Crown seeks closed hearings in lawsuit by man detained in Sudan

The Crown wants at least six current and former security officials to testify behind closed doors in the lawsuit of a Montreal man who was detained in Sudana move the man's lawyer calls a serious infringement of the open court principle.

- JIM BRONSKILL

In a notice of motion filed in Federal Court, government lawyers propose the public and media be excluded from the courtroom during the officials' testimony to "prevent inadvertent disclosure" of sensitive secrets.

It is the latest twist in the protracted case of Abousfian Abdelrazik, who is suing the Canadian government for $27 million over his detention abroad.

Abdelrazik, 62, arrived in Canada as a refugee in 1990. He became al Canadian citizen five years later.

He was arrested during a 2003 visit to Sudan to see family. In custody, Abdelrazik was interrogated by CSIS about suspected extremist links. He says he was tortured by Sudanese intelligence officials during two periods of detention.