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Amnesty International Canada Action

Canada: Justice and accountability for Canadians detained abroad

Posted: 1 March 2006

Left: Ahmed Abou El-Maati. Right: Abdullah Almalki

The case of Maher Arar – transferred by the US to Syria (via Jordan) where he was interrogated and tortured – is now well known to Canadians. After much public pressure, the previous government opened a Public Inquiry into the role of Canadian officials which is due to issue its final report sometime this year. But as other cases of Canadians detained without charge and tortured in Syria and Egypt have come to light, the lack of official response has left more questions than answers about wider Canadian policy and practice.

Three other men, Muayyed Nureddin, Abdullah Almalki and Ahmed Abou El-Maati, were all of varying degrees of interest in the course of national security investigations in Canada. They were also all detained by the same branch of the Syrian military intelligence where they were interrogated and brutally tortured before eventually being released. None were ever charged with any crime. All of these men say their interrogations were based on information that they believe could only have originated with Canadian investigators.

In the fall of 2005, the United Nations Human Rights Committee called on Canada to hold a public and independent review to determine whether Canadian officials have in any way facilitated or tolerated the arrest and imprisonment, leading to torture and ill-treatment, of Canadian citizens held abroad. The government flatly declined to do so. Previous requests by Canadian organizations, concerned Canadians, and leading editorial commentary, among others have been met with the same reply. At best, Mr Nureddin, Mr Almalki and Mr El-Maati have been instructed to await the outcome of the Arar Commission – at which they were not granted full standing – and/or file complaints with the review bodies overseeing the RCMP and CSIS. Given the involvement of multiple security agencies and government departments in these cases, separate individual complaints would hardly be practical or effective.

The continuing failure to act leaves much at stake: justice and accountability for these men, the need to adopt preventative safeguards, and the importance of complying with international human rights obligations.

It’s time for Canada to launch a fair, independent, comprehensive and public review of the possibility of Canadian complicity in the detention, interrogation and torture of Muayyed Nureddin, Abdullah Almalki and Ahmed Abou El-Maati without further delay.

TAKE ACTION:

Please add your name in support of the March 1, 2006 open letter to the Prime Minister of Canada:

The Right Honourable
Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario. K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister,

Four months ago, the United Nations Human Rights Committee called on Canada to hold a public and independent review to determine whether Canadian officials have in any way facilitated or tolerated the arrest and imprisonment, leading to torture and ill treatment, of Canadian citizens held abroad. The previous government flatly declined to do so.

As you begin a term of new government, we are writing this open letter to you to emphasize how critical it is that you take action to comply with the UN’s recommendation and determine whether there was Canadian complicity in torture or unjustified detention and interrogation. A fair, independent, comprehensive and public review of the possibility of Canadian complicity in the detention, interrogation and torture of Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin must be launched without further delay. Much is at stake: justice and accountability for these men, the need to adopt any reforms needed to safeguard against similar cases occurring in the future, and the importance of Canada demonstrating firm resolve in its willingness to comply with its international human rights obligations.

Here is what these men have told Canadians about their terrifying ordeal of grave human rights violations in Syrian and Egyptian jails.

Mr. El Maati, a Kuwaiti born Canadian, was on his way to celebrate his wedding in Syria when he was detained at the Damascus airport on November 12, 2001. He was taken to the Palestine Branch of the Syrian Military Intelligence and kept in a dark, underground cell measuring only three by six by seven feet. He was repeatedly tortured and interrogated about information that could only have originated in Canada. He was forced to sign a false confession he was not allowed to read. On January 25, 2002, he was transported by air to Egypt, where he was subjected to further torture and interrogation until his release almost two years later on January 11, 2004. Mr. El Maati was never charged with any crime.

Mr. Almalki, a Syrian born Canadian, was on his way to visit family in Syria when he was detained at the Damascus airport on May 3, 2002. He was taken to the Palestine Branch of the Syrian Military Intelligence, where he was repeatedly tortured, interrogated about information that could only have originated in Canada, and forced to sign a false confession. He was held in a dark, underground cell measuring only three by six by seven feet for more than fifteen months until being transferred to another Syrian prison in August, 2003. Mr. Almalki was finally released on March 10, 2004, after more than twenty-two months in detention. Mr. Almalki was never charged with any crime.

