First posted: Thursday, April 25, 2013 02:31 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, April 25, 2013 03:04 PM EDT
Raed Jaser (L) and lawyer John Norris are pictured in a courtroom sketch during a first appearance at Old City Hall Court in Toronto April 23, 2013. Jaser is one of two men who were charged with plotting an attack on a passenger train Monday. (REUTERS/Pam Davies)
TORONTO - A Toronto man accused of conspiring to bomb a Via train was put under a deportation order in 1998 and arrested on it in 2004 but released, the Sun has learned.
Raed Jaser was taken into custody on Aug. 23, 2004, and was working illegally and using numerous aliases, an Immigration and Refugee board detention hearing was told.
Jaser was denied refugee status twice and after the second unsuccessful decision in 1998, a deportation order was issued and he was busted in 2004 but released two days later.
At the time, Jaser was neither a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident, the hearing was told. Jaser, a Palestinian by descent and born in the United Arab Emirates but not a citizen there, was stateless.
While his other family members had abandoned their refugee claims after being refused the first time, Raed Jaser pursued a second hearing. The Jaser family appealed, consented to a second hearing, which never took place.
Everyone in Raed’s family except him were accepted under a special program, Deferred Removal Order Class (DROC), and later became Canadian citizens and owned a house in 2004, the hearing held at Toronto West Detention Centre was told.
Jaser had compiled a few criminal convictions, including fraud under $5,000 and was denied for that DROC program and kept pursuing his refugee claim, which he lost. At age 26 in 2004, he also was too old to be sponsored.
He was then under a deportation order, but wasn’t in imminent danger of being removed, court heard.
Jaser was released on a $3,000 bail with his uncle Mahmoud Jaser posting the deposit.
“His entire family are here and are residents, or citizens of Canada. It’s clear that Mr. Jaser would prefer to be in Canada and that he would not desire to leave this country,” the hearing was told.
The detention hearing was told that Jaser was extremely co-operative and never missed any hearings.
 
 
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/04/25/accused-toronto-terrorist-raed-jaser-ordered-deported-in-1998