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2-year detention subject of hearing; By Alan Barnes TORONTO STAR. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Apr 23, 1997. pg. A.2

A convicted felon described as ``a stateless person'' by his lawyer is seeking to be released after more than two years of Immigration Department detention.

Derar Kidane, believed to be under 40, is asking the Federal Court to free him and let him stay in Canada under sponsorship of his brother.

A hearing started yesterday at the University Ave. courthouse.

Lawyer Munyonzwe Hamalengwa argues that the indefinite detention Kidane has suffered is illegal and unconstitutional.

Kidane, who came to Canada in 1986 as a United Nations-sponsored refugee, was ordered deported on Feb. 22, 1995, because of his criminal record here.

But no country wants him, Hamalengwa said, and he has been in detention for the 26 months since.

Kidane said in a June affidavit that he was born in Asmara in Eritrea when Eritrea was part of Ethiopia.

But after he left, Eritrea became an independent country in 1992.

As a result, Kidane said, he has been told by both Eritrea and Ethiopia he is not is a citizen of either country.

Eritrea has said it doesn't want him and Kidane has said he won't go to Ethiopia, court documents say.

Kidane said his brother, Abraham Tesfayohannes, a cab driver, is still willing to post bond for him.

Kidane said that because of his frustration over not being able to get a job, ``I developed a habit of using drugs to alleviate my social problems.

``The use of drugs led me to commit crimes.''

Hamalengwa said Kidane's crimes were non-violent and he never spent more than eight months in jail.

But successive adjudicators at monthly immigration hearings and the Minister of Immigration have labeled him a ``danger to the public,'' Hamalengwa said.

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                                         Last Modified: August 11, 2005

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