According to Maher Arar, Ottawa and Washington DC owe him an apology for shipping him to Syria for torture. His name ended up on a list and he was shipped off. Okay, he's middle eastern yada yada yada, but the way things are going - could this happen to you?
Here's his story:
"New York: A Canadian man tortured in Syria after being arrested in the United States on erroneous intelligence from Canada wants an apology from Ottawa and Washington, according to a report.
In an interview with CBS news, Maher Arar indicated that although he has sued both the United States and Canadian governments, what he most wants is an apology. "I think that will mean a lot to me," the 37-year-old engineer said.
Arar also wants the United States to remove his name and that of his wife and two children from terrorist watch lists, he said.
Arar was arrested in September 2002 in New York and detained for 12 days before being sent to Syria, where he was jailed and tortured for almost one year, a Canadian justice official said in a report released on Monday.
"I was a disappeared person. My family did not know where I was. I knew I was sent to Syria to be tortured," Arar told CBS.
The arrest came after Canadian police provided "inaccurate" information to US security officials suggesting Arar was an "Islamic extremist" with links to Osama Bin Laden's terror group, according to the Canadian report.
In his 822-page report of a lengthy inquiry into the events, Canadian Justice Dennis O'Connor concluded that Arar was an innocent victim who should never have been detained.
"I was extremely happy that he cleared my name," Arar said of O'Connor.
Meanwhile, a formal Canadian protest to Washington appeared to be planned as a result of an official inquiry into the US deportation of Arar. "Mr Arar has been done a tremendous injustice," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons.
'Lawful'
In Washington, US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales said the United States had acted lawfully when it deported Arar to Syria.
"Mr Arar was deported under our immigration laws. He was initially detained because his name appeared on terrorist lists, and he was deported according to our laws," Gonzales told reporters."
