Maher Arar
Maher Arar ماهر عرار | |
---|---|
Born | 1970 (age 53–54) Time Magazine Canadian Newsmaker of the Year , 2004.
Council of Canadians Human Rights Award, 2005.
Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award, 2006.
Nation Builder, The Globe and Mail, 2006.
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association Reg Robson Award, 2007.
Honorary Doctorate of Letters, Nipissing University, 2007.
Time 100, 2007. |
Maher Arar (
Arar was detained during a layover at
Arar, represented by lawyers from the
Early life
Maher Arar was born in Syria in 1970 and moved to Canada with his parents at the age of 17 in 1987 to avoid mandatory military service. In 1991, Arar became a Canadian citizen.[13]
Arar earned a bachelor's degree in
In December 1997, Arar moved with his family to Ottawa from Montreal and listed Abdullah Almalki as his "emergency contact" with his landlord.[15] In 1999, he moved again to Boston to work for MathWorks, a job that required a considerable amount of travel within the United States.[16] In 2001, Arar returned to Ottawa to start his own consulting company, Simcomms Inc. At the time of his rendition, Arar was employed in Ottawa as a telecommunications engineer.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Project A-O Canada and connection with Arar's rendition
On September 22, 2001, Jack Hooper, the director general of the Toronto region of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), chaired a meeting of members of CSIS, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Ontario Provincial Police, Toronto Police Service, and Peel Regional Police. On September 24, 2001, the RCMP's "O" Division in Toronto created a joint force investigative team called Project O Canada to handle national security investigations. The Toronto team included RCMP investigators and members of the Ontario, Peel, and Toronto police forces.
In October 2001, Inspector
The A-O Canada team included investigators and members from: the RCMP commercial crimes unit, "A" Divisions IPOC unit; the RCMP National Security Investigations Branch (NSIS), CSIS, the
After he had moved back to Ottawa, Arar had a meeting with Abdullah Almalki on October 12, 2001. Almalki, an Ottawa engineer, was also born in Syria and had moved to Canada in the same year as Arar. They met at the Mango Café, a popular shawarma restaurant in a strip mall and talked about doctors and bought a print cartridge together.[18]
At the time their movements were under close scrutiny by teams of
While testifying at the
The information gathered from the United States' interrogation of Omar Khadr conflicts with the information gathered previously from the RCMP. Michael Edelson stated in public testimony given during the Arar Inquiry that RCMP officials from Project AO Canada had shown pictures of Arar to Khadr in either July or August 2002 and that Khadr denied ever seeing Maher Arar.[27]
Within an affidavit, Khadr stated he was visited by three individuals claiming to be Canadians at Guantanamo Bay in March 2003. During their three-day visit, he was shown "approximately 20 pictures of various people" and asked about several people "such as my father and Arar." At which time he told them "what [he] knew."[28]
Arar's rendition
On September 26, 2002, during a stopover in
US interrogation
US officials repeatedly questioned Arar about his connection to certain members of al-Qaeda. His interrogators also claimed that Arar was an associate of Abdullah Almalki, the Syrian-born Ottawa man whom they suspected of having links to al-Qaeda, and they therefore suspected Arar of being an al-Qaeda member himself. When Arar protested that he only had a casual relationship with Almalki, having once worked with Almalki's brother at an Ottawa high-tech firm, the officials produced a copy of Arar's 1997 rental lease which Almalki had co-signed. The fact that US officials had a Canadian document in their possession was later widely interpreted as evidence of the participation by Canadian authorities in Arar's detention. It was later found that Almalki's signature was not on the lease agreement, he was listed by Arar as emergency contact.[32]
Arar's requests for a lawyer were dismissed on the basis that he was not a US citizen, therefore he did not have the right to receive counsel. Despite his denials, he remained in US custody for two weeks and eventually was put on a small jet which first landed in Washington, D.C., and then in Amman, Jordan.
Arar's imprisonment in Syria
Once in Amman, Arar claims he was blindfolded, shackled and put in a van. "They made me bend my head down in the back seat," Arar recalled. "Then these men started beating me. Every time I tried to talk, they beat me."
Arar was transferred to a prison, where he claims he was beaten for several hours and forced to falsely confess that he had attended an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. "I was willing to do anything to stop the torture," he says.
Arar described his cell as a three-foot by six-foot "grave" with no light and plenty of rats. During the more than 10 months he was imprisoned and held in solitary confinement, he was beaten regularly with shredded cables.[33] Through the walls of his cell, Arar could hear the screams of other prisoners who were also being tortured. The Syrian government shared the results of its investigation with the United States.[3] Arar believes that his torturers were given a dossier of specific questions by United States interrogators, noting that he was asked identical questions both in the United States and in Syria.[34]
While he was imprisoned, Arar's wife Monia Mazigh conducted an active campaign in Canada to secure his release. Upon his release in October 2003, Syria announced they could find no terrorist links.[35] Syrian official Imad Moustapha stated that "We tried to find anything. We couldn't." Syrian authorities also denied that they tortured Arar.[citation needed]
Arar's return to Canada
Arar was released on October 5, 2003, 374 days after his removal to Syria. He returned to Canada, reuniting with his wife and children. The couple moved to Kamloops, in British Columbia, where his wife Monia accepted a job as professor at Thompson Rivers University.[36] The couple later moved back to Ottawa. Back in Canada, Arar claimed that he had been tortured in Syria and sought to clear his name, embarking on legal challenges both in Canada and in the United States as well as a public education campaign. Arar received a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Ottawa in 2010.[37]
Canadian government response
The rendition of Maher Arar has received much attention and scrutiny in Canada, both in the media and in the government.
