OTTAWA — Canada's police commissioner apologized Thursday, September 28, to Maher Arar, a Canadian man deported by US authorities to Syria and tortured based on bad Canadian intelligence, but said the United States shared blame.
Giuliano Zaccardelli, commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said he was "truly sorry" for "the nightmare" Arar experienced and for "whatever part" the federal police actions "may have contributed to the terrible injustices" his family endured, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"It is true that the early days after 9/11 were confusing and challenging. Of course this doesn't excuse or allow us to avoid facing head-on the ramifications of that time," he told a parliamentary standing committee on public safety and national security.
Arar was stopped in September 2002 while he was traveling through New York, on his way to Canada from a trip to Tunisia, and was deported to Syria where he was jailed and tortured for more than a year, said a Canadian report released mid-September.
The 822-page report, which cleared Arar of terrorism ties, stated that US authorities had likely relied on faulty intelligence provided by Canadian police to hold and deport the 36-year-old software engineer to Syria.
The Mounties (Canadian police) had provided "inaccurate" information to US authorities saying Arar was an "Islamic extremist" linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda group.
Deaf Ears
Zaccardelli said Thursday, US authorities were advised of the mistake while Arar was still in US custody in New York, but Canadian appeals fell on deaf ears.
"When Mr Arar was in New York City, we clearly communicated with the Americans that there was false information there and we tried to correct that false information," he testified.
"I have no information, no indication as to why the Americans took the decision ... to detain him and send him to Syria," he said.
"We have attempted to get that information. We have not gotten that," despite closer US-Canada security ties since 2002, he later told reporters.
Zaccardelli testified on Thursday that he did not know definitively during Arar's detention whether he was involved or not in terrorist activities, when asked why he did not publicly defend Arar.
But, the Mounties are no longer investigating Arar or his family, he added.
In Canada, the case sparked a public outcry.
"Many thoughtful people have been struggling with the question of what is the appropriate role of a modern day police force," noted Zaccardelli.
"It is a terrible truth that we have had to acknowledge, that in the pursuit of justice against those who would destroy our way of life, innocent people can be swept up in our search to find those who might harm us. It happened in this instance," he said.
Arar, who sued the Canadian government for 400 million Canadian dollars (360 million US) after his return in 2003.
He also lamented on US television that US authorities had still not acknowledged their role in his ordeal.
Last week, Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said Arar had been removed from Canada's security watch list and US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was asked to do the same in the United States.
Day testified Thursday that three similar cases involving Canadians Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin would be reviewed.
Each claimed to have been detained, interrogated and tortured by Syrian Military Intelligence based on information that originated in Canada.
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