OTTAWA.CBC.CA   News   -   Full   Story :
Watchdog to probe CSIS role in Arar case
Last Updated: Dec 23 2003 08:19 AM EST

OTTAWA - An independent committee will investigate all aspects of how the Canadian Security Intelligence Service handled the case of Maher Arar.

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian engineer, was detained in New York in September 2002 while he was on a flight back to Ottawa from Tunisia. He was accused of having ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and deported to Syria, where he spent 10 months in captivity
The Security Intelligence Review Committee said Monday that it will examine any exchanges of information that may have occurred between CSIS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and foreign intelligence agencies.

The committee will not hear from witnesses, not even Arar. Its mandate is limited to looking at paperwork and electronic files.

The review is expected to be completed by spring, but all its contents will not necessarily be released to the public, said Paule Gauthier, chair of the review committee.

Critics say SIRC's probe is no substitute for a public inquiry.

"Right now Canadian public has more questions and more suspicions about the RCMP and CSIS than they do about Maher Arar himself," said Kerry Pither, a spokeswoman for the Maher Arar support campaign.

Those supporters had hoped the new minister of justice, Irwin Cotler, would have ordered a public inquiry and not handed full responsibility to uncover the truth to SIRC alone.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham has argued that a public inquiry would be a waste of time because no one could force the U.S. to participate, a lame excuse according to Canadian Bar Association president Bill Johnson.

"The picture won't be complete because we won't have the evidence from the American side, but we will have the evidence from the Canadian side, and that's what we're asking for," said Johnson.

Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty Canada echoed similar disappointment saying Canadians are growing tired of watching cabinet ministers turn to Americans for information on the actions of Canadian agencies.

"It's absurd to suggest that the only way we can get clarity was to look to the United States to get those answers. If we can't get answers here in Canada then there's something terribly wrong with accountability in our system," said Neve.

Last week, Graham said that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had confirmed to him that CSIS and the RCMP provided American authorities with information on Arar before he was shipped off to Syria.

Wayne Easter, who was in charge of CSIS when Arar was deported, maintains that CSIS had nothing to do with sending Arar to Syria.

Easter says he believes Ward Elcock, director of CSIS, who told MPs that his agency was not involved.

But a spokeswoman for the review committee says the exact wording of the question Elcock answered—"Was CSIS directly involved in the detention and deportation of Maher Arar?"—leaves a lot of wiggle room.

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian engineer, was detained in New York in September 2002 while he was on a flight back to Ottawa from Tunisia. He was accused of having ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and deported to Syria, where he spent 10 months in captivity.

Arar says he was tortured by Syrian officials and forced to sign a false confession.

He returned to Canada in October.

Arar says he was tortured by Syrian officials and forced to sign a false confession.

He returned to Canada in October.


Copyright © 2003 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved