The Case of Maher Arar: Canada apologizes for outsourcing torture -- U.S. doesn’t

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Amy Weiss

A federal Court of Appeals in New York dismissed the case of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian man detained at JFK airport and sent to Syria, where torture is not prohibited, in 2002. He was locked up and tortured for almost a year under the suspicion of being involved with Al Qaeda. The judge dismissed the case because hearing it "would interfere with sensitive matters of foreign policy and national security," and as a Canadian and Syrian citizen who was never actually admitted to the United States, Arar had no rights under due process.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed the case on Arar's behalf and released a statement today expressing its disappointment with the Court for refusing to hear a case which it calls "the first to challenge the government's policy of ‘extraordinary rendition,' also known as ‘outsourcing torture.'" Arar's lawyers believe the government violated the Torture Victims Protection Act when they deported him.

The Canadian government conducted an investigation and found Arar had no ties to terrorist organizations. It subsequently apologized and awarded Arar a multi-million dollar settlement for its complicity in Arar's rendition case. The CCR statement said:

The contrast between the two governments' responses to their mistakes could not be more stark, say Mr. Arar's attorneys. Both the Executive and Judicial branches of the United States government have barred inquiry and refused to hold anyone accountable for ruining the life of an innocent man.

Arar addressed the dreary implications this decision could have on further cases, saying the decision "basically legitimizes what was done to me, and permits the government to use immigration law as a disguise to send people to torture without regard for due process."

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