Maher Arar has pared down his $400-million lawsuit against

[mikedavid00]

I will also like to point out that there is no Syrian community in Ottawa as Mikedavid00 claims. The east end around Walkley, Russel and St Laurent Blvd, is where the largest part if miidle eastern immigrants are. To say that this is a syrian community would be like saying less then a 100 families make a community.

I also want to point out that since Mikedavid00 says he is from Ottawa, I do want to apologise to the rest of Canada, to think that Ottawa is the kind of place that grows this type of poster. Most people even when very disappointted in the government, do not have his racist hate come about. I can only think that maybe he was once denied something he wanted badly only to have it given to someone of another race, to expalin his way of thinking.

I said there is a small tight knit communitty. Basically all the families know each other. I'm not talking about a Toronto community where they would have their own Mosque.

And you are listing the poorest areas in Ottawa. Did you know that 1 out of 4 immigrans in Ottawa are refugees?

BTW: if a visitot went to those areas listed, they might not see any arab poeple at all becaue they are in such a small minority. (3%?)

But If i tell you to come here to Mississauga and you'll see Islamic Pakistani's you WILL SEE IT EVERYWHRE.

Don't go around talking like Ottawa has all these ethnic communities when it doesn't.

[Black Dog]

He was clear headed enough to remember the exact dates of the beatings, but not clear headed enough to realise that if he said the word tortured in a meeting with the embassy officals or the Red Cross (Cresent) they'd come down on the Syrians like a tonne of bricks. He didn't.

And then the Syrians would come down on him even harder. H emake sit clear he kept quiet becuase he was afraid he'd get worse. Dopn't forget he had no idea if or when he'd be released when he met with the embassy officials.

What's more: do you think a government that routinely tortures priisoners gives two shits about the Red Cross?

[Saturn]

Toope's report on whether Arar was tortured:

"I conclude that the treatment of Mr. Arar in Far Falestin constituted torture as understood in international law," Toope wrote. "In addition, the techniques of humiliation and the creation of intense fear were forms of psychological torture ..."

"Although there have been few lasting physical effects, Mr. Arar's psychological state was seriously damaged and he remains fragile. His relationships with members of his immediate family have been significantly impaired. Economically, the family has been devastated."

Once a "workaholic" computer engineer with a challenging job he loved, Arar has been for the most part unemployed since returning to Canada from Syria, Toope's report said. Hundreds of e-mail inquiries and letters brought few responses and no job offers in his field.

"The most recent information available to me is that Mr. Arar has finally been offered a small part-time position as a computer adviser in his daughter's school," Toope wrote. "This is small comfort for a man who prided himself on his growing earning capacity."

Arar has also found himself estranged from Ottawa's Muslim community, the report said. As well, the formerly devout Muslim can no longer bring himself to read the Koran, the Holy Book that provided him with solace during his captivity in Far Falestin.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/10/27/...ture051027.html

The O'Connor report on the Arar Inquiry:

But Justice Dennis O'Connor, who led the public inquiry into the case, concluded that Canadian officials did leak information to damage Arar's reputation.

O'Connor also concluded that Arar was an innocent victim and was not involved in al-Qaeda activities in any way, as U.S. officials had alleged.

"I am able to say categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offence or that his activities constituted a threat to the security of Canada," wrote the judge.

Arar, who then lived in Ottawa, was travelling back to Canada from a family vacation in Tunisia in September 2002 when he was pulled off a plane in New York. Within days, he was sent to Syria, where he says government officials detained him, systematically tortured him and kept him in jail for a year.

The judge concluded that RCMP investigators without much experience wrongly gave their U.S. counterparts inaccurate, unfair and overstated evidence about the Syrian-Canadian engineer's alleged terrorist sympathies.

"It is very likely that, in making the decision to detain and remove Mr. Arar to Syria, the U.S. authorities relied on information about Mr. Arar provided by the RCMP," O'Connor concluded.

O'Connor said the RCMP asked American authorities to look out for Arar and his wife Monia Mazigh in the U.S.

The agency described the couple as "Islamic extremist individuals suspected of being linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network," according to the report.

"The RCMP had no basis for this description," O'Connor said.

The judge, who reviewed hundreds of documents about the case, supported Arar's claims that he was tortured during his imprisonment.

