A Canadian federal inquiry has found that that a Syrian-born Canadian who was seized by US officials at Kennedy Airport in New York in 2002, sent to Syria as a terrorist suspect, tortured, and eventually released after a campaign by his wife, should not have been on the US watch list for terror suspects that led to his ordeal.
The Toronto Star reports the inquiry found that Maher Arar and his wife "were on a US watch list wrongly described as 'Islamic extremist individuals' suspected of being linked to Al Qaeda, based on incorrect information" provided to US authorities by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). [Editor's note: The original version misstated Maher Arar's first name.]
Justice Dennis O'Connor's newly released report on Arar's deportation by American authorities to Syria portrayed the RCMP as an inexperienced police force that passed erroneous information to American officials both before, and after Arar's detention on Sept. 26, 2002 ...
"The potential consequences of labeling someone an Islamic extremist in post-9/11 are enormous," O'Connor wrote in his 822-page report.
Justice O'Connor also concluded that US officials acted alone in sending Arar to Syria, and that his deportation came as a "complete surprise to Canadian officials." The US refused to take part in the inquiry. O'Connor also said that even after he was deported and people had begun to raise questions about him, the RCMP continued to try and prove he was involved in terrorism.
"I am able to say categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offence or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada," O'Connor wrote.
"This was not a case where investigators were unable to effectively pursue their investigative goals because of lack of resources or time constraints. On the contrary, Canadian investigators made extensive efforts to find any information that could implicate Mr. Arar in terrorist activities . . . The results speak for themselves: they found none."
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The report also says that the Canadian government also tried to smear Arar after his return, releasing "confidential and sometimes inaccurate information about the case to the media for the purpose of damaging Mr. Arar's reputation or protecting their self-interest or government interests."
Judge O'Connor referred to "leaks" to the Ottawa Citizen newspaper and CTV News that Mr. Arar had admitted training at an al-Qaeda terrorist camp in Afghanistan, a country he's never seen. The "confession" was obtained by Syrian torturers.
The Canadian government blacked out certain portions of Justice O'Connor's report, citing national security concerns. But the federal inqury's lawyer has already said they will fight this decision, in court if necessary, because Justice O'Connor believes that there is evidence that needs to known by the public.
The Toronto Star reports that the inquiry also calls for further independent investigation in the cases of three other Canadian men who were similarly imprisoned in Syria.
The Washington Post reports that the Canadian inquiry was one of the first public investigations into the US practice of "extraordinary rendition," which has "secretly spirited suspects to foreign countries for interrogation by often brutal methods."
Although the report centered on Canadian actions, the counsel for the commission, Paul Cavalluzzo, said the results show that the US practice of renditions "ought to be reviewed."
"This is really the first report in the Western world that has had access to all of the government documents we wanted and saw the practice of extraordinary rendition in full color," he said in an interview from Ottawa. "The ramifications were that an innocent Canadian was tortured, his life was put upside down, and it set him back years and years."
In an editorial, The Nation criticized the Bush administration's willingness to send Arar to "...the Syrians we refuse to talk to. The Syrians we will have nothing to do with. Unless, that is, we need them to torture an innocent for us."
The New York Times reports that the Canadian report draws "new attention" to the Bush administration's handling of detainees, and comes at time when "the White House and Congress are contesting legislation that would set standards for the treatment and interrogation of prisoners.""The American authorities who handled Arar's case treated Arar in a most regrettable fashion," O'Connor wrote in a three-volume report, not all of which was made public. "They removed him to Syria against his wishes and in the face of his statements that he would be tortured if sent there. Moreover, they dealt with Canadian officials involved with Arar's case in a less than forthcoming manner."
The Globe and Mail reports Justice O'Connor also wrote that Canadian officials should never share information with other countries without written conditions on how that information would be used. And no information should ever be provided to another country if there a risk that it might be used to torture people.
The Globe and Mail also reports that the inquiry said there is no doubt that Arar was tortured in Syria, despite denials from Syria and US statements that it never sends anyone to a country where they will be tortured. The RCMP also continued to cause problems for Arar after he returned from Syria, refusing to devulge important information because it would have made the force look bad.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that a damage suit filed against the Canadian government by Arar was put on hold during the inquiry. It is likely that suit will now continue. Both sides have agreed to mediation talks that are scheduled to begin in January, according to The Toronto Star.
- Canada's military back on world stage: PM (CBC)
- Canadian troops have higher death rate due to dangerous mission, Harper says (Globe and Mail)
- Britain's Labour government admits: we made mistakes on Afghanistan (Guardian)
Feedback appreciated. E-mail Tom Regan.
