Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Former UN Expert Addresses His Detention in Canada


(MENAFN) A former UN special rapporteur who previously examined Israel’s abuses against Palestinians stated that Canadian authorities questioned him on alleged “national security” grounds while he was en route to Canada this week for an event connected to Gaza.

US specialist in international law Richard Falk informed a news channel that both he and his spouse, legal academic Hilal Elver, were stopped and interrogated on Thursday at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

“A security person came and said, ‘We’ve detained you both because we’re concerned that you pose a national security threat to Canada,’” Falk explained on Saturday in an interview from Ottawa. He continued, “It was my first experience of this sort – ever – in my life.”

Falk and Elver, citizens of the United States, were heading to the Palestine Tribunal, a gathering of global experts assembled to evaluate Canada’s involvement in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

He recounted that the pair were held for more than four hours and questioned regarding their scholarship on Israel, Gaza, and genocide in general.

Emphasizing that nothing was "particularly aggressive" during the inquiry, he characterized the process as “sort of random and disorganised.”

Nevertheless, Falk suggested that the interrogation reflects a broader international campaign designed to “punish those who endeavour to tell the truth about what is happening” across the globe, including in Gaza.

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