This is from the student newspaper at Carleton University.
As I predicted the Iacobucci report has virtually dropped off the mainstream media radar. Nothing has been done and no one has been held accountable. Almalki was a former student at Carleton as this author mentions. I assume some action will still be taken in court but I have heard no news lately about this.
Don't ignore tortured Canadians
I have come to the conclusion that the Canadian Government is complicit in torturing Canadian citizens. To add insult to injury, one of those citizens was a Carleton student. For those of you who are skeptical, let there be no doubt in your mind: the Iacobucci report confirms that Canadian security and governmental officials had a direct role in the torture of Canadian citizen and Carleton student Abdullah Almalki.
by Clint Grant
Clint Grant is a first-year humanities student. He thinks that Canada should pay more attention towards tortured Canadian citizens rather than ignoring them
I have come to the conclusion that the Canadian Government is complicit in torturing Canadian citizens. To add insult to injury, one of those citizens was a Carleton student. For those of you who are skeptical, let there be no doubt in your mind: the Iacobucci report confirms that Canadian security and governmental officials had a direct role in the torture of Canadian citizen and Carleton student Abdullah Almalki. Let's not be fooled by semantics: when I say direct, I mean CSIS and the RCMP saw to it that Almalki was arrested on false charges and held in a Syrian torture prison for two years. Further, they requested that Almalki be interrogated despite the fact that Syrian Military Intelligence had previously warned them that this process would involve actions officially recognized as torture. Our government may have left the physical whipping to those outside the reach of Canadian human rights laws, but it is nonetheless complicit in breaching international anti-torture conventions.It's a bitter truth to swallow, but the truth is that our government failed, and continues to fail, to uphold the rights and dignity of the citizens it is charged with protecting. Our government's complicity in torture is not isolated to the Almalki case. There are many more Canadians being imprisoned and tortured at the behest of our own security agencies all over the world. Go online and search for yourselves. For one raised believing Canada stands for peace, dignity, freedom and justice, our involvement in blatant human rights abuse is a real letdown. The willingness of our government to take part in the torture and illegal imprisonment of Canadian citizens is an affront to the security of us all. Those that we entrust with the security of our nation are either incapable or unwilling to protect Canadian citizens when they are fully aware that grave injustice is taking place. Further, their unwillingness to take responsibility for their complicity is an absolute insult to every Canadian. How can we be safe from any real external threats if we aren't safe with the ones who are supposed to keep us safe?If our government wants to fight a war against terrorism, they had best be able to identify the true threat to our security: governmental unaccountability. We aren't even safe from ourselves if we allow our government to trounce around stripping us of our freedoms and dignity without an outstanding reason to do so. Simply, to stop terrorism, stop terrorizing. Our dignity and freedoms are the most important part of us; no government has the right to take that away from any one of us. If the government strips one of us of our rights, it strips all of us of our rights. Truly put, an injustice to one is an injustice to all. I believe I speak for all Canadians when I announce to those responsible for the torture of Canadian citizens: you failed us. You failed to apologize to those you committed wrong against, and you have failed to apologize to this nation for neglecting to respect the integral importance of our dignity and freedom. You have misrepresented our beliefs as a nation, and have spat in the face of an entire generation of Canadians dedicated to justice. The issue of torture is not the fault of one party. Canadians have been tortured at the behest of multiple administrations. Rather than take action to stop more abuse, you squabble amongst yourselves over some coalition government. You say the opposition parties have lost confidence in the leading party; what about the entire generation of youth who have lost confidence in you because you continually fail to address issues of basic human importance? It's time for you to re-evaluate your priorities. We didn't give you permission to do what you've done.
Showing posts with label Iacobucci report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iacobucci report. Show all posts
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Time for Justice on Rights Abuses
There does not seem to be much publicity re any compensation for Almalki et al. There is even less publicity about any accountability or punishment for anyone involved in mislabeling either in the Arar case or the Almalki et al cases. In fact this is one of the few articles I have seen that even brings up the issue of accountability for staff who are indirectly responsible for the horrible torture and mistreatment that was inflicted on these Canadians. We have untouchables in our midst who go on with their jobs or are even promoted when they ought to receive some punishment for what they have done. The sign that we are giving to our intelligence operatives is that they can get away with reckless labeling with no proper grounds for their assessments and yet not suffer at all. This can only result in more human rights violations.
Time for justice on rights abuses
Nov 18, 2008 08:43 AM ALEX NEVE, KHALED MOUAMMAR, SAMEER ZUBERI, FAISAL KUTTY, NEHAL BHUTA AND WARREN ALLMAND
Ahmad Abou-Elmaati. Abdullah Almalki. Muayyed Nureddin. Maher Arar. These four Canadians of Arab and Muslim origin were locked up in the same Syrian jail cells and brutalized by the same torturers. What was the role of Canadian officials in their chilling tales? Did officials strive to protect their rights? Turn their back? Set them up?
For five years — since Maher Arar’s return to Canada — Canadians have grappled with these questions. Fundamental issues are at stake. Foremost is justice for the men themselves. But there are also wider concerns: the equality of all Canadians, respect for the rule of law, accountability, the effectiveness of our national security agencies, and the place of human rights in a post 9/11 world.
The effort to get to the bottom of these concerns has been unprecedented. Two inquiries have been convened, headed by highly respected jurists. Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Dennis O’Connor spent 2 6½7 years examining Maher Arar’s case, issuing two reports in 2006. Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci spent close to two years probing the other three cases, and issued his report last month.
As a result, we now know a great deal about what went wrong in these cases. We know about the inflammatory labels that Canadian officials used to describe these men in exchanges with other governments, such as “Islamic extremists” and “imminent threats.” Both judges conclude that the labels were inaccurate and without foundation.
We know about the ways that Canadian action contributed to the imprisonment and torture of these four men. They sent information that led to their detention. They sent questions used in their interrogations under torture. We know also of the multiple failures to act to defend their rights. We know all of this and more.
So now what? The government responded, in part, to the Arar inquiry. Maher Arar rightfully received an official apology and compensation. Beyond that we know very little. Former public safety minister Stockwell Day said the Arar recommendations have been implemented, but there has been no public reporting to back up that claim. Justice O’Connor’s proposal for a comprehensive oversight mechanism for reviewing the national security activities of the RCMP, CSIS and other agencies has not been implemented. Day said there would be an announcement on that front soon.
Our organizations were involved in both of these inquiries. With Commissioner Iacobucci’s work now complete, it is clear to us that the government must act in five key areas.
There must be redress. As with Maher Arar, the government must officially apologize to Ahmad Abou-Elmaati, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin and their families. The government should also launch negotiations toward fair compensation.