Initial media controversy
... whereas the Globe story described Maher as a "respected Canadian engineer" and focused on [Monia]'s efforts to find her missing husband, the National Post took a different angle: Its headline described Maher as a suspected terrorist.
Arar's case reached new heights of controversy after reporter Juliet O'Neill wrote an article in the Ottawa Citizen on November 8, 2003, containing information leaked to her from an unknown security source, possibly within the RCMP. The secret documents provided by her source suggested Arar was a trained member of an al-Qaeda terrorist cell. The RCMP later raided O'Neill's house pursuant to sealed search warrants it had obtained to investigate the leak.[39]
In November 2004,
Garvie Report
On September 25, 2004, the results of an internal RCMP investigation by RCMP Chief Superintendent Brian Garvie were published. Though the version released to the public was censored, the Garvie Report documented several instances of impropriety by the RCMP in the Arar case. Among its revelations were that the RCMP was responsible for giving American authorities sensitive information on Arar with no attached provisos about how this information might be used. Also, Richard Roy, the RCMP liaison officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs, may have known of the plan of removing Arar to Syria but did not contact his supervisors. Additionally, Deputy RCMP Commissioner Garry Loeppky lobbied hard, in the spring of 2003, to convince his government (then led by Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien) not to claim in a letter to Syria, that it "had no evidence Arar was involved in any terrorist activities" because Arar "remained a person of great interest."
In response to the Garvie Report, Arar said that the report was "just the starting point to find out the truth about what happened to me" and that it "exposes the fact that the government was misleading the public when they said Canada had nothing to do with sending me to Syria."
Canadian Commission of Inquiry
On February 5, 2004, the Canadian government established the "Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar" to investigate and report on the actions of Canadian officials. The United States refused to participate in the inquiry and, until January 2007, refused to share its own evidence with Canadian officials.
On June 14, 2005, Franco Pillarella, Canadian ambassador to Syria at the time of Arar's removal, said that at the time he had no reason to believe Arar had been badly treated, and in general had no reason to conclusively believe that Syria engaged in routine torture. These statements prompted widespread incredulity in the Canadian media, and a former Canadian UN ambassador responded to Pillarella asserting that Syria's human rights abuses were well known and well documented by many sources.
On September 14, 2005, the O'Connor commission concluded public hearings after testimony from 85 witnesses. Maher Arar did not testify before the commission.[4] The US ambassador at the time of the incident, Paul Cellucci, refused to testify.
On October 27, 2005, Professor Stephen Toope, a fact-finder appointed by the Arar inquiry released a report saying that he believed Arar was tortured in Syria. He said that Arar had recovered well physically but was still suffering from psychological problems caused by his mistreatment, as well as anxiety caused by the Commission of Inquiry process itself.[44]
On September 18, 2006, the Canadian Commission of Inquiry, led by Dennis O'Connor, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, issued its report. The final report exonerates Arar and categorically states that there is no evidence linking Arar to terrorist activity, stating "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." The commission also found no evidence that Canadian officials acquiesced in the US decision to detain and remove Arar to Syria, but that it is very likely that the US relied on inaccurate and unfair information about Arar that was provided by Canadian officials. The report also confirms that he was tortured while in Syria. O'Connor cleared Arar of terrorism allegations, and found the actions of Canadian officials likely led to his being deported by US authorities to Syria.[44][45][46]
On August 9, 2007, an addendum to the final report containing previously undisclosed portions was released. The final report was released with certain portions blacked out for reasons of national security by the Canadian government. Under the rules for the inquiry, the decision to release the remaining portions of the final report were to be decided within the Canadian courts. In July 2007, the Federal Court ruled that portions of the previously removed text could be released.[47]
Canadian government apology and settlement
On January 26, 2007, after months of negotiations between the Canadian government and Arar's Canadian
RCMP apology
On September 28, 2006, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli issued an apology to Arar and his family during the House of Commons committee on public safety and national security:
Mr. Arar, I wish to take this opportunity to express publicly to you and to your wife and to your children how truly sorry I am for whatever part the actions of the RCMP may have contributed to the terrible injustices that you experienced and the pain that you and your family endured.[49]
Arar thanked Commissioner Zaccardelli for his apology but lamented the lack of concrete disciplinary action against those individuals whose actions led to his detention and subsequent torture.[50] Zaccardelli later resigned as RCMP commissioner because of this case.
