Maher Case Demonstrates Lack of Accountability in U.S. Torture Practices

Yesterday afternoon, our client, Maher Arar, testified before a House Joint Committee hearing convened to discuss his rendition by the U.S. to Syria for torture and interrogation. Despite the fact that he has never been charged with any crime in any country and has been cleared of any ties to terrorism by an exhaustive Canadian investigation, the U.S. has Maher on a no-fly list and he had to give his testimony by video-link from Ottawa.

Maher, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was detained at JFK Airport in September 2002 while changing planes on his way home to Canada. The Bush administration labeled him a member of Al Qaeda and sent him not to Canada, his home and country of citizenship, but against his will to Syrian intelligence authorities renowned for torture. He was tortured, interrogated and detained in a tiny underground cell for nearly a year before the Syrian government released him, stating they had found no ties to terrorism.

All of the members present who spoke showed great respect, and most apologized for what our country did to Maher. We disagree with some comments that the “mistake” was sending an innocent man to be tortured – the “mistake” is a government practice of using torture on anyone, whether directly or by proxy. Torture is ineffective, inhumane, and illegal.

Maher bravely underwent the pain of reliving his ordeal to help the world understand the effects of torture on a human being and to do what he can to make sure that what happened to him never happens again. This country owes him an official apology and an open, independent inquiry into his case. In January 2004, just three months after he returned home to Canada from his ordeal, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a suit on Maher’s behalf against John Ashcroft and other U.S. officials. The people in our government who did this to him have tried to hide behind false claims of national security to keep his case from going forward. When we go to court on November 9 in our appeal, I hope we can begin to hold them accountable.

I’m hopeful that this hearing will be the start of another process to get answers about what happened to Maher.