There must be accountability. No Canadian official has faced consequences for the wrongdoing that led to the human rights violations endured by Maher Arar. Many have been promoted. That cannot stand; and it cannot be the response to the other three cases. An impartial body must determine appropriate accountability — disciplinary, criminal or other measures — for the abuses suffered by all four of these men. Other governments are implicated as well, including Syria, Egypt, and the United States. Individuals who carried out or ordered torture, authorized rendition and committed other human rights violations in those countries must be held to account. Charges can be laid under the Canadian Criminal Code. And the Canadian government must stop blocking the efforts of these men to launch lawsuits against Syria and Egypt in Canadian courts.
There must be reform. These four men all eloquently stress that they are not only seeking justice for themselves. They want to be sure that others do not suffer the same fate. That is why the Arar inquiry recommendations, bolstered now by Iacobucci’s findings, need action. We need more than blithe assertions that has happened. We need detailed public reporting on progress. We certainly cannot wait any longer for reform of national security oversight. O’Connor put a comprehensive proposal in front of the government two years ago. It is time for implementation.
There must be leadership. Canadian officials have been responsible for a series of vicious leaks about each of these men. Through two judicial inquiries they have now been subject to levels of scrutiny that few Canadians have ever faced. Yet they continue to face vilification in some quarters. The Prime Minister and responsible ministers must show leadership in discouraging hate and racism, and be clear that ongoing attempts by some commentators to smear these men is unacceptable.
Finally there must be global action. Two judges have documented the brutal torture of four Canadians in Syria and Egypt. This must become a catalyst for Canada to become a global champion of the struggle to end torture in those two countries and worldwide. That means action to end Canadian complicity in torture. That means forceful efforts to press other governments to end torture. That means principled leadership at the UN and other world bodies to strengthen global initiatives to eradicate torture.
Canadians are looking to their government to respond meaningfully to these very serious human rights concerns. The way forward is clear: redress, accountability, reform, leadership and global action. After the years of injustice, now is the time for justice.
Alex Neve is secretary general of Amnesty International Canada; Khaled Mouammar is president of the Canadian Arab Federation; Sameer Zuberi is human rights co-ordinator at the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations; Faisal Kutty is general counsel for the Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association; Nehal Bhuta is special adviser on counterterrorism for Human Rights Watch; and Warren Allmand is counsel for the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.
Time for justice on rights abuses
Nov 18, 2008 08:43 AM ALEX NEVE, KHALED MOUAMMAR, SAMEER ZUBERI, FAISAL KUTTY, NEHAL BHUTA AND WARREN ALLMAND
Ahmad Abou-Elmaati. Abdullah Almalki. Muayyed Nureddin. Maher Arar. These four Canadians of Arab and Muslim origin were locked up in the same Syrian jail cells and brutalized by the same torturers. What was the role of Canadian officials in their chilling tales? Did officials strive to protect their rights? Turn their back? Set them up?
For five years — since Maher Arar’s return to Canada — Canadians have grappled with these questions. Fundamental issues are at stake. Foremost is justice for the men themselves. But there are also wider concerns: the equality of all Canadians, respect for the rule of law, accountability, the effectiveness of our national security agencies, and the place of human rights in a post 9/11 world.
The effort to get to the bottom of these concerns has been unprecedented. Two inquiries have been convened, headed by highly respected jurists. Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Dennis O’Connor spent 2 6½7 years examining Maher Arar’s case, issuing two reports in 2006. Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci spent close to two years probing the other three cases, and issued his report last month.
As a result, we now know a great deal about what went wrong in these cases. We know about the inflammatory labels that Canadian officials used to describe these men in exchanges with other governments, such as “Islamic extremists” and “imminent threats.” Both judges conclude that the labels were inaccurate and without foundation.
We know about the ways that Canadian action contributed to the imprisonment and torture of these four men. They sent information that led to their detention. They sent questions used in their interrogations under torture. We know also of the multiple failures to act to defend their rights. We know all of this and more.
So now what? The government responded, in part, to the Arar inquiry. Maher Arar rightfully received an official apology and compensation. Beyond that we know very little. Former public safety minister Stockwell Day said the Arar recommendations have been implemented, but there has been no public reporting to back up that claim. Justice O’Connor’s proposal for a comprehensive oversight mechanism for reviewing the national security activities of the RCMP, CSIS and other agencies has not been implemented. Day said there would be an announcement on that front soon.
Our organizations were involved in both of these inquiries. With Commissioner Iacobucci’s work now complete, it is clear to us that the government must act in five key areas.
There must be redress. As with Maher Arar, the government must officially apologize to Ahmad Abou-Elmaati, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin and their families. The government should also launch negotiations toward fair compensation.
There must be accountability. No Canadian official has faced consequences for the wrongdoing that led to the human rights violations endured by Maher Arar. Many have been promoted. That cannot stand; and it cannot be the response to the other three cases. An impartial body must determine appropriate accountability — disciplinary, criminal or other measures — for the abuses suffered by all four of these men. Other governments are implicated as well, including Syria, Egypt, and the United States. Individuals who carried out or ordered torture, authorized rendition and committed other human rights violations in those countries must be held to account. Charges can be laid under the Canadian Criminal Code. And the Canadian government must stop blocking the efforts of these men to launch lawsuits against Syria and Egypt in Canadian courts.
There must be reform. These four men all eloquently stress that they are not only seeking justice for themselves. They want to be sure that others do not suffer the same fate. That is why the Arar inquiry recommendations, bolstered now by Iacobucci’s findings, need action. We need more than blithe assertions that has happened. We need detailed public reporting on progress. We certainly cannot wait any longer for reform of national security oversight. O’Connor put a comprehensive proposal in front of the government two years ago. It is time for implementation.
There must be leadership. Canadian officials have been responsible for a series of vicious leaks about each of these men. Through two judicial inquiries they have now been subject to levels of scrutiny that few Canadians have ever faced. Yet they continue to face vilification in some quarters. The Prime Minister and responsible ministers must show leadership in discouraging hate and racism, and be clear that ongoing attempts by some commentators to smear these men is unacceptable.
Finally there must be global action. Two judges have documented the brutal torture of four Canadians in Syria and Egypt. This must become a catalyst for Canada to become a global champion of the struggle to end torture in those two countries and worldwide. That means action to end Canadian complicity in torture. That means forceful efforts to press other governments to end torture. That means principled leadership at the UN and other world bodies to strengthen global initiatives to eradicate torture.
Canadians are looking to their government to respond meaningfully to these very serious human rights concerns. The way forward is clear: redress, accountability, reform, leadership and global action. After the years of injustice, now is the time for justice.
Alex Neve is secretary general of Amnesty International Canada; Khaled Mouammar is president of the Canadian Arab Federation; Sameer Zuberi is human rights co-ordinator at the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations; Faisal Kutty is general counsel for the Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association; Nehal Bhuta is special adviser on counterterrorism for Human Rights Watch; and Warren Allmand is counsel for the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Our Intelligence Operatives our Immunized against Accountability
This is from the Scarlet Pimpernel.