Aftermath
In Canada, Arar's ordeal has raised numerous questions that have yet to be answered. Canadian authorities have been unable to discover who leaked sensitive government documents to O'Neill. Those who were involved in the case in the RCMP have not been reprimanded by the government for their mistakes. In fact, several have received promotions.[51]
As of December 2006, the only person held accountable in Canada has been RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, who resigned over contradictions in his testimony to the House of Commons Committee on Public Safety and National Security. The contradictions were with respect to what he knew at the time and what he told government ministers.[52]
Several Conservative party members, including Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, apparently assumed Arar's guilt, labeling him a terrorist.[53][54] Other commentators have suggested that the settlement reached by the Harper government was designed to embarrass the Liberals, on whose watch the events took place.[citation needed]
Some commentators, including prominent human rights lawyer Faisal Kutty argued that:
Arar settlement in Canada does not close the book. It only opens a new chapter of a book that is about more than Maher Arar — it is about the erosion of civil and human rights in Canada as a result of the "War on Terror." The Arar saga brought into focus the unintended victims of draconian laws and policies hastily enacted post 9/11 in Canada and south of the border. It also shed light on the potential of religious and racial profiling inherent in such laws and practices. We can only hope that Arar's second wish which was to "make sure this does not happen to any other Canadian citizens in the future," will also come true. For this to happen, however, more people must realize that due process and fundamental rights must be respected at all times and more so during times of real or perceived crisis when society has a tendency to overreact.[1]
Arar's attempts for legal redress
Maher Arar on return to Canada brought lawsuits against Syria, Canada, the United States and Jordan.
Syria and Jordan lawsuits
Arar attempted to sue both the Syrian government and the Jordanian government in Canadian courts but both cases were dismissed on the basis that the Canadian courts had no jurisdiction.[55][56][57]
United States lawsuit
In January 2004, Arar announced that he would be suing then-
The
The suit charges that Arar's
Further, Arar filed a claim under the
In the case, Arar is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and a declaration that the actions of the US government were illegal and violated his constitutional, civil, and international human rights.
A year after the case was filed, the US government invoked the rarely used "
On February 16, 2006,
Center for Constitutional Rights attorneys appealed the case to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals which subsequently upheld the dismissal.[61]
On August 13, 2008, reports appeared in the press that the US Court of Appeals Second Circuit had agreed to rehear the case, en banc.[62] On December 9, 2008, oral arguments were heard by the entire twelve member appeals court.[63] In a 7-4 decision dated November 2, 2009, the 2nd Circuit United States Court of Appeals upheld the ruling by the district court. In dismissing Arar's claim, Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote "Our ruling does not preclude judicial review and oversight in this context. But if a civil remedy in damages is to be created for harms suffered in the context of extraordinary rendition, it must be created by Congress, which alone has the institutional competence to set parameters, delineate safe harbors, and specify relief. If Congress chooses to legislate on this subject, then judicial review of such legislation would be available."[64] Following the court's decision Arar made the following statement,
After seven years of pain and hard struggle it was my hope that the court system would listen to my plea and act as an independent body from the executive branch. Unfortunately, this recent decision and decisions taken on other similar cases, prove that the court system in the United States has become more or less a tool that the executive branch can easily manipulate through unfounded allegations and fear mongering. If anything, this decision is a loss to all Americans and to the rule of law.[65]
The Center for Constitutional Rights, who represents Maher Arar, petitioned the US Supreme Court on February 1, 2010, to hear the Arar case[66] but the Court declined.[67]
US government response
Throughout the Bush administration's term, it continued to maintain that Arar's rendition to Syria was legal and well within its rights.[68] The government has not publicly acknowledged that Arar was tortured in Syria.
Former US Attorney General Gonzales's response to the Arar inquiry
On September 19, 2006, then-US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied any wrongdoing on the part of the US in Arar's rendition to Syria.[69] During a press conference Gonzales said:[70]
Well, we were not responsible for his removal to Syria, I'm not aware that he was tortured, and I haven't read the Commission report. Mr. Arar was deported under our immigration laws. He was initially detained because his name appeared on terrorist lists, and he was deported according to our laws. Some people have characterized his removal as a rendition. That is not what happened here. It was a deportation. And even if it were a rendition, we understand as a government what our obligations are with respect to anyone who is rendered by this government to another country, and that is that we seek to satisfy ourselves that they will not be tortured. And we do that in every case. And if in fact he had been rendered to Syria, we would have sought those same kind of assurances, as we do in every case.
