(AP) Canada: Suspect Tortured Despite Warning

[Eugene]

Canada: Suspect Tortured Despite Warning

By BETH DUFF-BROWN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 5, 2006; 7:24 PM

TORONTO -- Canadian police said Tuesday they had told U.S. authorities they had no
evidence an Ottawa software engineer was an al-Qaida agent before Washington
deported him to Syria, where he was tortured.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli said police initially
told U.S. authorities Syrian-born Maher Arar was a "man of interest" and may have ties
to Islamic extremists but they later told Washington they had no evidence to support
those allegations.

Yet U.S. authorities went ahead and deported Arar to his native Syria, where he says
he was tortured into making false confessions, Zaccardelli told a public security
hearing in the capital Ottawa.

"RCMP investigators clearly informed U.S. officials that there was no evidence to support
criminal charges against Mr. Arar in Canada, that he could not be prevented from entering
Canada, and that we were unable to link him to al-Qaida," Zaccardelli said.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/05/AR2006120501166.html

[Kagemusha]

1. I've said this before but...

No, Canada didn't know for sure he was an Al-Qaeda agent. That's why they had to ship him to Syria so he'd be tortured so they could find out for sure. :sarcasm:

[CHIMO]

2. PM promises to probe RCMP chief's flip-flop

PM promises to probe RCMP chief's flip-flop
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 5, 2006 | 3:31 PM ET
CBC News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed "concern" over RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli's conflicting Commons committee testimony Tuesday about the Maher Arar affair.

Harper's comments during question period came amid calls by Opposition parties for Zaccardelli to resign or be fired.

Harper acknowledged his surprise at Zaccardelli's change of story about his knowledge of the Arar affair, and promised an "objective, professional and dispassionate" investigation.

"How can it be that the most senior official in the RCMP didn't know what was happening in the most controversial file of his watch, a file that had international repercussions?"

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/12/05/commissioner-testimony.html

[Eugene]

3. Verrry interesting!

Thanks!

[countmyvote4real]

4. Maybe RCMP is CIA's bitch. You think? n/t

[IntravenousDemilo]

5. Nah, CSIS is the CIA's bitch. The RCMP is the FBI's bitch. (And Harper is Bush's bitch.) n/m

[CHIMO]

6. RCMP's embattled chief quits over Arar testimony

RCMP's embattled chief quits over Arar testimony
"I must take responsibility for having added to the confusion": Zaccardelli
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 6, 2006 | 4:08 PM ET
CBC News

Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned as RCMP commissioner Wednesday, a day after admitting he gave incorrect testimony on the Maher Arar affair to a Commons committee.

The resignation came a day after Zaccardelli told the committee on public safety that he "made a mistake" in earlier testimony about the Mounties involvement in the Arar case. Following the apparent flip-flop, Harper expressed "concern" but said he wouldn't force out Zaccardelli without fully investigating.

"Obviously, accountability starts at the top, but it doesn't end there," Waldman told CBC News on Wednesday.

"So far we have not had any indication that any of the other individuals involved were disciplined. Indeed, we've been told that they've been promoted."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/12/06/zaccardelli.html

[Judi Lynn]

7. What a shame monsters in Washington can simply have people

catch other people and torture them. The very idea this could EVER happen is almost impossible to accept, and is totally impossible to forgive.

Drawing in people from other countries must give them a heady sense of power for the moment, but I hope the thrills they've given themselves through the ruthless use of power over helpless human beings will double back on them with a vengeance in their lifetimes.