This is from a longer article in the New York Times. The sections summarise some of the main reasons Almalki et al ended up in Syrian prisoners and being tortured. This also shows another way in which the contribution of the Canadian authorities may have been indirect. It is quite possible that the CIA told the Syrian authorities to arrest the men. However, the questions came from Canada or were based upon other data provided by Canadian intelligence.
The article also shows how unverified and inflammatory the accusations were. Yet Iacobucci seems to excuse these whopping lies and unsubstantiated labels as conscientious mistakes. It should make every legal practitioner''s blood boil. No one is held accountable for their mistakes or held up to any even minimal bar of care and caution. These are the people who are responsible for determining the balance of individual rights and national security that Iacobucci notes is so important. They obviously give very little consideration to individual rights since they label some people as terrorists with horrendous consequences and share these sloppy and damaging labels with the CIA and FBI whom they must know care about as much about human rights as the Syrians with whom they co-operate. These are the people who sent Arar to Syria as well. These are the people who kidnap people from Italy and end up being charged in an Italian court but of course they remain untouched and unpunished. Our own intelligence operatives seem to be similarly immunized against accountability. Neither Justice O''Connor nor Iacobucci have been able to change this. In fact Iacobucci goes out of his way to say that our operatives are just doing their job. And no doubt Iacobucci just did his job, a snow job.........
Mr. Iacobucci confirmed a longstanding contention by the three men that Canada had tipped the United States to their travel plans. He also faulted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service for making strong claims about the men that were mainly unsupported.The inquiry was limited to assessing the actions of Canadian officials, and the United States and several other foreign governments declined to cooperate.In Mr. Elmaati’s case, Mr. Iacobucci concluded that the detention resulted from three events: the Mounted Police advised several foreign legal authorities, including those in the United States, that the man was “an imminent threat to public safety”; the Canadian intelligence agency told its American counterparts and others that the man was an associate of an aide to Osama' Bin Laden and the Canadian police gave the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. his travel itinerary.The Mounties, Mr. Iacobucci wrote, “should have considered, before providing Mr. Elmaati’s travel itinerary to the U.S., that U.S. authorities might take steps to have Mr. Elmaati detained and questioned.”In connection with Mr. Almalki, the report indicates that in October 2001, the Mounties told the United States Customs Service in a letter that he was an “Islamic extremist individual suspected of being linked to the Al' Qaedaterrorist movement.”The inquiry, however, found that this claim — and similar information given to agencies in the United States about the other men — was largely based on secondhand information. In Mr. Almalki’s case, some of it referred to another person.The Canadian suspicion about Mr. Almalki seems to have come from his business, which involved exporting common, and in some cases obsolete, electronic components to Pakistan.In May 2002, the Mounties met with the F.B.I. and members of other United States security agencies. Those agencies are not identified in the public version of the report, which was censored. The meeting, which was apparently intended to prompt an American criminal investigation of Mr. Almalki, included a PowerPoint presentation titled, “The Pursuit of Terrorism: A Canadian Response.” It described Mr. Almalki as a “procurement officer” for terrorist groups.“Labeling of someone at a time when 9/11 was sort of recent can be a very serious matter,” Mr. Iacobucci said at a news conference.Mr. Almalki, who had traveled to Syria to join his parents on a family visit, was detained for 22 months. The inquiry concluded that he, like the other two men, was tortured and held under “inhumane” conditions.Mr. Iacobucci was not assigned to review the actions of the three men. Despite that, all three told reporters that the report of the inquiry had cleared them of any wrongdoing.Mr. Almalki, after noting that he was apparently a victim of identity confusion, told reporters: “My life has been ruined; my reputation has been ruined. I lost my business based on information that didn’t even relate to me.”A lawyer who represented the Canadian Arab Federation in the inquiry, James Kafieh, said the report showed that “these three men were sacrificed to show the United States that Canada was doing something.”While Mr. Iacobucci found fault with actions by the Canadian police, intelligence investigators and diplomats, he added that no one had behaved improperly.“Mistakes were made, but I don’t think that’s inconsistent with saying that people doing their jobs were doing so conscientiously,” he said.The three men have all filed lawsuits against the Canadian government. Last year, the government gave Mr. Arar about 10.5 million Canadian dollars in compensation.A classified version of the report was submitted to the government on Monday. No action is required.From The New York Times
This is from a longer article in the New York Times. The sections summarise some of the main reasons Almalki et al ended up in Syrian prisoners and being tortured. This also shows another way in which the contribution of the Canadian authorities may have been indirect. It is quite possible that the CIA told the Syrian authorities to arrest the men. However, the questions came from Canada or were based upon other data provided by Canadian intelligence.
The article also shows how unverified and inflammatory the accusations were. Yet Iacobucci seems to excuse these whopping lies and unsubstantiated labels as conscientious mistakes. It should make every legal practitioner''s blood boil. No one is held accountable for their mistakes or held up to any even minimal bar of care and caution. These are the people who are responsible for determining the balance of individual rights and national security that Iacobucci notes is so important. They obviously give very little consideration to individual rights since they label some people as terrorists with horrendous consequences and share these sloppy and damaging labels with the CIA and FBI whom they must know care about as much about human rights as the Syrians with whom they co-operate. These are the people who sent Arar to Syria as well. These are the people who kidnap people from Italy and end up being charged in an Italian court but of course they remain untouched and unpunished. Our own intelligence operatives seem to be similarly immunized against accountability. Neither Justice O''Connor nor Iacobucci have been able to change this. In fact Iacobucci goes out of his way to say that our operatives are just doing their job. And no doubt Iacobucci just did his job, a snow job.........
