Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Monday that Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad, 70, was deported to Lebanon on Sunday.
"He is a convicted terrorist and killer. He tried to hijack a plane, he threw grenades and fired live rounds at innocent civilians," Kenney said in Ottawa.
He added: "If you're a convicted terrorist you don't get to come to Canada because you pose a security risk."
According to a statement from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Mohammad first joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1968. That same year he and another person hijacked an Israeli aircraft in Athens, Greece, firing 83 rounds of ammunition and six grenades, and killing one passenger.
Mohammad was convicted and sentenced to 17 years in a Greek prison following the attack, but was released in 1970 after six other Palestinian terrorists hijacked another plane, and threatened to blow it up unless he was released.
He then came to Canada in 1987 under a false identity, Kenney said.
"He lied about his identity, he lied about not having a criminal past, he lied about not having ties to criminal organizations," Kenney said.
Federal officials began trying to deport him in 1988, but Mohammad filed appeal after appeal -- which was within his rights under Canada's immigration laws but resulted in "almost a comedy of errors," Kenney said.
Meanwhile, Mohammad lived free in Canada, making his home in Burlington, Ont.
"Since becoming minister of immigration and learning of this case I have worked with my colleague Vic Toews, minister of public safety, and officials to do everything we could to secure his deportation," Kenney said.
Kenney said the Canada Border Service Agency had planned to deport Mohammad two weeks ago, but he reported health problems and was taken to hospital. When he was finally deported Sunday, it was aboard a charter plane equipped with medical equipment in case something went wrong en route, Kenney said.
He said he wasn't aware of the type of work, if any, Mohammad had been doing during his long stay in Canada, saying "we don't track people's personal activities."
Though he is not a Lebanese citizen, Mohammad has "standing" in that country and had married a Lebanese woman, Kenney said.
Lebanon agreed to allow him to return, but did not provide any assurances about his treatment, Kenney said, noting that it is "not a requirement."
Under current immigration laws brought in by the Conservatives, Kenney said someone in Mohammad's situation would be allowed to file one appeal, and then would be "subject to removal."
Original Article
Source: ctvnews.ca
Author: CTVNews.ca Staff
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