Lawyers for Canadian sent to Syria seek US probe (Torture)

[Whoa_Nelly]

WASHINGTON: Lawyers for a Canadian man who says he was tortured in Syria after the United States turned him over as an al Qaeda suspect have called on US Attorney General John Ashcroft and congressional intelligence committees to investigate, according to letters released today.


Lawyers for Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, wrote to Ashcroft in a November 10 letter: "There is good reason to believe that the United States knew and wanted Arar tortured to obtain information. There is also no basis for the belief that Mr Arar has any connection to terrorism."

The lawyers asked Ashcroft to investigate whether there was any violation of a US law that prohibits sending a person to a country where it was believed the person would be tortured.

Arar was arrested in September 2002 while changing planes in New York on his way back to Canada from Tunisia. The 33-year-old telecommunications engineer was sent to Syria several days later, despite insisting he be flown home to Canada.

more...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2724174a12,00.html

[sybylla]

1. Been following this on the CBC

It is a truly terrible story and I hope if what he believes about the US involvement is true, that it gets major legs in this country. The man was a Canadian citizen who we deported to Syria in stead of Canada because of a random check of passengers on a plane in NYC. His family didn't know where he was for months. He claims he was tortured regularly and that the US new he would be.

On so many levels this was wrong.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. I totally agree, sybylla

Seems more horror stories of what the US has been doing under the guise of the Patriot Act is appalling!

[Spazito]

3. The Canadian Government wasn't even informed of the US decision...

to send him to Syria prior to them doing it. The Bush admin is also smearing him so, given their track record, I would think that Arar is telling the truth.