Mr. Iacobucci confirmed a longstanding contention by the three men that Canada had tipped the United States to their travel plans. He also faulted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service for making strong claims about the men that were mainly unsupported.The inquiry was limited to assessing the actions of Canadian officials, and the United States and several other foreign governments declined to cooperate.In Mr. Elmaati’s case, Mr. Iacobucci concluded that the detention resulted from three events: the Mounted Police advised several foreign legal authorities, including those in the United States, that the man was “an imminent threat to public safety”; the Canadian intelligence agency told its American counterparts and others that the man was an associate of an aide to Osama' Bin Laden and the Canadian police gave the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. his travel itinerary.The Mounties, Mr. Iacobucci wrote, “should have considered, before providing Mr. Elmaati’s travel itinerary to the U.S., that U.S. authorities might take steps to have Mr. Elmaati detained and questioned.”In connection with Mr. Almalki, the report indicates that in October 2001, the Mounties told the United States Customs Service in a letter that he was an “Islamic extremist individual suspected of being linked to the Al' Qaedaterrorist movement.”The inquiry, however, found that this claim — and similar information given to agencies in the United States about the other men — was largely based on secondhand information. In Mr. Almalki’s case, some of it referred to another person.The Canadian suspicion about Mr. Almalki seems to have come from his business, which involved exporting common, and in some cases obsolete, electronic components to Pakistan.In May 2002, the Mounties met with the F.B.I. and members of other United States security agencies. Those agencies are not identified in the public version of the report, which was censored. The meeting, which was apparently intended to prompt an American criminal investigation of Mr. Almalki, included a PowerPoint presentation titled, “The Pursuit of Terrorism: A Canadian Response.” It described Mr. Almalki as a “procurement officer” for terrorist groups.“Labeling of someone at a time when 9/11 was sort of recent can be a very serious matter,” Mr. Iacobucci said at a news conference.Mr. Almalki, who had traveled to Syria to join his parents on a family visit, was detained for 22 months. The inquiry concluded that he, like the other two men, was tortured and held under “inhumane” conditions.Mr. Iacobucci was not assigned to review the actions of the three men. Despite that, all three told reporters that the report of the inquiry had cleared them of any wrongdoing.Mr. Almalki, after noting that he was apparently a victim of identity confusion, told reporters: “My life has been ruined; my reputation has been ruined. I lost my business based on information that didn’t even relate to me.”A lawyer who represented the Canadian Arab Federation in the inquiry, James Kafieh, said the report showed that “these three men were sacrificed to show the United States that Canada was doing something.”While Mr. Iacobucci found fault with actions by the Canadian police, intelligence investigators and diplomats, he added that no one had behaved improperly.“Mistakes were made, but I don’t think that’s inconsistent with saying that people doing their jobs were doing so conscientiously,” he said.The three men have all filed lawsuits against the Canadian government. Last year, the government gave Mr. Arar about 10.5 million Canadian dollars in compensation.A classified version of the report was submitted to the government on Monday. No action is required.From The New York Times
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Critics demand review of "culture of impunity" in security.
This is from the Ottawa Citizen.
The culture of impunity exists because the security intelligence bosses, our government, want it that way and have done everything to ensure that the impunity continues to exist. Both Liberal and Conservative governments have been complicit in this. In spite of all the Arar inquiry did for Arar, it did absolutely nothing to punish the incompetence and harm so serious that Arar was awarded compensation of millions of dollars.
If you read the government submission to the Iacobucci inquiry they were adamant that the torture charges should not be examined no doubt because it could impact on the civil suits that Almalki et al will bring against the government. It will be interesting to see if the suits go ahead or are settled out of court.
What I find sickening about the Iacobucci report is that he himself seems clearly complicit with the government in encouraging the culture of impunity. In spite of his own comments about the effects of labelling and criticism of the quality of the evidence he then turns around and says that the operatives were simply seeking to do their jobs conscientiously. For an eminent legal mind this is completely lame and beyond comprehension to put it mildly.
Saturday » October 25 » 2008
Critics demand review of 'culture of impunity' in security
Most officials linked to faulty intelligence still in positions
Andrew Duffy
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, October 24, 2008
CREDIT: Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen
Human rights activists say this country will foster "a culture of impunity" if security officials are not held accountable for actions that contributed to the suffering of four Canadians tortured in Syria and Egypt.
Kerry Pither, a human rights activist and author of Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror, said no Canadian official had been charged, disciplined or demoted for misconduct in the cases of Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El-Maati and Muayyed Nureddin.
Two federal inquiries have found that faulty Canadian intelligence played a significant role in what befell the men in Syria.
"There is a culture of impunity in this country that is very troubling," Ms. Pither said. "The fact is that most of the officials who were in place and who carried out the deficient action that led to the torture of these Canadian citizens, most of these officials are still in place and many have been promoted, and they're still doing this work."
To date, former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli is the only senior official to resign following the torture cases. He submitted his resignation after admitting he gave incorrect testimony to a Commons committee investigating the Arar affair. He now works for INTERPOL in France.
Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, called yesterday for an independent body to determine whether criminal charges or disciplinary measures should be levelled against key officials.
"I do expect, and in fact insist, that a credible effort be put in place now to determine what appropriate accountability there should be in these cases," he said.
Former solicitor general Warren Allmand, a member of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, said the latest federal inquiry had identified RCMP officers "who were, in my view, negligent."
"Certainly something should be done," he said, joining the call for a process to review the conduct of the officials.
Such a process, however, appears unlikely.
Retired Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci this week detailed a series of investigatory and diplomatic failures in the cases of the three Canadians tortured in Syria and Egypt between 2001 and 2004.
However, the judge did not single out any individual for blame. Instead, he said the officials involved conscientiously carried out their duties at a time -- post 9/11 -- when there was "intense pressure" on intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has said he is satisfied that issues raised by the report have already been addressed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Iacobucci report found that Canadian security officials played an indirect role in the mistreatment of Mr. El-Maati, Mr. Almalki and Mr. Nureddin. The RCMP and CSIS shared faulty intelligence about all three men with other countries; the RCMP passed questions for Mr. Almalki directly to the Syrians, while CSIS sent questions for Mr. El-Maati through a foreign agency.
The judge said he was also troubled by the RCMP's decision to rely upon Mr. El-Maati's alleged confession in Syria to support its application for search warrants in Canada in January 2002. The RCMP did not raise Syria's human rights record or the possibility that the confession had been obtained by torture with the judge who granted those warrants.
Mr. Iacobucci also found the actions of Canada's Foreign Affairs Department "deficient" with respect to Mr. El-Maati and Mr. Almalki.
In both cases, he said, Canadian officials failed to act swiftly to gain consular access to the detainees, failed to properly consider the likelihood that they would be tortured and improperly passed information, collected in the course of consular work on behalf of the men, to CSIS.
Mr. Iacobucci said it was also "regrettable" that the foreign minister had not been informed that Mr. El-Maati told Canadian consular officials, in August 2002, that he had been tortured while in Syrian custody. The minister was not made aware of those allegations even though Mr. Almalki was then in Syrian custody; he was not told of Mr. El-Maati's claims even as he dealt with the subsequent Arar case.
Ms. Pither yesterday called for a parliamentary committee to act on the report's findings.
"This is not something that can be swept under the rug. These are startling findings, this is a huge scandal and we need accountability, or there's no assurance it won't happen again."
In fact, she said, there was every indication something similar was happening in the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik.
Mr. Abdelrazik, of Montreal, was imprisoned in Sudan at Canada's request in 2003 after being labelled an al-Qaeda operative by U.S. authorities. He has told Canadian officials he was tortured while in Sudanese custody.
Mr. Abdelrazik was released from custody in July 2006, but remains stranded in Sudan because Canada has refused to renew his travel documents.
Mr. Abdelrazik's case, Ms. Pither said, demonstrated that the problems identified by two federal inquiries had not been fixed and that "it can, and is, happening again."
Mr. Almalki, an Ottawa resident, said he, too, wanted the officials who played a key role in his Syrian ordeal to be held accountable.
"The government ruined my life, ruined my successful business and ruined my profession as an engineer," he said. "For the government to destroy that whole thing, someone needs to be held accountable."
Mr. Almalki rejected the notion put forward by Mr. Iacobucci that no individual could be blamed for decisions that contributed to his suffering. Had inaccurate information and RCMP questions not been sent to the Syrians, Mr. Almalki said, he would not have been detained and tortured.
