NEWS: CSIS suspected U.S. would deport Arar to be tortured

As reported today by CBC.ca, "Previously blacked-out portions of the Maher Arar report state that Canadian security officials believed the United States might send the Syrian-born Canadian to a foreign country to be questioned under torture...Arar's lawyer, Marlys Edwardh, said Thursday that CSIS knew about the information regarding the shipping of suspects by the U.S. to other countries for torture, yet did nothing to communicate it to Canada's political leaders."

CTV.ca is reporting, "The new information reveals that a Canadian Security Intelligence Service officer in Washington wrote to his superiors about the possibility of "rendering" to third countries, specifically by the FBI and CIA. The officer said Arar's situation could mean that the U.S. would send him to a third country for questioning because they could not legally hold him in the U.S. The documents also reveal that on Oct. 10, 2002, two days after Arar was deported to Jordan before he was sent on to Syria, CSIS deputy director Jack Hooper said in a memorandum: "I think the U.S. would like to get Arar to Jordan where they can have their way with him." The newly released portions of the inquiry show that the RCMP was in contact with the CIA at the time."

The Security and Prosperity Partnership sets out as a priority, "Intelligence Cooperation: Enhance partnerships on intelligence related to North American security. Enhance our capacity to combat terrorism through the appropriate sharing of terrorist watchlist data and the establishment of appropriate linkages between Canada, the United States and Mexico."

See the Council of Canadians October 16, 2006 "ACTION ALERT: Implement the Arar Inquiry Recommendations".

The 23 recommendations from Justice Dennis O'Connor's report can be found at the "Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relations to Maher Arar" website, http://www.ararcommission.ca/eng/AR_English.pdf. A helpful summary of the recommendations can be found on pages 364 to 369 of the report.

Mr. Arar wrote in a commentary in the Ottawa Citizen on October 14, 2006, "It is...crucial to focus on demanding concrete changes rather than focusing on asking some officials to resign from their jobs. This is because accountability is not about seeking revenge; it is about making our institutions better and a model for the rest of the world. Accountability goes to the heart of our democracy. It is a fundamental pillar that distinguishes our society from police states."

Brent Patterson, Director of Organizing and Campaigns, The Council of Canadians