On September 20, 2006, Charles Miller, a Department of Justice spokesman, said Gonzales had merely been trying to clarify that deportations were no longer the responsibility of the Department of Justice, but were now the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security.[71]
Watchlist issue
Despite the inquiry's exoneration of Arar, the United States has also refused to remove Arar from its watchlist. Stockwell Day was invited to look at the evidence in the United States' possession in January 2007. In his opinion, the administration is unjustified in continuing to bar Arar from entering the United States. Reportedly, the United States continues to refuse to remove Arar from the watchlist because of "his personal associations and travel history."[72]
Following Day's efforts to remove Arar from the watchlist, US Ambassador to Canada
On October 20, 2007,
US congressional hearings and testimony
Meanwhile, in the United States, Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, threatened to hold extensive hearings into Arar's case. Leahy lambasted the US's removal of Arar to Syria as absurd and outrageous, noting that instead of sending Arar a "couple of hundred miles to Canada and turned over to the Canadian authorities ... he was sent thousands of miles away to Syria." Senator Leahy spoke at length on the matter, calling the case "a black mark" on the United States: "We knew damn well, if he went to Canada, he wouldn't be tortured. He'd be held. He'd be investigated. We also knew damn well, if he went to Syria, he'd be tortured. And it's beneath the dignity of this country, a country that has always been a beacon of human rights, to send somebody to another country to be tortured."[76]
Former
On October 18, 2007, Arar spoke via video-link before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at a hearing that is examining his case and the practice of rendition. In his statement to the committee, he detailed his experiences and expressed his hope that his case will not be repeated. "I now understand how fragile our human rights and freedoms are, and how easily they can be taken from us by the very same governments and institutions that have sworn to protect us. I also know that the only way I will ever be able to move on in my life and have a future is if I can find out why this happened to me, and help prevent it from happening to others."[77]
Members of Congress took the opportunity to personally apologize to Arar. Bill Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, commented on the United States government's inaction, saying, "Let me personally give you what our government has not: an apology." "Let me apologize to you and the Canadian people," he continued, "for our government's role in a mistake."[78] Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, agreed that lawmakers "should be ashamed" of the case, but defended the practice of rendition, claiming that it has "protected the lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions of American lives."[78] Michigan Democrat John Conyers took the opportunity to challenge rendition, and stated that his "intention" is "for high level administration officials responsible for the Arar decision to come before these panels and tell the American people the truth about what happened." "This government is sending people to other countries to be tortured," Conyers said.[79]
On October 24, 2007, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, while testifying in Washington before the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, admitted that the US communication with the Canadian government was not handled properly. "We have told the Canadian government we do not think this was handled particularly well in terms of our own relationship and we will try to do better in the future," Rice said while testifying before the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee.[80][81]
On June 5, 2008, a joint hearing entitled "U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Report OIG-08-18: The Removal of a Canadian Citizen to Syria" was held by the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties and the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight. In his opening remarks DHS Inspector General Skinner noted that his office had reopened their investigation into the Arar case based upon "recently received additional classified information that could be germane to [their] findings"[82]video. A redacted copy of the Department of Homeland Security report was released.[83] A redacted addendum to the initial DHS OIG report was released in March 2010. The follow-up report focused on whether the State Department was involved in the discussions concerning the removal of Maher Arar to Syria. Although no follow-up recommendations were made the follow-up report showed that only a brief courtesy call was made by the Deputy Attorney General to the Deputy Secretary of State with no discussion on assurances that Arar would not be tortured. Also interviewed was the former legal advisor to the Department of State who "told [DHS OIG] that normally his office would have been involved in a similar removal matter. However, he reaffirmed that he was unaware of DOS involvement in Mr. Arar's removal." Further explaining previous reports stating that Arar's removal to Canada would be prejudicial to the United States, the removal decision was made on the "belief that Mr. Arar was a dangerous person and the porous nature of the Canadian/US border will allow Mr. Arar easy access to the United States."[84]
On June 10, 2008, a hearing about diplomatic assurances was held by the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight.[85]video In his opening statement Representative Bill Delahunt cited the case of Maher Arar and the ambiguousness of assurance received from Syria. It appears that when Arar was removed, the State Department was not consulted when assurances that Arar would not be tortured were obtained. The sole witness was John B. Bellinger III, the legal advisor of the US State Department (previously White House Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council). Bellinger has previously spoken on the Arar case.
In a letter dated June 10, 2008, US Representatives John Conyers, Jr., Jerrold Nadler, and Bill Delahunt requested of the Attorney General the appointment of a "special counsel to investigate and prosecute any violation of federal criminal laws related to the removal of Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, to Syria."[86] Responding in a letter to Representatives Conyers, Nadler, and Delahunt, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that he does not believes it warrants a special prosecutor at this time. During the House Committee on the Judiciary oversight hearing Representative Delahunt questioned the Attorney General about his letter and the issue of assurances. When questioned the Attorney General stated that a classified briefing on the assurances from Syria was offered to Representatives Conyers, Nadler, and Delahunt. Representative Delahunt choose not to attend giving the reason of his concern for inadvertently disclosing classified information in public setting. In addition, the Attorney General stated that "sending [Mr. Arar] to Canada could have posed a danger to [the United States]" and sending "him to Syria was safer given those assurances."[87]
Dispute over Canadian involvement in his rendition
After Arar's release, the controversy continued over his treatment by the US and over the role that Canadian police and government officials may have played in his removal and interrogation. The United States claimed that the RCMP had provided them with a list of suspicious persons that included Arar.[88] It was also discovered that Canadian consular officials knew that Arar was in custody in the United States but did not believe that he would be removed. The Canadian government maintains that the decision to remove Arar to Syria was made by American officials alone.
