http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/15/international/americas/15FPRO.html?8hpib=&pagewanted=print&position=Qaeda Pawn, U.S. Calls Him. Victim, He Calls Himself.
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
OTTAWA ? Maher Arar has been back from Syria for five weeks now, with his wife and two children in their simple apartment, earnestly pleading to all who will listen that he is an innocent casualty of the Bush administration's war on terror.
...
Mr. Arar said he pleaded with American officials not to send him to Syria for fear he would be tortured. The officials said they had the discretion to deport him to Canada or Syria, but did not explain why they chose Syria, or why they did not keep him in the United States.
Within two weeks of his detention, on Oct. 8, 2002, Mr. Arar said, he was put on a private jet with Americans whom he described as C.I.A. agents. He was flown to Amman, Jordan, where he was blindfolded, chained and put in a van destined for Syria. His beatings began in the van, he said, and only intensified at the hands of his Syrian captors, with thrashings on his palms, wrists, lower back and hip with a cable.
Mr. Arar said he whiled away the days thinking about how his two young children might be growing up, worrying about his family's financial well-being. He became so desperate, he said, that he banged his head against the wall.
He was visited by Canadian consular officials, who told him there was not much they could do because he was a dual citizen, he recalled. "During every visit, I used to cry and say I want to go back to Canada," he said.
The Syrian government finally released him without explanation on Oct. 5. Syrian officials say their investigators found no direct link between Mr. Arar and Al Qaeda, and deny he was tortured.
...
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