"This does not make any sense to me," he said, "when the government and other people say there's no single person to blame, there's no one to blame, as if the country is run by robots and decisions were made by robots."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
.
The culture of impunity exists because the security intelligence bosses, our government, want it that way and have done everything to ensure that the impunity continues to exist. Both Liberal and Conservative governments have been complicit in this. In spite of all the Arar inquiry did for Arar, it did absolutely nothing to punish the incompetence and harm so serious that Arar was awarded compensation of millions of dollars.
If you read the government submission to the Iacobucci inquiry they were adamant that the torture charges should not be examined no doubt because it could impact on the civil suits that Almalki et al will bring against the government. It will be interesting to see if the suits go ahead or are settled out of court.
What I find sickening about the Iacobucci report is that he himself seems clearly complicit with the government in encouraging the culture of impunity. In spite of his own comments about the effects of labelling and criticism of the quality of the evidence he then turns around and says that the operatives were simply seeking to do their jobs conscientiously. For an eminent legal mind this is completely lame and beyond comprehension to put it mildly.
Saturday » October 25 » 2008
Critics demand review of 'culture of impunity' in security
Most officials linked to faulty intelligence still in positions
Andrew Duffy
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, October 24, 2008
CREDIT: Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen
Human rights activists say this country will foster "a culture of impunity" if security officials are not held accountable for actions that contributed to the suffering of four Canadians tortured in Syria and Egypt.
Kerry Pither, a human rights activist and author of Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror, said no Canadian official had been charged, disciplined or demoted for misconduct in the cases of Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El-Maati and Muayyed Nureddin.
Two federal inquiries have found that faulty Canadian intelligence played a significant role in what befell the men in Syria.
"There is a culture of impunity in this country that is very troubling," Ms. Pither said. "The fact is that most of the officials who were in place and who carried out the deficient action that led to the torture of these Canadian citizens, most of these officials are still in place and many have been promoted, and they're still doing this work."
To date, former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli is the only senior official to resign following the torture cases. He submitted his resignation after admitting he gave incorrect testimony to a Commons committee investigating the Arar affair. He now works for INTERPOL in France.
Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, called yesterday for an independent body to determine whether criminal charges or disciplinary measures should be levelled against key officials.
"I do expect, and in fact insist, that a credible effort be put in place now to determine what appropriate accountability there should be in these cases," he said.
Former solicitor general Warren Allmand, a member of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, said the latest federal inquiry had identified RCMP officers "who were, in my view, negligent."
"Certainly something should be done," he said, joining the call for a process to review the conduct of the officials.
Such a process, however, appears unlikely.
Retired Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci this week detailed a series of investigatory and diplomatic failures in the cases of the three Canadians tortured in Syria and Egypt between 2001 and 2004.
However, the judge did not single out any individual for blame. Instead, he said the officials involved conscientiously carried out their duties at a time -- post 9/11 -- when there was "intense pressure" on intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has said he is satisfied that issues raised by the report have already been addressed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Iacobucci report found that Canadian security officials played an indirect role in the mistreatment of Mr. El-Maati, Mr. Almalki and Mr. Nureddin. The RCMP and CSIS shared faulty intelligence about all three men with other countries; the RCMP passed questions for Mr. Almalki directly to the Syrians, while CSIS sent questions for Mr. El-Maati through a foreign agency.
The judge said he was also troubled by the RCMP's decision to rely upon Mr. El-Maati's alleged confession in Syria to support its application for search warrants in Canada in January 2002. The RCMP did not raise Syria's human rights record or the possibility that the confession had been obtained by torture with the judge who granted those warrants.
Mr. Iacobucci also found the actions of Canada's Foreign Affairs Department "deficient" with respect to Mr. El-Maati and Mr. Almalki.
In both cases, he said, Canadian officials failed to act swiftly to gain consular access to the detainees, failed to properly consider the likelihood that they would be tortured and improperly passed information, collected in the course of consular work on behalf of the men, to CSIS.
Mr. Iacobucci said it was also "regrettable" that the foreign minister had not been informed that Mr. El-Maati told Canadian consular officials, in August 2002, that he had been tortured while in Syrian custody. The minister was not made aware of those allegations even though Mr. Almalki was then in Syrian custody; he was not told of Mr. El-Maati's claims even as he dealt with the subsequent Arar case.
Ms. Pither yesterday called for a parliamentary committee to act on the report's findings.
"This is not something that can be swept under the rug. These are startling findings, this is a huge scandal and we need accountability, or there's no assurance it won't happen again."
In fact, she said, there was every indication something similar was happening in the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik.
Mr. Abdelrazik, of Montreal, was imprisoned in Sudan at Canada's request in 2003 after being labelled an al-Qaeda operative by U.S. authorities. He has told Canadian officials he was tortured while in Sudanese custody.
Mr. Abdelrazik was released from custody in July 2006, but remains stranded in Sudan because Canada has refused to renew his travel documents.
Mr. Abdelrazik's case, Ms. Pither said, demonstrated that the problems identified by two federal inquiries had not been fixed and that "it can, and is, happening again."
Mr. Almalki, an Ottawa resident, said he, too, wanted the officials who played a key role in his Syrian ordeal to be held accountable.
"The government ruined my life, ruined my successful business and ruined my profession as an engineer," he said. "For the government to destroy that whole thing, someone needs to be held accountable."
Mr. Almalki rejected the notion put forward by Mr. Iacobucci that no individual could be blamed for decisions that contributed to his suffering. Had inaccurate information and RCMP questions not been sent to the Syrians, Mr. Almalki said, he would not have been detained and tortured.
"This does not make any sense to me," he said, "when the government and other people say there's no single person to blame, there's no one to blame, as if the country is run by robots and decisions were made by robots."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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Saturday, October 25, 2008
Iacobucci seeks further disclosure to public
This is typical. The government tries everything possible to keep as much as possible under wraps. So much for accountability and the public right to know. The public has the right to know as little as is legally possible. This may very well end up having to go to a court as in the Arar case. What has the government to lose only taxpayer money for legal expenses, paying for both sides. The material could very well involve some embarassment with respect to relations with other intelligence agencies as happened with the Arar material.
Iacobucci seeks fuller disclosure in torture cases
OTTAWA — The federal inquiry into the torture of three Arab-Canadians is taking steps to force the government to disclose more information about the affair.
John Laskin, chief counsel for the inquiry, said Thursday a legal notice has been filed challenging a federal claim that publication of the material would undermine national security, defence or international relations.
It's now up to the government to decide what to do next, but if no agreement can be reached the matter will eventually go to Federal Court for resolution.
At issue is material relating to one of the three men at the heart of the inquiry, Ahmad El Maati, who was tortured in both Syria and Egypt after being labelled an al-Qaida suspect by Canadian authorities.
Former Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci noted, in his report released Tuesday, that he couldn't make as much public as he wanted to about the case because of the government's secrecy claim.
