Maher Arar

Maher Arar
ماهر عرار
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Syria
CitizenshipCanadian, Syrian
OccupationTelecommunications engineer
Known forExtraordinary rendition
SpouseMonia Mazigh
AwardsTime Magazine Canadian Newsmaker of the Year, 2004.

Council of Canadians Human Rights Award, 2005. Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award, 2006. Nation Builder, The Globe and Mail, 2006. British Columbia Civil Liberties Association Reg Robson Award, 2007. Honorary Doctorate of Letters, Nipissing University, 2007.

Time 100, 2007.

Maher Arar (Arabic: ماهر عرار) (born 1970) is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who has resided in Canada since 1987.

Arar was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 on his way home to Canada from a family vacation in Tunis.[1] He was held without charges in solitary confinement in the United States for nearly two weeks, questioned, and denied meaningful access to a lawyer.[1] The US government suspected him of being a member of Al Qaeda and deported him, not to Canada, his current home and the passport on which he was travelling, but to Syria.[2] He was detained in Syria for almost a year, during which time he was tortured by Syrian authorities, according to the findings of a commission of inquiry ordered by the Canadian government, until his release to Canada. The Syrian government later stated that Arar was "completely innocent."[3][4] A Canadian commission publicly cleared Arar of any links to terrorism, and the government of Canada later settled out of court with Arar. He received C$10.5 million and Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized to Arar for Canada's role in his "terrible ordeal."[5][6] Arar's story is frequently referred to as "extraordinary rendition" but the US government insisted it was a case of deportation.[12]

Arar, represented by lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York, Arar v. Ashcroft, seeking compensatory damages and a declaration that the actions of the US government were illegal and violated his constitutional, civil, and international human rights. After the lawsuit was dismissed by the Federal District Court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal on November 2, 2009. The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the case on June 14, 2010.

  1. ^ a b c "Apologizing to Maher Arar: A Beginning, Not an End". jurist.org. 2005-01-21. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  2. ^ Mayer, Jane (February 14, 2005). "Outsourcing Justice: The secret history of America's "extraordinary rendition" program". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Maher Arar will not testify before the Commission of Inquiry" (PDF). Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar. 2007-09-06.
  5. ^ "Harper apologizes for Canada's role in Arar's 'terrible ordeal'". Archived from the original on 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference settlement20070126 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "U.S. denies Arar was deported under America's 'extraordinary rendition' policy". CanWest News Service. September 20, 2006. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013.
  8. ^ "Renditions: Extraordinary, erroneous, ineffective?". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013.
  9. ^ "RIGHTS-US: Rendition Victim Appeals Ruling Barring Suit". Inter Press Service. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12.
  10. ^ ""Rendition, Torture and Accountability" (editorial)". The New York Times. November 19, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  11. ^ Tim Harper (2007-01-18). "Senator Patrick Leahy, tears a strip off U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales". Toronto Star newspaper. Archived from the original on 2008-01-12. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  12. ^ [7][8][9][10][11][1]