Chelsea Manning said Monday she cannot visit Canada because of her criminal history.
“so, i guess canada has permanently banned me ? @CitImmCanada denied entry b/c of convictions similar to ‘treason’ offense,” Manning tweeted, with a copy of a letter allegedly from a Canadian official.
so, i guess canada has permanently banned me ? ✋???? @CitImmCanada denied entry b/c of convictions similar to “treason” offense ??? pic.twitter.com/xp0JOEEOGd
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) September 25, 2017
The letter cites Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which allows the government to keep out of the country foreign nationals who have been found guilty of an offense abroad that would be punishable with a maximum of at least 10 years jail time if committed in Canada. The note specifically refers to Manning’s charges under the United States’ Espionage Act, which would be akin to treason under Canada’s Criminal Code.
“will be challenging denial of entry at a canadian ‘admissability [sic] hearing’ in the future (no date yet),” Manning continued on social media, before arguing that “the law cited by @CitImmCanada is *not* similiar [sic] at all.”
will be challenging denial of entry at a canadian “admissability hearing” in the future (no date yet) https://t.co/I2AVmXdEnb
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) September 25, 2017
the law cited by @CitImmCanada is *not* similiar at all https://t.co/RNtjKbclxk
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) September 25, 2017
Canada Border Services Agency told the Washington Examiner it was not the immigration authority’s policy to confirm or deny Manning’s claims, but said entry into the nation was decided on a case-by-case basis.
“Several factors are used in determining admissibility into Canada, including involvement in criminal activity, human rights violations, and organized crime, or security, health or financial considerations,” a spokesman said.
Manning was convicted by court martial in 2013 for violating the Espionage Act after she shared almost 750,000 classified or sensitive military and diplomatic documents with WikiLeaks.