"It might be a page or two pages or something," Iacobucci later told reporters. "It's just something that I think should be in the public report."
Laskin said Thursday the off-the-cuff estimate of a page or two wasn't "quite accurate" but declined to be more specific or to characterize how important the material might be to the overall picture painted in the Iacobucci report.
Michael Peirce, chief counsel for the government at the inquiry, had no comment on the dispute.
Christian Girouard, a Justice Department spokesman, said the legal process for dealing with the exempted material was being followed, and that it was too early to tell how the matter would be settled.
Iacobucci concluded that Canadian officials indirectly contributed to the torture abroad of El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin. He didn't blame any individuals but said the RCMP, CSIS and Foreign Affairs had all been institutionally "deficient" in their actions.
In El Maati's case, he noted, the RCMP told foreign authorities he had links to al-Qaida and was an "imminent threat to public safety" without taking steps ensure the accuracy of those allegations.
Iacobucci also found CSIS had provided questions for use by El Maati's interrogators in Syria, and later expressed concern to the Egyptians about what he might do if released from custody.
Foreign Affairs failed to be aggressive enough in seeking consular access to El Maati during his detention, the inquiry found.
"I have also identified another action that, in my view, likely contributed to mistreatment of Mr. El Maati in Egypt and was deficient in the circumstances," Iacobucci wrote in his report.
He said he's given details to the government in a confidential version of his findings, but they can't be made public at this point because of the national security claim.
A similar dispute arose at a previous inquiry into the ordeal of Maher Arar, who was arrested by U.S. authorities, deported to Syria and tortured after the RCMP wrongly labelled him an al-Qaida suspect.
Federal Court rejected the government's secrecy claims in that case and ordered release of the disputed material - which, although not extensive, proved to be embarrassing to Ottawa.
It revealed for the first time that the RCMP had used information extracted under torture abroad to obtain search and wiretap warrants against suspects in Canada - an issue further explored by Iacobucci.
The excerpts also showed that, despite public claims to the contrary, CSIS had suspected almost immediately after Arar's disappearance from New York that the CIA had spirited him to the Middle East for interrogation.
Iacobucci seeks fuller disclosure in torture cases
OTTAWA — The federal inquiry into the torture of three Arab-Canadians is taking steps to force the government to disclose more information about the affair.
John Laskin, chief counsel for the inquiry, said Thursday a legal notice has been filed challenging a federal claim that publication of the material would undermine national security, defence or international relations.
It's now up to the government to decide what to do next, but if no agreement can be reached the matter will eventually go to Federal Court for resolution.
At issue is material relating to one of the three men at the heart of the inquiry, Ahmad El Maati, who was tortured in both Syria and Egypt after being labelled an al-Qaida suspect by Canadian authorities.
Former Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci noted, in his report released Tuesday, that he couldn't make as much public as he wanted to about the case because of the government's secrecy claim.
"It might be a page or two pages or something," Iacobucci later told reporters. "It's just something that I think should be in the public report."
Laskin said Thursday the off-the-cuff estimate of a page or two wasn't "quite accurate" but declined to be more specific or to characterize how important the material might be to the overall picture painted in the Iacobucci report.
Michael Peirce, chief counsel for the government at the inquiry, had no comment on the dispute.
Christian Girouard, a Justice Department spokesman, said the legal process for dealing with the exempted material was being followed, and that it was too early to tell how the matter would be settled.
Iacobucci concluded that Canadian officials indirectly contributed to the torture abroad of El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin. He didn't blame any individuals but said the RCMP, CSIS and Foreign Affairs had all been institutionally "deficient" in their actions.
In El Maati's case, he noted, the RCMP told foreign authorities he had links to al-Qaida and was an "imminent threat to public safety" without taking steps ensure the accuracy of those allegations.
Iacobucci also found CSIS had provided questions for use by El Maati's interrogators in Syria, and later expressed concern to the Egyptians about what he might do if released from custody.
Foreign Affairs failed to be aggressive enough in seeking consular access to El Maati during his detention, the inquiry found.
"I have also identified another action that, in my view, likely contributed to mistreatment of Mr. El Maati in Egypt and was deficient in the circumstances," Iacobucci wrote in his report.
He said he's given details to the government in a confidential version of his findings, but they can't be made public at this point because of the national security claim.
A similar dispute arose at a previous inquiry into the ordeal of Maher Arar, who was arrested by U.S. authorities, deported to Syria and tortured after the RCMP wrongly labelled him an al-Qaida suspect.
Federal Court rejected the government's secrecy claims in that case and ordered release of the disputed material - which, although not extensive, proved to be embarrassing to Ottawa.
It revealed for the first time that the RCMP had used information extracted under torture abroad to obtain search and wiretap warrants against suspects in Canada - an issue further explored by Iacobucci.
The excerpts also showed that, despite public claims to the contrary, CSIS had suspected almost immediately after Arar's disappearance from New York that the CIA had spirited him to the Middle East for interrogation.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Kerry Pither on the Iacobucci report
This is from Kerry Pither's blog. Pither wrote a book on the Almalki et al. I don't understand the distinction that Pither says Iacobucci makes between direct and indirect. Even if someone else were involved you could be directly involved and even if someone else were involved you could be still indirectly involved. I thought indirect meant as she mentions in the next sentence that the Canadians did not directly do the torturing (or even order it or the imprisonment). The full text of the report is in the links highlighted in her article. It is in PDF format. The Adobe reader came with my new computer and Vista operating system. However, when I use it I am warned that there are known compatibility problems. Nevertheless it seems to work after a fashion.
It was convenient that the report came out after the election. However, any blaming of government surely applies to the Liberal govt. as much as the Conservatives, although the latter are responsible for the restrictive terms of reference that Iacobucci seems to have interpreted narrowly as well.
October 22, 2008
No wonder they wanted the inquiry kept secret
The Iacobucci Inquiry’s report is very good news for Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin, and very bad news for the government, CSIS and the RCMP. It details how Canadian agencies’ allegations against the men were were ”inaccurate,” “inflammatory,” and “without investigative foundation,” and the many ways in which these agencies were complicit in their torture.
While former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci uses the term “indirect” to describe Canadian officials’ responsibility for detention and torture in his report, he explains that by indirect, he means that he cannot rule out the possibility that someone else was involved. So Canadian officials were “indirectly” responsible for the men’s torture in Syria (ie., by supplying questions) they weren’t actually wielding the whips and cables used to torture them. To say they were “directly” complicit, or responsible, he says, he would have had to rule out any possibility that anyone else was involved.
The government did its best to minimize the damage yesterday, waiting until late Monday night to tell journalists, and the men and their counsel, when the report would be released, and giving everyone one hour to read it before responding. Then Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day toured every media studio in town, trying to revive allegations against the men by pointing to claims made by the Attorney General in closing submissions to the Inquiry. He neglected to mention that Justice Iacobucci did not accept those arguments.
Read the report, not the submissions, Minister Day, then issue a formal apology to these men.
