Alberta judge extends deadline for refugee's appeal of criminal convictions

Mahir Yahya Sharif, who entered Canada through the refugee settlement program in 2019, pleaded guilty in 2022 to large-scale methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking and a digital sexual assault committed in a psychiatric centre. After three years of incarceration, he was declared inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality and slated for deportation to Somalia, a country that has indicated it will not accept him. On July 27, Justice Kevin Feth of the Alberta Court of Appeal ordered that Sharif receive additional time to appeal his convictions, emphasizing that refusing the appeal would cause an unduly punitive effect given his lack of understanding of the collateral immigration consequences.

Sharif maintains that his lawyer assured him pleading guilty would not lead to removal and that he feared persecution in Somalia due to language barriers and clan ties. The judge highlighted Sharif’s schizophrenia, his involuntary psychiatric detention, and the lack of evidence of rehabilitation, while also noting Somalia’s refusal to issue travel documents and the risk posed by Al Shabaab. Sharif plans to seek leave to appeal the removal order to the Supreme Court of Canada.