Mr. Nureddin, an Iraqi born Canadian, was detained by Syrian officials on December 11, 2003 as he crossed the Iraqi-Syrian border on his way back to Canada after visiting family in northern Iraq. He too was taken to the Palestine Branch of the Syrian Military Intelligence, where he was repeatedly tortured and interrogated. Syrian interrogators asked Mr. Nureddin the same questions he was asked by officials in Canada, and forced him to sign documents he was not permitted to read. He was kept in an underground cell before being released on January 13, 2004, after thirty-four days in detention. Mr. Nureddin was never charged with any crime.

There are too many similarities between these cases and the case of Maher Arar to conclude that what happened was just a series of coincidences or unfortunate mistakes. Like Mr. Arar, Mr. El Maati, Mr. Almalki and Mr. Nureddin were all of varying degrees of interest in the course of national security investigations in Canada. All of these men were detained by the same branch of the Syrian military intelligence, and imprisoned in the same squalid and inhumane cells, in the same basement of the same building in Damascus. All of these men say they were interrogated and brutally tortured there. An independent fact finder at the Arar Commission has found their reports of torture credible and says he believes they all “suffered severe physical and psychological trauma while in detention in Syria.” All of these men say their interrogations were based on information that they believe could only have originated with Canadian investigators.

Like Mr. Arar, these men are living with the psychological and physical impact of their ordeals. Unlike Mr. Arar, however, they have not been offered any viable means for determining answers about why this happened to them. We believe these men, and all Canadians, need those answers. Last year,former Minister of Public Safety, Anne McLellan, responded that these men should wait for Justice O’Connor’s report from the Arar Commission, due out this spring. Clearly it is our hope that Justice O’Connor will explore these issues as widely as possible. But his ability to do so is limited.

All of these men were refused full standing at the Arar Commission. Throughout the Inquiry, counsel for the Attorney General repeatedly refused to allow witnesses to respond to questioning about their cases, asserting that this Commission of Inquiry was limited to examining Mr. Arar’s case and his case alone. Former Minister McLellan had also suggested that Mr. El Maati, Mr. Almalki and Mr. Nureddin all file complaints with review bodies overseeing CSIS and the RCMP. However, it is clear that multiple security agencies and departments of government are involved, and requiring individual complaints to a number of different bodies would hardly be practical or effective.

Beyond the personal interest of these individuals, there is a clear Canadian public interest in determining whether there has been a pattern of providing information and acquiescing in procedures which resulted in torture and unjustified detention and interrogation.

Prime Minister, we urge you to act now and live up to what the United Nations has asked of Canada. As was done in the case of Maher Arar – the government of Canada must provide the prospect of justice and accountability for these men. Mr. Arar, these three men, numerous Canadian organizations, leading editorial comment in the country, and concerned Canadians have all been pressing the government to do so for many months. It is time to ensure there is full and impartial review of the circumstances of all such cases, and careful consideration of whether they were reflective of a wider Canadian policy or practice.

Sincerely,

Warren Allmand
Solicitor General (1972-76)
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1976-77)
Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1977-79)

Lloyd Axworthy
Minister of Employment and Immigration (1980-83, 1993-96)
Minister responsible for the Status of Women (1980-81)
Minister of Transport (1983-84)
Minister of State, Canadian Wheat Board (1984)
Minister of Labour (1993-95)
Minister of Western Economic Diversification (1993-96)
Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996-2000)

Allan Blakeney
Premier, Province of Saskatchewan (1971-82)

Ed Broadbent
Leader, New Democratic Party of Canada (1975-89)

Joe Clark
Prime Minister of Canada (1979-80)
Secretary of State for External Affairs (1984-91)
Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs (1991-93)
President of the Privy Council (1991-93)

Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral
Member of Parliament (1993-2004)
Bloc Québécois Critic, Citizenship and Immigration (2000-04)

Marcel Gagnon
Member of Parliament (2000-06)
Bloc Québécois Critic, Senior Citizens (2000-06)
Member of Québec National Assembly (1976-85)

Flora MacDonald
Secretary of State for External Affairs (1979-1980)
Minister of Employment and Immigration (1984-86)
Minister of Communications (1986-88)

View the list of public signatories to Amnesty International's open letter. 1239 people have have added their names and personal commentaries so far.

posted by Annamarie at 9:18 PM