More to come soon.
It was convenient that the report came out after the election. However, any blaming of government surely applies to the Liberal govt. as much as the Conservatives, although the latter are responsible for the restrictive terms of reference that Iacobucci seems to have interpreted narrowly as well.
October 22, 2008
No wonder they wanted the inquiry kept secret
The Iacobucci Inquiry’s report is very good news for Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin, and very bad news for the government, CSIS and the RCMP. It details how Canadian agencies’ allegations against the men were were ”inaccurate,” “inflammatory,” and “without investigative foundation,” and the many ways in which these agencies were complicit in their torture.
While former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci uses the term “indirect” to describe Canadian officials’ responsibility for detention and torture in his report, he explains that by indirect, he means that he cannot rule out the possibility that someone else was involved. So Canadian officials were “indirectly” responsible for the men’s torture in Syria (ie., by supplying questions) they weren’t actually wielding the whips and cables used to torture them. To say they were “directly” complicit, or responsible, he says, he would have had to rule out any possibility that anyone else was involved.
The government did its best to minimize the damage yesterday, waiting until late Monday night to tell journalists, and the men and their counsel, when the report would be released, and giving everyone one hour to read it before responding. Then Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day toured every media studio in town, trying to revive allegations against the men by pointing to claims made by the Attorney General in closing submissions to the Inquiry. He neglected to mention that Justice Iacobucci did not accept those arguments.
Read the report, not the submissions, Minister Day, then issue a formal apology to these men.
More to come soon.
Disturbing complicity on torture
This article shows how Iacobucci was careful not to make a finding of legal liability for his paymasters. The road to hell being paved with good intentions has nothing to do with the case. The intention of the operatives was to help out the war against terror no doubt partnering with the US. The intention was to use adventitious rendition or rendition lite as a means. The officials took advantage of the accidental fact that the men were in Syria to pass on information to the Syrians that got them arrested and tortured. Those are not good intentions but violations of the very rights that Iacobucci is supposed to be so worried about. But not only were there no good intentions, the operatives were incompetent. They labelled the three terrorists without good evidence even taking as evidence in one case intelligence from another agency that did not even relate to the person who was then labelled a terrorist. None of this of course is any grounds for finding anyone to be held to account or punished. We have no idea who these people even are so unlike the Arar inquiry we will not know when they have been promoted. This is from the Star.
Disturbing complicity on torture
Haroon Siddiqui
Oct 23, 2008 04:30 AM
The headlines didn't match the stories on the report of the Frank Iacobucci inquiry into the alleged torture of three Arab Canadians abroad.
The former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that Canadian officials and institutions were complicit in the detention of at least two of them and perhaps of the third as well.
They were certainly complicit in the torture of all three.
He said Canadian diplomats failed to provide proper consular services to two of them, failed to detect torture and failed to inform Ottawa of allegations of torture.
Yet the main message of the media coverage is that Canadian officials only "likely contributed to" or "indirectly" contributed to the unlawful arrest, arbitrary detention and torture of the three men.
Iacobucci said so only for reasons of legal specificity, as explained on page 336 of his 544-page report.
He had no co-operation from Syria, Egypt or the U.S. so he does not know what role they played.
He also refused to "apply a `but for' test," meaning the men would not have suffered but for the actions of Canadian officials.
"Doing so would bring me dangerously close to making an explicit finding of legal liability" against officials and institutions – something that was "not the purpose or jurisdiction of this inquiry."
At least not in the narrow way he interpreted his terms of reference, say such intervenors as the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (headed by Warren Allmand, a former justice minister) and Amnesty International.
Iacobucci, a distinguished jurist, has been a strong defender of civil rights, even in tackling terrorism.
He repeats that belief in his report, saying a democracy must "ensure that in protecting the security of our country, we respect the human rights and freedoms that so many have fought to achieve."
Also: "No Canadian officials should consider themselves exempt" from the responsibility of upholding human rights.
But, as far as the officials in the three cases are concerned, there's no individual culpability, only institutional deficiency. Iacobucci says there is no evidence that the officials acted maliciously.
Of course not. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
No sooner had the Iacobucci report been released than Stockwell Day dismissed the repeated torture episodes as nothing more than instances of "good people acting with deficient procedures." The heads of the RCMP, Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Foreign Affairs had already assured him that "those deficiencies have been addressed." Case closed.
Except that it isn't. That's not the thrust of what Iacobucci says.
His report is, in some ways, more damning than that of Dennis O'Connor on the Maher Arar tragedy.
Consider first the similarities in the case of Arar and the cases of the three other Muslim Canadians.
Syria had no reason of its own that we know of to detain any of them. All four were held in the same prison; tortured by the same team; asked questions that could only have originated in Canada; and forced to sign confessions they were not allowed to read.
All were released. None was found to have any connection with terrorism, just as they have always maintained.
Now look at the cases of the three.
In one, CSIS sent questions directly to Syria, as opposed to those questions landing in Damascus via the U.S. The Syrians took that as "a green light to continue their interrogation and detention, rather than a red light to stop," Iacobucci said.
In one case, Ottawa asked Egypt not to release the detainee (who had been sent there from Syria). Canadian diplomats used their consular visits to urge him to co-operate with the RCMP and CSIS.
All this complicity was pretty direct, says Kerry Pither, author of the recently released Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror. It is a compelling – and, as it turns out, accurate – account of the horrors they endured.
(The Ottawa author is donating proceeds to such agencies as Amnesty International.)
The way forward is clear:
An apology and compensation to all three, along the same lines as extended to Arar; the establishment of a civilian oversight agency over all security agencies, as called for by Justice O'Connor but ignored by the Stephen Harper government; and a wide public discussion of Iacobucci's disturbing findings.
Haroon Siddiqui writes Thursday and Sunday. hsiddiq@thestar.ca
Disturbing complicity on torture
Haroon Siddiqui
Oct 23, 2008 04:30 AM
The headlines didn't match the stories on the report of the Frank Iacobucci inquiry into the alleged torture of three Arab Canadians abroad.
The former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that Canadian officials and institutions were complicit in the detention of at least two of them and perhaps of the third as well.
They were certainly complicit in the torture of all three.
He said Canadian diplomats failed to provide proper consular services to two of them, failed to detect torture and failed to inform Ottawa of allegations of torture.
Yet the main message of the media coverage is that Canadian officials only "likely contributed to" or "indirectly" contributed to the unlawful arrest, arbitrary detention and torture of the three men.
Iacobucci said so only for reasons of legal specificity, as explained on page 336 of his 544-page report.
He had no co-operation from Syria, Egypt or the U.S. so he does not know what role they played.
He also refused to "apply a `but for' test," meaning the men would not have suffered but for the actions of Canadian officials.
"Doing so would bring me dangerously close to making an explicit finding of legal liability" against officials and institutions – something that was "not the purpose or jurisdiction of this inquiry."