Canadian officials apparently told US officials Arar was no longer a resident of Canada. The New York Times reported, "In July 2002, the Mounted Police learned that Mr. Arar and his family were in Tunisia, and incorrectly concluded that they had left Canada permanently."[89]
At a summit meeting in Monterrey, Mexico, on January 13, 2004, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and US President George W. Bush reached an agreement, sometimes referred to as the Monterrey Accord, which obliged the United States to notify Canada before deporting a Canadian citizen to a third country. However, according to a news story in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Stephen Yale-Loehr, lawyer and adjunct professor of immigration and asylum law at Cornell University told the Arar inquiry "the Canada-U.S. agreement struck ... to prevent a recurrence of the Arar affair is ineffective and legally unenforceable."[90]
In 2007, as part of the investigation into government foreknowledge, it was revealed that CSIS chief
In September 2008, former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, now with Interpol, said that the White House "threw away the rule book" after 9/11 and that the RCMP was led to believe that Arar would be sent back to Canada from New York. Zaccardelli told the CBC that US authorities said that they didn't have enough evidence to lay charges against Arar and wanted to know whether Arar would be arrested if he returned to Canada. "The discussion was: 'If we let him go and he comes to Canada, can you arrest him or detain him?' And we keep reaffirming, 'No we can't'," Zaccardelli said.[93]
The RCMP set up surveillance team to watch Arar upon his return: "We are waiting in Montreal for the plane to arrive with Mr. Arar getting off the plane. The plane arrives. Mr. Arar never got off." Zaccardelli said.[94]
Canada's formal protest to the US government
During a telephone conversation on October 6, 2006, Harper notified President Bush that Canada intended to lodge a formal protest over US treatment of Arar. The notification was later followed by a
US embassy statements
I don't think there is any evidence that there have been any renditions carried out in the country of Syria. There is no evidence of that. And I think we have to take what the secretary Condoleezza Rice says at face value. It is something very important, it is done very carefully and she has said we do not authorise, condone torture in any way, shape or form.
This statement was amended the very next day by a US embassy spokeswoman who stated that the embassy
recognised that there had been a media report of a rendition to Syria but reiterated that the United States is not in a position to comment on specific allegations of intelligence activities that appear in the press.[97]
Response to the Arar case by President Obama's administration
Little has been said publicly about Maher Arar by
Awards and accolades
In 2011, Arar endorsed the Canadian ship to Gaza,
In print
The case of Maher Arar has been referenced in several books.
Hope & Despair. My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar (
In fiction
The movie Rendition is loosely based on the story of Arar. The British film Extraordinary Rendition directed by Jim Threapleton was also inspired by Maher Arar. In addition, Arar consulted with the Omar Berdouni who played Zaafir, the main character, who was abducted by a case of CIA extraordinary rendition.[106]
PRISM magazine
In January 2010 Maher Arar began publishing the online magazine PRISM. PRISM is focused on "in-depth coverage and analysis of national security related issues."[107] Listed as a contributor is Gar Pardy, former head of the Canadian Consular Services who testified at the Arar Inquiry.
Arar announced the magazine's closure on January 8, 2013.[108]
Activism for US accountability
Several human rights organizations are directing activism efforts demanding US accountability for its involvement in Arar's rendition and presumed subsequent torture. Amnesty International USA is leading the "I Apologize" campaign. The campaign is aimed at an official US public apology to Arar, compensation for "all economically assessable damage caused by the U.S.'s detention and transfer of [Arar] to face torture in Syria," and "full accountability for the many human rights violations committed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in the name of countering terrorism."[109][110] The campaign includes an online petition directed at President Obama and members of the US Congress,[109] paper airplane petitions that will be delivered to President Obama in 2012,[111] and public events to increase awareness of the case and to collect petition signatures.[112][113] In July 2011, Human Rights Watch released a report highlighting violations of US and international law committed by Bush administration officials in their counterterrorism efforts, including the rendition of Arar.[114] The report recommends the initiation of a criminal investigation into the US government's detention practices and interrogation methods since September 11, 2001 and the fulfillment of the US obligation under the Convention against Torture to ensure that victims of torture obtain redress.[115] Other organizations that have supported US accountability for Arar's case include the Campaign for Liberty,[116] the Center for Constitutional Rights,[117] September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, the Alliance for Justice, Appeal for Justice, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Center for Justice and Accountability, the Center for Victims of Torture, Human Rights Advocates, the International Justice Network, amongst others.[118]
Ten years after 9/11 reflections
As the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 approached, several reflections have talked about the case of Maher Arar. In a Globe and Mail interview, Sonia Verma asked former Office of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge about the relationship between the US Government and Muslims living in America with reference to Maher Arar.
