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maher arar
August 2007 
Video: The Rendition Of Maher Arar
Posted on Jul 28th, 2007
by 
Sunfellow
Sunfellow
VIDEO: THE RENDITION OF MAHER ARAR
Maher Arar's award acceptance (shown at the National Press Club for Institute for Policy Studies' 30th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards) describes his extradition and torture in Syria at the discretion of the U.S. government.
Maher Arar has taken bold actions to demand justice for the suffering he endured as a victim of the U.S. policy known as “extraordinary rendition.” A Canadian citizen, Arar was detained by U.S. officials in 2002, accused of terrorist links, and handed over to Syrian authorities renowned for torture. On September 18, 2006, a Canadian government commission confirmed that Arar had been brutally tortured during his nearly year-long imprisonment in Syria and declared him innocent of any terrorist ties. The report urges the Canadian government to formally protest the U.S. government’s handling of the case. Arar is working with the Center for Constitutional Rights to appeal a case against the U.S. government that was dismissed on national security grounds. He will accept his award via video because he is still barred from entry into the United States.
Maher Arar shared this 2006 Letelier-Moffitt International Award with the Center for Constitutional Rights, fighting the legal battle on behalf of Mr. Arar.
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WIKIPEDIA ON MAHER ARAR
Maher Arar (born 1970 in Syria) is a Canadian software engineer who was victimized by the United States policy of extraordinary rendition, a process where detainees are transferred from one country to another, with the expectation that they may be tortured in the country to which they are rendered.
Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 on his way home to his family in Canada. He was held in solitary confinement in the U.S. for nearly two weeks, interrogated, and denied meaningful access to a lawyer. The Bush administration labeled him a member of Al Qaeda and rendered him, not to Canada, his home and country of citizenship, but to Syrian intelligence authorities, known by the U.S. government to practice torture. While in Syria, he was regularly tortured for almost a year before being released to Canada.
Both the Canadian and Syrian governments have publicly cleared Arar of any links to terrorism. The United States government, however, refuses to clear Arar’s name and continues to have both him and his family on a watchlist.
His U.S. attorneys at the Center for Constitutional Rights are currently pursuing his case, Arar v. Ashcroft, which seeks compensatory damages on Arar’s behalf and also a declaration that the actions of the U.S. government were illegal and violated his constitutional, civil, and international human rights.
Maher Arar's award acceptance (shown at the National Press Club for Institute for Policy Studies' 30th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards) describes his extradition and torture in Syria at the discretion of the U.S. government.
Maher Arar has taken bold actions to demand justice for the suffering he endured as a victim of the U.S. policy known as “extraordinary rendition.” A Canadian citizen, Arar was detained by U.S. officials in 2002, accused of terrorist links, and handed over to Syrian authorities renowned for torture. On September 18, 2006, a Canadian government commission confirmed that Arar had been brutally tortured during his nearly year-long imprisonment in Syria and declared him innocent of any terrorist ties. The report urges the Canadian government to formally protest the U.S. government’s handling of the case. Arar is working with the Center for Constitutional Rights to appeal a case against the U.S. government that was dismissed on national security grounds. He will accept his award via video because he is still barred from entry into the United States.
Maher Arar shared this 2006 Letelier-Moffitt International Award with the Center for Constitutional Rights, fighting the legal battle on behalf of Mr. Arar.
Watch On NHNE's Community Website
Watch On The Democracy Now! Website
Watch On Google Video
------------
WIKIPEDIA ON MAHER ARAR
Maher Arar (born 1970 in Syria) is a Canadian software engineer who was victimized by the United States policy of extraordinary rendition, a process where detainees are transferred from one country to another, with the expectation that they may be tortured in the country to which they are rendered.
Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 on his way home to his family in Canada. He was held in solitary confinement in the U.S. for nearly two weeks, interrogated, and denied meaningful access to a lawyer. The Bush administration labeled him a member of Al Qaeda and rendered him, not to Canada, his home and country of citizenship, but to Syrian intelligence authorities, known by the U.S. government to practice torture. While in Syria, he was regularly tortured for almost a year before being released to Canada.
Both the Canadian and Syrian governments have publicly cleared Arar of any links to terrorism. The United States government, however, refuses to clear Arar’s name and continues to have both him and his family on a watchlist.
His U.S. attorneys at the Center for Constitutional Rights are currently pursuing his case, Arar v. Ashcroft, which seeks compensatory damages on Arar’s behalf and also a declaration that the actions of the U.S. government were illegal and violated his constitutional, civil, and international human rights.
Access: PublicTagged with: Maher Arar, Rendition
