Song Dae Ri, a North Korean defector, thanked Canada...

Song Dae Ri, a North Korean defector, thanked Canada for saving him after it decided not to deport him to probable execution in his homeland.
Ri was refused political asylum in Canada in 2003 by the country's Immigration and Refugee Board, which ruled that as a former North Korean official he was complicit in war crimes committed by its rulers.
But Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan stayed a removal order against Ri, ruling that he did not pose a risk to Canadian security and could stay in the country as a temporary resident. Canada's war crimes unit had found no evidence he was guilty of crimes against humanity.
"I felt like I was in hell and now I'm on my way to heaven," said Ri, in remarks passed to AFP by his lawyer.
Ri had argued that if he was returned to North Korea he would likely be executed for treason.
He escaped to Canada with his wife and son Chang-Il or Joshua (now six years old) in 2001 from Beijing where he worked as trade official for North Korea.
Officials did not dispute his claims that his wife was lured back to North Korea later that year by her parents where four months later she was executed. His father was also killed in retribution for his defection.