Inquiry Finds Canadian Terror Suspect Wrongly Accused and Tortured

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• JEFFREY BROWN:

  This week, Maher Arar got what he wanted.

  MAHER ARAR, Subject of Canadian Government Commission Report: I wanted to clear my name. Today, Justice O'Connor has cleared my name and restored my reputation.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  On Monday, a Canadian government commission report concluded that Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was wrongly accused of having ties to terrorism by Canadian officials and improperly taken by U.S. authorities to the Mideast, where he was tortured.

• MAHER ARAR:

  They beat me with a cable. They also, you know, kicked me and punched me.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  Arar, a 36-year-old computer software engineer and father of two, was returning to Canada from a vacation in Tunisia in September 2002 when he was detained by U.S. authorities during a stopover at New York's Kennedy Airport.

  Acting on information from Canadian intelligence that Arar had ties to al-Qaida, U.S. officials questioned him, then flew him to Jordan. From there, he was driven to Syria, where Arar says he was held prisoner for some 10 months in a tiny cell. He was released in October 2003.

• MAHER ARAR:

  I had thoughts of committing suicide because, you know, the psychological torture in that cell was so awful to the point where, you know, it just — you know, it is really beyond human imagination.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  The Canadian investigation, led by Justice Dennis O'Connor, was sharply critical of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for its role in gathering and passing on incorrect information on Arar.

• DENNIS O’CONNOR, Chair, Arar Commission:

  There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offense or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  Arar is now seeking compensation and an apology from the Canadian government. In Washington yesterday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked about the case.

• ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. Attorney General:

  We were not responsible for his removal to Syria. I'm not aware that he was tortured, and I haven't read the commission report.

  Mr. Arar was deported under our immigration laws. He was initially detained because his name appeared on a terrorist list, and he was deported according to our — according to our laws.

• JEFFREY BROWN:

  In Ottawa yesterday, Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, addressed the issue in the House of Commons.

  STEPHEN HARPER, Prime Minister of Canada: Mr. Arar has been done a tremendous injustice. We all know this took place during the period of the previous government.