Sonia Verma: What about the relationship between the American government and American Muslims? Of course you're aware of Maher Arar, who said he was tortured in Syria after being deported there by American authorities. Tom Ridge: I'm familiar with his claims. I'm not familiar with how accurate they are. This is a global scourge. It's really a case of first impression for everybody. As secretary of homeland security after 9/11, I dare say America was confronted with a set of challenges it had never seen before and we acted with what we thought was in the best interest for securing America. We also looked back at what we did and made some adjustments. I'll just leave it at that. We can kill bin Laden and eliminate a lot of these other extremists, but that whole belief system is out there. It doesn't take too many people to buy in to it to cause enormous damage.[119]
References
- ^ a b c d "Apologizing to Maher Arar: A Beginning, Not an End". jurist.org. 2005-01-21. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ Mayer, Jane (February 14, 2005). "Outsourcing Justice: The secret history of America's "extraordinary rendition" program". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- ^ a b "His Year in Hell". CBS News. 2004-01-21.
- ^ a b "Maher Arar will not testify before the Commission of Inquiry" (PDF). Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar. 2007-09-06.
- ^ "Harper apologizes for Canada's role in Arar's 'terrible ordeal'". Archived from the original on 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
- ^ a b "Harper announces $11.5M compensation for Arar". Canoe News. 26 January 2007. Archived from the original on January 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - CanWest News Service. September 20, 2006. Archived from the originalon May 15, 2013.
- ^ "Renditions: Extraordinary, erroneous, ineffective?". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013.
- ^ "RIGHTS-US: Rendition Victim Appeals Ruling Barring Suit". Inter Press Service. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12.
- ^ ""Rendition, Torture and Accountability" (editorial)". The New York Times. November 19, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ Tim Harper (2007-01-18). "Senator Patrick Leahy, tears a strip off U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales". Toronto Star newspaper. Archived from the original on 2008-01-12. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
- ^ [7][8][9][10][11][1]
- ISBN 0-660-19648-4.see page 218, note 282
- ^ Arar, Maher (2003-11-04). "Maher Arar: statement". CBC. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06.
- ^ Shephard, Michelle, Toronto Star, "Canadian loses bid to sue Jordan," March 1, 2005
- ^ Butler, Don (2006-12-08). "The Arar Chronicles: From Success to Suspect (Part 1)". Ottawa Citizen. p. A1.
- ^ Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar, retrieved March 13, 2010
- ^ a b c Butler, Don (2006-12-08). "The Arar Chronicles: Person of Interest (Part 1)". Ottawa Citizen. p. A4.
- ^ Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service, Khadr only said Arar 'looked familiar': FBI[permanent dead link], January 20, 2009
- ^ El Akkad, Omar; Freeze, Colin (21 January 2009). "Cracks show in FBI agent's testimony on Khadr". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ El Akkad, Omar; Freeze, Colin (20 January 2009). "Testimony puts Arar, Khadr at al-Qaeda safehouse". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ Shephard, Michelle and Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star, Omar Khadr linked Maher Arar to terrorism, court hears, Jan 19, 2009
- , January 19, 2008
- ^ El Akkad, Omar; Freeze, Colin (2009-01-19). "Khadr said Arar was at Afghan camp, court told". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ CHQR, Khadr interrogation occurred day before US rendered Arar to Syria, agent says Archived 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine, January 20, 2009
- Montreal Gazette, Khadr identified Arar as visitor[permanent dead link], January 20, 2009
- ^ Testimony of Michael Edelson, Transcript of Proceedings, June 16, 2005, pp. 7456-7458.
- ^ "Affidavit of Omar Ahmed Khadr," Appendix E. "Defense Motion For Appropriate Relief." Khadr vs. United States of America. 11 June 2008.
- ISBN 0-660-19648-4. See page 30 in "Analysis and Recommendations".
- ^ Brown, DeNeen L.; Priest, Dana (November 5, 2003). "Deported Terror Suspect Details Torture in Syria. Canadian's Case Called Typical of CIA". The Washington Post. pp. A01.[dead link]
- ^ United States. Cong. House. Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on International Relations. U.S. Policy Toward Syria and the Syria Accountability Act Archived 2010-12-05 at the Wayback Machine. Hearing, 18 Sept. 2002. 107th Cong., 2nd sess. pdf. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2002.
- ^ Arar Commission Report
- ISBN 0-660-19648-4.See page 362 in "Analysis and Recommendations".
- ^ "Arar Dismissal" (PDF). 2006-02-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-02-23.
- ^ Mayer, Jane (2005-02-07). "Outsourcing Torture". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 2007-01-26.
- ^ "Timeline". CBC News. January 26, 2007. Archived from the original on November 19, 2003.
- ^ "Maher Arar reçoit son doctorat en génie électrique de l'Université d'Ottawa / Maher Arar receives his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from uOttawa," University of Ottawa Gazette video on flickr
- ^ Pither, Kerry. "Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror," 2008.
- CTV.ca. 2004-01-22. Archived from the originalon 2007-10-18.
- ^ injusticebusters 2004 > > Juliet O'Neill: Traumatising a reporter Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Section 4 of the Security of Information Act". Consolidated Statutes and Regulations. Department of Justice Canada. 2006-09-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
- ^ MacLeod, Ian (October 20, 2006). "Decision offers chance to overhaul security act". The Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
- ^ Bronskill, Jim (September 3, 2008). "Mounties close probe into damning Arar leaks". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ^ ISBN 0-660-19648-4.
