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Maher Arar, Free to Speak

Tomorrow at UBC, he shares his harrowing story.

David Beers 15 Feb 2007TheTyee.ca

David Beers is the founding editor of The Tyee.

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He's gone from desperation at the hands of Syrian torturers to vindication at home in Canada. His case brought down the head of the RCMP and continues to cause friction between Ottawa and Washington over civil liberties and whether the U.S. war on terrorism makes allies complicit in violating international law.

Maher Arar has been in the news a lot over the past year, but few members of the public have had a chance to be in the room with him. That changes Friday, Feb. 16, at the Chan Centre on the University of British Columbia campus.

Free tickets available

The Tyee has learned that some free tickets for tomorrow's event, which begins at 2:30 p.m., will be available at the door. It is anticipated that Arar will speak about his experiences in a manner not heard in public before.

Arar, arrested at New York's JFK Airport in September 2002, was taken by U.S. agents to Syria where he was imprisoned for one year without charge.

Stephen Toope, now the president of UBC, served as an independent fact-finder on behalf of the judicial inquiry that looked into the Arar affair. He determined conclusively that Arar was tortured while in Syria, including by being beaten with an electrical cable and confined for 10 months in a tiny, dank, rat-infested cell.

In September 2006, Justice Dennis O'Connor concluded that the decision to remove Arar to Syria was "very likely" based on inaccurate and misleading information from the RCMP.

O'Connor also absolved any doubts about Arar's innocence: "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."

Still on U.S. blacklist

The role of the RCMP in the Arar affair led to the resignation of RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli in December 2006.

On Jan. 26, 2007, Arar and his family were awarded $10.5 million in compensation by the Canadian Government. At the same time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology to them on behalf of the Canadian government.

Arar remains on a watch list in the United States, a fact that has caused friction between the Canadian and U.S. governments, as well as between the Bush administration and Congress. Last month, Senator Patrick Leahy lambasted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the case, calling it a "black mark" on the United States.

As a result of the watch list, Arar is not permitted to visit the United States, or to fly through U.S. airspace.

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