Guinean woman Sayon Camara can temporarily remain in Canada after all, thanks to a last-minute stay granted by the Canadian government.
Camara, who is 24 weeks pregnant, diabetic and says she faces abuse and possibly death if deported to her African homeland, was granted the stay mid-afternoon Tuesday on medical grounds.
"Thank you, thank you, I'm very happy," she said through tears after being granted the stay until her child is born.
Camara was scheduled to leave from Trudeau airport Montreal at 2 p.m. after Canadian Immigration officials ordered her deportation in February, saying they believed the pregnant woman's 2007 marriage to Canadian citizen Abdul Sow was a sham.
Camara went into hiding to avoid the order, but was arrested over the weekend and detained until Monday because immigration officials believed she was a flight risk.
Camara came to Canada in 2006 following the death of her first husband, but was denied refugee status.
"My former husband's family believes I was the cause of his death because I left the country after he died," said Camara. "I could be jailed in Guinea if I return."
Camara has also said she was beaten, raped and burned with an iron by her first husband, a much older man she was forced to marry.
"The judge, when he saw the type of evidence we had and the level of danger there is in Guinea, he decided to stop the deportation," said her lawyer Stewart Istvanffy.
He said they are now working to grant Camara permanent residency and eventually Canadian citizenship.