- ISBN 0-660-19648-4.
- ISBN 0-660-19648-4.
- ISBN 0-660-19648-4.
- Office of the Prime Minister. 2007-01-26. Archived from the originalon 2010-03-22.
- ^ "RCMP chief apologizes to Arar for 'terrible injustices'". CBC News. 2006-09-28. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007.
- ^ "Arar thanks RCMP chief for apology". CBC News. 2006-09-29. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007.
- ^ Fernandez, Philip. "Lack of Accountability Unacceptable". maherarar.ca. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ^ "RCMP's embattled chief quits over Arar testimony". CBC News. 6 December 2006. Archived from the original on December 7, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ^ Travers, James (2007-01-27). "Lingering suspicion about Arar troubling". Toronto Star.
- CTV.ca. Archivedfrom the original on 2007-10-18.
- ^ "Arar can't sue Jordan in Canada, says Judge" (PDF) (Press release). Maher Arar Support Committee. March 4, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2006. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ Peer Zumbansen (2005). Beyond Territoriality: The Case of Transnational Human Rights Litigation (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ InCAT Submissions to the Arar Commission http://www.incat.org/ararsub06.pdf Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Arar launches lawsuit against U.S. government". CBC News. 2004-01-22. Archived from the original on December 1, 2005.
- ^ "U.S. Asserts State Secrets Privilege in Arar v. Ashcroft". 2005-01-18. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ Harper, Tim (2006-02-17). "U.S. ruling dismisses Arar lawsuit". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
- ^ Arar v. Ashcroft et al., 06-4216-cv (United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 2007).
- ^ "Arar gets a rare second hearing". Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Arar v. Ashcroft Oral Arguments." Archived 2009-09-28 at the Wayback Machine C-SPAN General Air. C-SPAN. 9 December 2008.
- ^ Arar v. Ashcroft, et al., U.S. 2nd Court of Appeals 06-4216-cv (U.S. 2nd Court of Appeals Nov. 2, 2009).
- ^ "No Justice for Canadian Rendition Victim Maher Arar" (Press release). Center for Constitutional Rights. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "CCR Asks Supreme Court to Give Canadian Rendition Victim Maher Arar His Day in Court" (Press release). Center for Constitutional Rights. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ "High court rejects appeal in rendition case". The Boston Globe. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- CTV.ca. Archived from the originalon 2007-10-18.
- The Jurist. Archived from the originalon 2006-10-17.
- ^ "Transcript of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras at Press Conference Announcing Identity Theft Task Force Interim Recommendations". Department of Justice. 2006-09-19. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04.
- The Jurist. Archived from the originalon 2006-10-17.
- ^ "U.S. refuses to take Arar off watch list". CBC News. 2007-01-26. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007.
- ^ "Wilkins slams Day for questioning U.S. on Arar". CBC News. 2007-01-24. Archived from the original on October 2, 2009.
- ^ "U.S. refuses to take Arar off watch list". CBC News. 2007-01-26.
- ^ a b Freeze, Colin (October 20, 2007). "Why U.S. won't remove Arar from no-fly list". The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
- ^ "Transcript of Gonzales-Leahy exchange on Arar". Toronto Star. 2007-01-18. Archived from the original on 2012-09-30.
- ^ "abcnews.go.com". ABC News.
- ^ a b "seattlepi.com".[dead link]
- ^ "Transcript of Gonzales-Leahy exchange on Arar". ABC News. 2007-10-18.
- ^ "U.S. handling of Arar case 'by no means perfect': Rice," CBC news, October 24, 2007,[1]
- ^ United States. Cong. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. U.S. Policy in the Middle East Archived 2008-09-20 at the Wayback Machine. Hearing, 24 Oct. 2007. 110th Cong., 1st sess. pdf. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2008.
- ^ Hearing Notice Archived 2008-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Removal of a Canadian Citizen to Syria" Archived 2008-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Addendum: The Removal of a Canadian Citizen to Syria" Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ United States. Cong. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Diplomatic Assurances and Rendition to Torture:The Perspective of the State Department's Legal Adviser Archived 2009-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. Hearing, 10 Jun. 2008. 110th Cong., 2nd sess. pdf. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2008.
- ^ "Congress of the United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- ^ Hon. Michael B. Mukasey, Rep. Bill Delahunt. Hearing on: Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice. C-Span. Archived from the original on 2012-09-16.
- ^ Jeff Sallot, Colin Freeze (2003-11-08). "RCMP passed along Arar's name, U.S. says". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2003-12-07.
- New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the originalon 2006-11-22.
- ^ Tandt, Michael Den (June 8, 2005). "Deportation pact useless, inquiry told". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 19, 2006.
- Canadian Press (2007-08-18). "CSIS Suspected Arar Could Face Torture: Documents". metronews.ca. Archived from the originalon 2011-05-22.
