A violent Winnipeg gang member has been deported back to has native Somalia despite his claims he could face death upon return, the Free Press has learned.
Hussein Jilaow, 26, was whisked away on a private jet and escorted back home late last month after an initial reprieve that would have allowed him to stay in Canada was overturned.
The move is being celebrated by many within the justice community as a strong message to local street gang members, particularly those in gangs such as the African Mafia and Mad Cowz largely comprised of immigrants.
"This is a good news story which makes us all safer. Hopefully this will just be the beginning.......it would be nice if the other members of this gang knew they were not untouchable and that their turn is coming," said a justice source.
Federal Judge Sean Harrington ruled earlier this year Jilaow didn't deserve to remain in Canada but would be in danger if deported according to the travel plans outlined by the Canada Border Services Agency.
"I have no doubt whatsoever that Mr. Jilaow is a public menace who does not deserve to remain here," Harrington wrote.
"I doubt that many persons subject to removal ... have clean hands. However that is no reason to send them to a place where those hands may be chopped off."
Jilaow had come to Winnipeg as a refugee when he was 14 and amassed 13 convictions for violent offences since 1999 while a high-ranking member of the Mad Cowz.
The same gang was involved in a series of high-profile October 2005 attacks with members of the African Mafia that culminated in innocent bystander Phil Haiart getting caught in the crossfire and shot to death.
Loretta Nyhus, a spokeswoman with Canada Border Services, told the Free Press last week that "alternate arrangements" were recently made that satisfied the judge's concerns.
Although Nyhus couldn't discuss specifics of the case, Jilaow's lawyer had previously stated his client would accept deportation to northern Somalia where the risk would be reduced.
She also couldn't discuss the mode of transportation used to get Jilaow out of Canada but confirmed private airplanes are sometimes used when safety is a concern. Sources say such a move was made in this case because Jilaow "was deemed to be a most violent and dangerous offender".
"It is our mandate to remove criminals from the country. We'll use every means necessary to do that and that may include using the services of a private airline," said Nyhus.
Jilaow's most recent brush with the law involved a three-year prison sentence he received last fall for making a series of threats against guards at the downtown Remand Centre.
Jilaow was at the Remand Centre in July 2005 when he got into a fight with several other inmates. After guards separated them, he launched into a verbal tirade against several guards, threatening to kill them and their family members.
"He carries concealed weapons. He attacks people with switchblades," Harrington stated in his written decision earlier this year.
"His violence has escalated and there is every reason to believe it will continue to do so ... Mr. Jilaow is a danger to the people of Canada."
Even though he'd only served seven months of his sentence so far, Jilaow was eligible for parole as early as August. Ottawa wanted to remove him before he was freed.
The CBSA was going to deport Jilaow Feb. 28 but Harrington stayed the order the day before, to give Jilaow time to argue he shouldn't be deported to southern Somalia.
Harrington said he agreed with Ottawa's decision to deport him as quickly as possible but he added that it has to do so without putting his life in danger.
The CBSA was going to send Jilaow to the Somali capital of Mogadishu, where he was born. Somalia has been wracked by a bitter civil war and the country has effectively been divided between government forces in the south and rebel forces in the north, with the north declaring itself an independent nation.
Lawyer David Matas said Jilaow's family clan is from Mogadishu in southern Somalia but the clan is associated with the previous government and its members are attacked and killed.
Matas acknowledged that Jilaow is violent person and has an extensive criminal record but added that doesn't mean he could look after himself if returned to Somalia. Many clans in Somalia have their own militias, Matas said, but Jilaow's clan is small without a militia and its members spend most of their time in hiding.
"Maybe he can take care of himself in Canada but there are marauding gangs with machine guns," Matas said, adding it's not likely that he could survive on his own.
www.mikeoncrime.com
-- with files from Ado Santin
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