Inquiry Finds Canadians Misled U.S. In Deportation of Detainee to Syria
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TORONTO — An inquiry into the American transfer of a Canadian citizen to prison in Syria found Canadian authorities gave misleading information to the Americans that likely led to the deportation, a report released yesterday said.
After his release in 2003, Syrian-born Maher Arar made detailed allegations about extensive interrogation, beatings, and whippings with electrical cable in Syrian prison cells.
Mr. Arar was traveling on a Canadian passport when he was detained at a New York airport in September 2002 during a stopover on his way home to Canada from vacation in Tunisia. He says he was a victim of extraordinary rendition — or the transfer of foreign terror suspects to third countries without court approval.
Mr. Arar said American authorities sent him to Syria for interrogation on suspicion of being a member of Al Qaeda, an allegation that he denied.
Canada’s federal government established an inquiry in 2004 to determine the role that Canadian officials played in the case of Mr. Arar, who has been cleared of any terrorist connections.
Justice Dennis O’Connor released the report on Mr. Arar that concluded the Royal Canadian Mounted Police passed misleading, inaccurate, and unfair information to American authorities that “very likely” led to their decision to send Mr. Arar to Syria, but which found no evidence that Canadian officials participated in or agreed to the decision.
“It’s quite clear that the RMCP sent inaccurate information to U.S. officials,” Mr. Arar said. “I would have not have even been sent Syria had this information not been given to them.”
Judge O’Connor absolved Mr. Arar of all suspicion of terrorist activity and urged the federal government to offer financial compensation for his suffering. He concluded Mr. Arar had been tortured.
Judge O’Connor sifted through thousands of pages of documents and sat through testimony from more than 40 witnesses. He delivered two versions of his report to the government: one classified, the other public. But portions of even the public edition of the long-awaited document will be withheld due to security concerns.
