‘Merchant of death’ avoids deportation

Government failed to provide copy of website

Although called a “merchant of death” during sentencing for one of his 36 convictions — including gun trafficking, drug trafficking, forcible confinement, assault and extortion — a Somali man has avoided deportation because the government failed to give him a copy of a public website used in proceedings against him.

Irshad Mohamed Ahmed came to Canada as a refugee from Somalia in 1990 when he was seven years old. In 1995 he became a permanent resident of Canada.

Over the years he accumulated 36 criminal convictions for a long list of crimes. At one sentencing hearing, the judge referred to him as a “merchant of death.” Another judge at another hearing said he appeared to have “made his living through crime” since he was a teenager.

The government passed on a chance to deport him earlier, in 2003, when a deportation order was issued against him but Canada Border Services Agency decided to send him a warning letter instead.

“That warning went unheeded,” said Federal Court Judge Henry S. Brown in a ruling released this week.

After more criminal convictions, the deportation process against Ahmed began again. In 2015 he was given notice that he might be returned to Somalia, even though he had been granted refugee status. He fought against deportation in court.

Ahmed was ruled inadmissible to Canada and a danger to the public because of his history of serious criminality; the government also considered the question of his safety if returned to Somalia, a legal requirement. Last year, the government declared he was a danger to the public and his deportation would be in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ahmed filed an appeal in Federal Court, arguing against the government’s risk analysis.

One of the documents considered by a delegate for the Minister of Public Safety when making that decision was a report on Somalia found on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website.

The website report led the minister’s delegate to conclude that Ahmed’s status as a member of a subclan of one of the “noble clans” in Somalia that was dominant in Mogadishu meant he was at a reduced risk of returning to his homeland.

The site has been used in refugee hearings for years. Brown considered it a reliable source, but said it must be part of the disclosure process prior to a deportation decision.

The government’s failure to provide Ahmed with a copy of the report “constituted a breach of the duty of disclosure; therefore judicial review must be granted,” wrote Brown in his decision.

While the risk analysis was overturned, the decision finding Ahmed to be a danger still stands, meaning the government must conduct a fresh risk analysis on the safety of Ahmed returning to Somalia but not reargue his inadmissibility to remain in Canada.

Ahmed could not be reached for comment. A message left for his lawyer was not returned prior to deadline.

OVER THE YEARS HE ACCUMULATED 36 CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS.