MONTREAL - Federal lawyers are arguing today that Quebec Superior Court doesn't have jurisdiction to decide the fate of a Rwandan man who faces deportation.
A Montreal law firm that has taken up Leon Mugesera's case says Canada is obliged to keep him here while a UN body examines his claims he will be tortured if he's returned to Rwanda.
The United Nations Committee Against Torture has requested Canada give it time to examine Mugesera's case, a process that could take a few months.
But the federal government is arguing that the UN committee's request is not binding.
And it says the Federal Court is the only court that can hear immigration cases.
Mugesera is wanted in Rwanda on charges of inciting genocide and crimes against humanity, stemming from an inflammatory anti-Tutsi speech he gave in 1992.
The speech is considered a key propaganda tool during a 100-day massacre of between 800,000 and one million Rwandans in 1994.
Mugesera and his supporters say it will be impossible for him to have a fair trial in Rwanda where he is considered an enemy of the current government.
He was originally scheduled to be deported last week, but a last-minute hospitalization and the new legal challenge stalled that attempt.
Mugesera is currently being held in an immigration detention centre near Montreal after being deemed a flight risk.
A week-long reprieve on the deportation that was granted by Quebec Superior Court ends today.
