Crown loses bid to have testimony behind closed doors [Video]

The Crown has lost a bid to have several current and former security officials testify behind closed doors in the lawsuit of a Montreal man who was detained in Sudan. 

Federal Court Justice Patrick Gleeson has rejected a motion from government lawyers to exclude the public and media from the courtroom during the officials’ testimony to prevent inadvertent disclosure of sensitive secrets.

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The decision comes less than a month before the court hears the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik, who is suing the Canadian government for $27 million over his detention abroad.

In his ruling, Gleeson says the evidence fails to meet the high bar that a party seeking to limit the open court principle must satisfy.

In a second decision, Gleeson granted an order designating four current or former Canadian Security Intelligence Service employees as …