But O'Connor said reports were prepared by government officials after Arar's release that had the "effect of downplaying the mistreatment or torture to which Mr. Arar had been subjected."

He also slammed Canadian officials for leaking "confidential and sometimes inaccurate information about the case to the media for the purpose of damaging Mr. Arar's reputation or protecting their self-interests or government's interests."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/09/18/maher-arar.html

In summary, the RCMP was responsible for sending Arar to Syria, where he was tortured, and the RCMP tried to cover up their trail.

[geoffrey]

Mike is right here. You make an accusation like that, you better prove it. There is no evidence. His story on his website makes claims of him being severely beaten, then meeting with embassy officals. They are trained to detect torture of even the most subtle nature, that is their job, especially when posted in a country like Syria. The first and only time that Arar claimed tortured was after meeting with legal advice in Canada. Sounds like a load of shit to me.

He was clear headed enough to remember the exact dates of the beatings, but not clear headed enough to realise that if he said the word tortured in a meeting with the embassy officals or the Red Cross (Cresent) they'd come down on the Syrians like a tonne of bricks. He didn't.

You got a strange sense of humour. Canadian officials didn't want him back, the RCMP provided questions to the Syrians for which they were to get answers (through torture), if he said the word "torture" they wouldn't have done a damned thing. The RCMP knew fully well he was tortured. They are simply lying that they didn't because that's a crime. You wouldn't expect them to admit to breaking Canadian law, now would you?

Evidence of the RCMP getting foreign governments to torture people? Besides a faulty account from Arar?

What's more: do you think a government that routinely tortures priisoners gives two shits about the Red Cross?

When it's a foreign citizen they are holding, yes. Iran has gone to great lengths to cover up the death of a Canadian journalist in their care. It's simply not in their interest to draw attention to their human rights practices.

[Black Dog]

When it's a foreign citizen they are holding, yes. Iran has gone to great lengths to cover up the death of a Canadian journalist in their care. It's simply not in their interest to draw attention to their human rights practices.

As coverups go, it's pretty lousy since everybody knows that she was murdered in their custody and that the subsequent trials were rigged. So what make syiu think the Syrians would be any more forthcoming and honset if confronted?

[jefferiah]

Well some people question Arar's honesty. I really dont know. Torture is not a nice thing and it's horrible that it should happen to an innocent man. But still I dont see why this is Canada's fault to the tune of 37 million. From what I can see all that happened was the RCMP shared information about the guy. The Americans had him deported. The "Syrians"!!!!!! tortured him.

[Saturn]

Well some people question Arar's honesty. I really dont know. Torture is not a nice thing and it's horrible that it should happen to an innocent man. But still I dont see why this is Canada's fault to the tune of 37 million. From what I can see all that happened was the RCMP shared information about the guy. The Americans had him deported. The "Syrians"!!!!!! tortured him.

The whole thing happened because of the RCMP. The Americans sent him to Syria since the RCMP told them Canada doesn't want him. The RCMP knew he was being tortured in Syria and even provided the Syrians with questions to ask him (during the torture). The Syrians sent the "information" they "collected" back to the RCMP. The RCMP prevented attempts by other departments to bring him back to Canada. In short: he got sent to Syria to be tortured because of Canadians and he was stuck there for a year because of Canadians.

Now I don't see why you are surpised that the RCMP would resourt to having the Syrians torture people but torturing people in Canada is illegal. It is illegal in the US too, which is why the Americans torture people in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Graib and secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. The RCMP simply thought they would get away with having people tortured overseas, just like Rumsfeld did when he approved torture (and he got away). The RCMP is getting away with it too (Zac resigned but nobody is really in trouble so far).

[jdobbin]

Well some people question Arar's honesty. I really dont know. Torture is not a nice thing and it's horrible that it should happen to an innocent man. But still I dont see why this is Canada's fault to the tune of 37 million. From what I can see all that happened was the RCMP shared information about the guy. The Americans had him deported. The "Syrians"!!!!!! tortured him.

And Canada presented false witness.

[Black Dog]

Dunno if anyone caught this yet: U.S. file fails to link Arar to terror, Day says

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said yesterday there was "nothing new" in the American dossier on Maher Arar that would justify keeping him on a terrorist watch list, although a top U.S. administration official indicated an explanation may be forthcoming.

