MONTREAL, Canada – A former United Nations special rapporteur who investigated Israeli abuses against Palestinians says he was questioned by Canadian authorities on “national security” grounds when he traveled to Canada this week to attend a Gaza-related event.
American international law expert Richard Falk told Al Jazeera that he and his wife, fellow jurist Hilal Elber, were questioned at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday.
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“Security officers came and said, ‘We’ve detained both of you because we’re concerned that you pose a national security threat to Canada,'” Faulk, 95, said in an interview Saturday from the Canadian capital, Ottawa. “This was a first experience in my life.”
Mr. Falk and Mr. Elber, both U.S. nationals, were in Ottawa to participate in the Palestinian Tribunal on Canadian Responsibility when they were detained for questioning.
The tribunal convened international human rights and legal experts on Friday and Saturday to examine the Canadian government’s role in Israel’s two-year bombing of the Gaza Strip, which a United Nations investigation and many rights groups have described as genocide.
Falk said he and his wife were held for more than four hours for interrogation and questioned about their activities in Israel and Gaza, as well as the issue of genocide in general. “[There was] “There was nothing particularly offensive about his questions. They felt kind of haphazard and disorganized,” he said.
But Falk said he believed the questioning was part of a global effort to “punish those who try to tell the truth about what’s going on” in Gaza and around the world.
“I think this suggests an atmosphere of instability with the government trying to suppress dissident voices,” he added.
Canadian senator ‘appalled’
Asked about Falk’s experience, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which manages Canada’s border crossings, told Al Jazeera that it could not comment on specific cases due to privacy regulations.
The CBSA’s role is to “assess the security risks and admission requirements for people coming to Canada,” spokeswoman Rebecca Purdy said in an email. “This process may include an initial interview and a secondary exam,” she said.
“This means all travelers, foreign nationals, and those who legitimately entered Canada may be subject to secondary testing. This is a normal part of the border-crossing process and should not be seen as a sign of fraud.”
Canada’s foreign ministry’s Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Falk’s claim that his interrogation was part of a broader global crackdown on opponents of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Canadian Senator Ewen Pauw, a supporter of the Palestinian tribunal, said he was “appalled” that two international law and human rights experts were questioned in Canada “on the grounds that they may pose a national security threat.”
“We know that they came here to attend the Palestinian court. We know that they have been outspoken in documenting and publicizing the horrors inflicted on Gaza by Israel and advocating for justice,” Wu told Al Jazeera in an interview Saturday afternoon.
“If these are the facts of their detention, it would suggest that the Canadian government views these acts of seeking justice for Palestine as a national security threat, and I would like to know why.”
enable Israel’s war
Like other Western countries, Canada is under increasing pressure to end years of aid to Israel after Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and plunged the coastal region into a humanitarian crisis.
In 2024, Ottawa announced it would suspend arms permits to allies amid mounting pressure for war.
But researchers and human rights activists say loopholes in Canada’s arms export system allow Canadian-made weapons to continue to reach Israel via the United States.
Human rights groups are also calling on the Canadian government to support efforts to ensure Israel is held accountable for its abuses against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including war crimes.
“This violence is not in the past tense. The bombs are not going to stop falling,” Rachel Small, Canadian organizer for the anti-war group World Beyond War, said during the adjournment of a Palestinian court on Saturday.
“And there was no such violence, no Israeli massacres… [would be] “It’s possible without the flow of weapons from the United States, Europe and, of course, Canada,” Small said.
At least 260 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect last month, according to health officials in the besieged coastal enclave.
Palestinians also continue to reel from lack of adequate food, water, medicine, and shelter, as Israel continues to severely restrict the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Against this backdrop, Falk told Al Jazeera on Saturday that “it is more important than ever to expose the reality of what is happening” on the ground in Gaza.
“There is a widespread misconception that the genocide is over,” he says. “[But Israel] We carry out genocidal projects in less aggressive or less intense ways. Some people call it gradual genocide. ”
