He is suing the Canadian government for $27 million, claiming officials arranged for his arbitrary imprisonment, encouraged his detention by Sudanese authorities and actively obstructed his repatriation to Canada for several years.

Abdelrazik, who came to Canada from Sudan as a refugee, was arrested in September 2003 during a trip to his native country to see his ailing mother.

The next month, Abdelrazik was interrogated in custody by Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers about suspected extremist links.

Abdelrazik, 62, denies involvement in terrorism.

He took a tearful pause in Federal Court today while recalling how an official from the Canadian Embassy in Khartoum brought him a letter from his daughter during a December 2003 consular visit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.