top
US
US
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Testifying Before Congress, Rendition Victim Maher Arar Gets Apology From Bi-Partisan Lawmakers but None From White House

by via Democracy Now
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 : A bi-partisan group of Congressmembers have personally apologized to Maher Arar, the Canadian citizen seized by U.S. officials secretly flown to Syria where he was tortured. Arar testified last week before a House panel, the first time he has had a chance to tell his story to U.S. lawmakers. But he couldn’t testify in person. Even though the Canadian government has cleared his name, Arar remains barred from the U.S. because the Bush administration says he poses a national security threat.
A group of Democratic and Republican members of Congress have personally apologized to Maher Arar. He is the Canadian citizen who was seized by U.S. officials in 2002 at JFK airport in New York and secretly flown to Syria as part of the Bush administration’s extraordinary rendition program. In Syria, Arar was held for almost a year in a grave-like cell and repeatedly tortured. He was released without ever being charged with a crime.

On Thursday, Arar testified before a House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on extraordinary rendition. It marked the first time Arar had a chance to tell his story to U.S. lawmakers. But he couldn’t testify before Congress in person.

Even though the Canadian government has cleared his name, Arar remains barred from entering the United States because the Bush administration maintains that he poses a national security threat.

  • David Cole. Professor of Law at Georgetown University. Co-Author of “Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the war on Terror.” He’s also the lead lawyer for Maher Arar, Canadian citizen and victim of the US extraordinary rendition program.

In a moment we will be joined by Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York but first let’s turn to Maher Arar’s testimony last week before Congress. He spoke via videoconference because he is still barred from entering the United States.

  • Maher Arar. Testifying last week by video conference before a Congressional hearing.

LISTEN ONLINE
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$70.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network