- ^ Doyle, Simon (2006-10-02). "CSIS didn't want Arar returned to Canada". The Hill Times. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Former RCMP commissioner blames U.S. for handling of Maher Arar case". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on September 9, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ Former RCMP Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli, Peter Mansbridge (2008-09-03). "Zaccardelli - On Maher Arar". (TV-Series). The National. Archived from the original on 2008-09-10.
{{cite episode}}
: Missing or empty|series=
(help) - The Jurist. Archived from the originalon 2006-10-17.
- ^ "'Come clean' on Arar, Harper asks U.S." CBC. 2006-10-05. Archived from the original on October 26, 2006.
- ^ MacAskill, Ewen (2006-12-27). "US embassy close to admitting Syria rendition flight". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Macdonald, Neil (2009-04-20). "Interview with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano". CBC. Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ^ Johnson, Carrie (September 23, 2009). "Obama Tightens State Secrets Standard. New Policy May Affect Wiretap, Torture Suits". The Washington Post.
- ^ "International Award: Maher Arar and the Center for Constitutional Rights". 30th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards. 2006-10-18. Archived from the original on 2008-01-09. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
- ^ Mickleburgh, Rod (2006-12-30). "Sgt. Patrick Tower and Maher Arar, 2006". The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
- TIME. Archived from the originalon May 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- ^ Duffy, Andrew (2007-05-04). "Arar on Time's '100 most influential' list, but he's still not welcome in U.S." National Post. Archived from the original on 2007-12-09.
- ^ "Endorsers". 2010-08-24. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- ^ "realtime.at - Domain gecatcht". www.realtime.at. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- ^ "Extraordinary Rendition (film) MySpace Page". Retrieved 10 January 2010.
- ^ "PRISM Magazine". Maher Arar. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ Maher Arar. "Prism Ceases to Publish". Prism Magazine. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ a b Amnesty International USA. "I Apologize Action: urge the U.S. Government to apologize to torture survivor Maher Arar". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ Amnesty International USA. "I Apologize Action: urge the U.S. Government to apologize to torture survivor Maher Arar" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ Amnesty International USA. "I Apologize Action Paper Airplane Petitions" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ United Press International (2011-06-23). "Demonstrators protest torture, Guantanamo detentions in Washington". Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ The Voice of Russia (2011-06-29). "Say No to torture". New York, NY. Archived from the original on 2012-09-08. Retrieved 2001-07-21.
- ^ Kate Stonehill (2011-07-12). "Human Rights Watch: Investigate Bush Officials for Torture and Rendition". National Journal. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (2011-07-12). "Getting Away with Torture: The Bush Administration and Mistreatment of Detainees". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ Tom Parker. "At the Mercy of the State". Campaign for Liberty. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ The Center for Constitutional Rights. "Arar v. Ashcroft et al". Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ Amnesty International USA. "Petition Signers urging the U.S. to Apologize to Torture Survivor Maher Arar". Retrieved 2011-07-21.
- ^ Globe and Mail (2011-09-06). "America's real war: Confronting the jihadist belief system". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
Further reading
- Carter, Jimmy (2005). Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-9236-8.
- Goodman, Amy; Goodman, David (2006). Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back. Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4013-0293-1.
- Pither, Kerry (2008). Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror. Viking Canada. ISBN 978-0-670-06853-1.
- Mayer, Jane (2008). The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-52639-5.
- Mazigh, Mona (2008). Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-5758-8.
- Perry, John (2005). Torture: Religious Ethics and National Security. Novalis Press. ISBN 978-1-57075-607-8.
External links
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (December 2014) |
General
- Maher Arar's official site (Archive)
- Prism Magazine: The Security Practices Monitor (Archive)
- Video of interview with Maher Arar
- "Maher Arar: Timeline", CBC, updated September 28, 2006
- Arar Commission official site (Archive)
- Apology Statement Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, September 26, 2007
- Legal Filings in Maher Arar's lawsuit against John Ashcroft From the Center for Constitutional Rights
- Interview with Arar on the Disappeared In America website
- Transcript and video of Maher Arar's acceptance speech for the Letelier-Moffitt International Human Rights Award.
News coverage
- Explanation offered for his Detention
- CBC News early report
- CBC News report
- Canada starts an investigation
- BBC - Interview with Robert Baer about the role of the CIA in the Middle East
- Interview of Maher Arar concerning his case, Fresh Air
Commentary
- "The Arar Report: The US Should Follow Canada's Lead", JURIST, September 27, 2006
- "Apologizing to Maher Arar: A Beginning, Not an End, JURIST, February 7, 2007
- Kafka in Canada: The Hounding of Maher Arar, Candide's Notebooks, January 26, 2007
- Author Kerry Pither's blog
- "Editorial - The Unfinished Case of Maher Arar", The New York Times, February 18, 2009
- "My case reveals insincerity of human rights commitments by the U.S." by Maher Arar, The Progressive, Human Rights Day, December 10, 2009
- Appeals Court Rules in Maher Arar Case - video report by Democracy Now!
- "Getting Away with Torture" by David Cole. The New York Review of Books. Volume 57, Number 1. January 14, 2010.
- Supreme Court: Torture and Rendition Victim Maher Arar Cannot Sue in US Courts - video report by Democracy Now!