By Kurtis Doering

UPDATED: Saskatoon woman to be deported Tuesday

Sep 16, 2014 | 7:17 AM

Early Tuesday morning, 65-year-old Jamila Bibi was led from the Saskatoon Police detention unit to a plane bound for Pakistan.

This follows a federal court ruling Monday afternoon in which Madam Justice Bedard denied a temporary stay of deportation.

“I'm feeling totally like we're helpless,” Meg's Restaurant owner Sahana Yeasmin said. “We were trying to save that old lady's life.”

Bibi had been working legally as a cook at Meg's until she was arrested while checking in at the Saskatoon immigration office last week. Yeasmin helped to organize a rally in her support Sunday while lawyer Bashir Khan worked tirelessly to compile a 168-page appeal.

“Lots of different kinds of people came to support that lady,” Yeasmin said.

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“Everyone was hoping that we would win that case, and they were going to listen to us.”

According to Monday's Federal Court decision, Bibi's refugee protection claim was denied in 2009, and a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) was ordered to determine the potential dangers of returning her to Pakistan. On May 26, 2011, that assessment found that the risk of her returning was not great enough to stop a deportation.

“The evidence is quite clear,” Bashir Khan argued. “She's been charged with adultery. She's wanted for the crime of adultery. There's a magistrate's warrant for her arrest. There has been threats of honour killing (by her ex-husband's family).”

However, the evidence Khan presented to the federal court supporting these claims pre-dates the PRRA. Bedard wrote that it was not the role of the federal court to revisit the PRRA decision. Based on that, she determined that Bibi “will not suffer irreparable harm if she is removed to Pakistan.”

Khan notes that the ruling ignores that Bibi has a case before the United Nations office of the high commissioner for human rights, the results of which are still pending.

“There was a rather strong argument made under international law, but unfortunately it wasn't addressed,” Khan said. “To be honest with you I think it's a very sovereign[t]ist attitude; why should somebody else tell us what our standards of human rights should be.”

Immediately following the decision, Bibi was moved from her incarceration at the Pine Grove Correctional Centre in Prince Albert to the Saskatoon Police detention unit. Khan said he was given no opportunity to talk to his client, or to inform her of the results himself.

Bibi's deportation is scheduled for early Tuesday morning. It can still be halted if Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney were to order a deferred removal.

News Talk Radio received an emailed statement from the minister's office Monday afternoon.

“The decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that removal orders must be enforced as soon as possible, and the CBSA is firmly committed to doing so,” it reads.

“Our laws are clear, once all legal avenues of recourse have been exhausted, the person is expected to respect our laws and leave Canada or be removed.”

Both Khan and Yeasmin are urging people to contact the minister.

“Everyone loves her, she never talks with anyone loud,” Yeasmin said. “You want to respect this lady from your heart, and I'm so surprised, how come we are just throwing her to her death?”

To contact the Honorable Steven Blaney's Hill office:

Email: steven.blaney@parl.gc.ca
Phone: 613-992-7434
Fax: 613-995-6856

For his constituency office in Lévis, Québec

Phone: 418-830-0500
Fax: 418-830-0504

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow