Rudwan Khalil Abubaker (1978–2004) was a Canadian independent film actor and amateur model from Vancouver, British Columbia, who was killed by Russian security forces in Chechnya on October 7, 2004.
His family came to Canada from Eritrea as refugees with their four children. Abubaker was accepted into Vancouver Community College to study information technology. A member of the Dar al-Madinah Islamic Society Mosque in Vancouver, He was a "gentle" man who loved soccer and hip hop music. He had just finished the Hajj and visiting relatives in Dubai and was headed to a wedding in Azerbaijan with his friend Kamal Elbahja.
I would like to see the Imams who send young people over to die charged.
— Phil Rankin, lawyer for Abubaker's family
While in Dubai, Abubaker phoned his family to tell them that he was considering staying in the region to open a hip-hop storefront, and that Elbahja was going to head off to Russia.
Abubaker's body was identified by his driver's license and Canadian passport, which showed that he had been to London and Amsterdam. When his family asked for his body, Russia refused stating that it had been buried where he fell. Russia claims he was an explosives expert. His family was represented by lawyer Phil Rankin, who had earlier defended Essam Marzouk during his application for refugee status.
References
- CBC News, December 13, 2004
- ^ MacLeon, Ian. Ottawa Citizen, "The warning lights were all blinking red Archived 2008-09-25 at the Wayback Machine", February 23, 2008
- ^ CBC, Family of Rudwan Abubaker says he wasn't bomb-making rebel, December 13, 2004
- ^ Freeze, Colin, The Globe and Mail, "Canadians' ties with Chechen insurgents probed", October 16, 2004
- ^ CTV News, B.C. police investigating mosque leader, October 24, 2004
- CBC, "Abubaker's mosque preached hatred of Jews, October 22, 2004
- Bell, Stewart. "The Martyr's Oath", 2005.
- CBC, "Vancouver man reportedly killed in Chechnya", October 8, 2004
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