"He should not be on the watch list," Mr. Day said after pressing the issue with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "We have seen some recent information that has not altered our opinion at all."

[mikedavid00]

Dunno if anyone caught this yet: U.S. file fails to link Arar to terror, Day says

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said yesterday there was "nothing new" in the American dossier on Maher Arar that would justify keeping him on a terrorist watch list, although a top U.S. administration official indicated an explanation may be forthcoming.

"He should not be on the watch list," Mr. Day said after pressing the issue with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "We have seen some recent information that has not altered our opinion at all."

I'm sorry.

I support the USA in not wanting Arar on their soil. It's their country and they have a right to let in or refuse any non citizen they would like.

I don't give two damns what list arar is on.

Well i'm sure his family are all on waiting lists if you know what I mean.

Arar is a symbol of a greater cancer in our country.

[Black Dog]

I'm sorry.

For what? Being a moron?

I support the USA in not wanting Arar on their soil. It's their country and they have a right to let in or refuse any non citizen they would like.

Sure. But that's not the point.

I don't give two damns what list arar is on.

Welp, given that you started a thread on the subject, I assumed you might.

Well i'm sure his family are all on waiting lists if you know what I mean.

Can't say I do.

Arar is a symbol of a greater cancer in our country

Ah yes: the cancer of productive immigrants. Damn them all.

[guyser]

I'm sorry.

For what? Being a moron?

I support the USA in not wanting Arar on their soil. It's their country and they have a right to let in or refuse any non citizen they would like.

Sure. But that's not the point.

I don't give two damns what list arar is on.

Welp, given that you started a thread on the subject, I assumed you might.

Well i'm sure his family are all on waiting lists if you know what I mean.

Can't say I do.

Arar is a symbol of a greater cancer in our country

Ah yes: the cancer of productive immigrants. Damn them all.

Touche !

[madmax]

Well some people question Arar's honesty. I really dont know. Torture is not a nice thing and it's horrible that it should happen to an innocent man. But still I dont see why this is Canada's fault to the tune of 37 million. From what I can see all that happened was the RCMP shared information about the guy. The Americans had him deported. The "Syrians"!!!!!! tortured him.

Yes, torture bad.

I believe I have said this before, and I concur with your thoughts and add that the RCMP provided false information and continued to do so as demonstrated in this thread. The Syrians tortured him. It is a lawsuit, not a settlement. Canada's complicity and fiscal compensation will be determined in court.

Compare 37 million, to some 900 million, an American is suing us for, because he can't cross the border without harrassment.

Detroit producer Slikkfordays filed a $900 million lawsuit on Friday (January 12) against two former Liberal Cabinet members and dozens of Canadian border patrol guards for racially profiling him while crossing the border into Canada.

Hell, he ain't a Canadian, is being turned away to his own country, where they WON'T torture him, erm, they shouldn't any ways.

Torture bad

[Black Dog]

Feds settle with Arar

The Conservative government formally apologized today to Canadian citizen Maher Arar and offered him $10.5 million in compensation for its role in his deportation to Syria by the United States after Canada passed on false intelligence information labelling him and his wife, Monia Mazigh, as Islamic extremists.

“I sincerely hope these words and actions will assist you and your family in an effort to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a public statement to Arar.

“On behalf of the government of Canada, I wish to apologize to you, Monia Mazigh and your family for any role Canadian officials may have play in the terrible ordeal that all of your experienced in 2002-2003.”

See mikedavid00's reaction

[Who's Doing What?]

See mikedavid00's reaction

LMAO

I could see it happening.

[blueblood]

Feds settle with Arar

The Conservative government formally apologized today to Canadian citizen Maher Arar and offered him $10.5 million in compensation for its role in his deportation to Syria by the United States after Canada passed on false intelligence information labelling him and his wife, Monia Mazigh, as Islamic extremists.

“I sincerely hope these words and actions will assist you and your family in an effort to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a public statement to Arar.

“On behalf of the government of Canada, I wish to apologize to you, Monia Mazigh and your family for any role Canadian officials may have play in the terrible ordeal that all of your experienced in 2002-2003.”

See mikedavid00's reaction

I don't care who you are that's funny right there, if you can't laugh at that you need to leave.