At least not in the narrow way he interpreted his terms of reference, say such intervenors as the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (headed by Warren Allmand, a former justice minister) and Amnesty International.
Iacobucci, a distinguished jurist, has been a strong defender of civil rights, even in tackling terrorism.
He repeats that belief in his report, saying a democracy must "ensure that in protecting the security of our country, we respect the human rights and freedoms that so many have fought to achieve."
Also: "No Canadian officials should consider themselves exempt" from the responsibility of upholding human rights.
But, as far as the officials in the three cases are concerned, there's no individual culpability, only institutional deficiency. Iacobucci says there is no evidence that the officials acted maliciously.
Of course not. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
No sooner had the Iacobucci report been released than Stockwell Day dismissed the repeated torture episodes as nothing more than instances of "good people acting with deficient procedures." The heads of the RCMP, Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Foreign Affairs had already assured him that "those deficiencies have been addressed." Case closed.
Except that it isn't. That's not the thrust of what Iacobucci says.
His report is, in some ways, more damning than that of Dennis O'Connor on the Maher Arar tragedy.
Consider first the similarities in the case of Arar and the cases of the three other Muslim Canadians.
Syria had no reason of its own that we know of to detain any of them. All four were held in the same prison; tortured by the same team; asked questions that could only have originated in Canada; and forced to sign confessions they were not allowed to read.
All were released. None was found to have any connection with terrorism, just as they have always maintained.
Now look at the cases of the three.
In one, CSIS sent questions directly to Syria, as opposed to those questions landing in Damascus via the U.S. The Syrians took that as "a green light to continue their interrogation and detention, rather than a red light to stop," Iacobucci said.
In one case, Ottawa asked Egypt not to release the detainee (who had been sent there from Syria). Canadian diplomats used their consular visits to urge him to co-operate with the RCMP and CSIS.
All this complicity was pretty direct, says Kerry Pither, author of the recently released Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror. It is a compelling – and, as it turns out, accurate – account of the horrors they endured.
(The Ottawa author is donating proceeds to such agencies as Amnesty International.)
The way forward is clear:
An apology and compensation to all three, along the same lines as extended to Arar; the establishment of a civilian oversight agency over all security agencies, as called for by Justice O'Connor but ignored by the Stephen Harper government; and a wide public discussion of Iacobucci's disturbing findings.
Haroon Siddiqui writes Thursday and Sunday. hsiddiq@thestar.ca
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Aljazeera: Canada ''had role in torture".
This is from Aljazeera.
No editorial comments in the article. The article does detail some of the torture and also some of the reaction of Almalki. Almalki is right that the RCMP knew well that he would be tortured even though they deny this. As Iacobucci quaintly described it, this is wilful ignorance. He can't accuse them of lying I guess. Of course it is standard protocol to deny such things. There is a similar protocol when Syrian authorities assure agencies that they will not torture a suspect. Intelligence agencies seem to always believe them and cite the assurances when evidence of torture is presented.
Canada 'had role in torture'
Iacobucci concluded the men had been beaten and burned while in Syrian jails [Reuters]
Canadian officials indirectly contributed to the arrest and torture of three Canadian citizens in Syria and Egypt, a Canadian inquiry has found.
Canadians Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin were arrested by Syrian Military Intelligence during trips abroad between 2001 and 2004 on allegations of having links to al-Qaeda.
All three were later released without charge.
Frank Iacobucci, a retired supreme court judge who conducted the inquiry, concluded the men had been tortured with methods such as beatings with electric cables, burning with cigarettes and being kicked in the genitals.
He said in a news conference on Tuesday: "Mistakes were made ... detention and mistreatment were connected to those mistakes, in my view, in an indirect way.''
Iacobucci said in his report the mistreatment of the men did not result directly from any Canadian action, but Canadian officials indirectly led to the torture of El Maati and Almalki and probably to that of Nureddin, who he concluded had also been tortured in Egypt.
Each of the three, born in Kuwait, Syria and Iraq respectively, had claimed upon return to Canada to have been tortured and that Canadian security officials had labeled them as "terrorists" and supplied their captors with intelligence and lists of questions to ask them.
'Life ruined'
Iacobucci concluded: "I found no evidence that any of these officials were seeking to do anything other than carry out conscientiously the duties and responsibilities of the institutions of which they were a part."
He found that the officials had not been careful enough in applying labels such as "imminent threat" to the men and in preparing questions for Syrian authorities.
But Almalki later told a news conference: "The RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] fully knew that I would be tortured if they sent questions.
"My life had been ruined, my reputation has been ruined."
The Canadian government ordered the probe in 2006 after an earlier inquiry found that Canadian Maher Arar had been deported to Syria by the United States and tortured there, after what the inquiry said was the false identification of him as an Islamic extremist by Canadian police.
Stockwell Day, the Canadian public security minister, said security agencies had taken steps to correct shortcomings following the Arar affair.
He declined to say if compensation would be offered, saying civil lawsuits were in progress.
No editorial comments in the article. The article does detail some of the torture and also some of the reaction of Almalki. Almalki is right that the RCMP knew well that he would be tortured even though they deny this. As Iacobucci quaintly described it, this is wilful ignorance. He can't accuse them of lying I guess. Of course it is standard protocol to deny such things. There is a similar protocol when Syrian authorities assure agencies that they will not torture a suspect. Intelligence agencies seem to always believe them and cite the assurances when evidence of torture is presented.
Canada 'had role in torture'
Iacobucci concluded the men had been beaten and burned while in Syrian jails [Reuters]
Canadian officials indirectly contributed to the arrest and torture of three Canadian citizens in Syria and Egypt, a Canadian inquiry has found.
Canadians Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin were arrested by Syrian Military Intelligence during trips abroad between 2001 and 2004 on allegations of having links to al-Qaeda.
All three were later released without charge.
Frank Iacobucci, a retired supreme court judge who conducted the inquiry, concluded the men had been tortured with methods such as beatings with electric cables, burning with cigarettes and being kicked in the genitals.
He said in a news conference on Tuesday: "Mistakes were made ... detention and mistreatment were connected to those mistakes, in my view, in an indirect way.''
Iacobucci said in his report the mistreatment of the men did not result directly from any Canadian action, but Canadian officials indirectly led to the torture of El Maati and Almalki and probably to that of Nureddin, who he concluded had also been tortured in Egypt.
Each of the three, born in Kuwait, Syria and Iraq respectively, had claimed upon return to Canada to have been tortured and that Canadian security officials had labeled them as "terrorists" and supplied their captors with intelligence and lists of questions to ask them.
'Life ruined'
Iacobucci concluded: "I found no evidence that any of these officials were seeking to do anything other than carry out conscientiously the duties and responsibilities of the institutions of which they were a part."
He found that the officials had not been careful enough in applying labels such as "imminent threat" to the men and in preparing questions for Syrian authorities.
But Almalki later told a news conference: "The RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] fully knew that I would be tortured if they sent questions.
"My life had been ruined, my reputation has been ruined."
The Canadian government ordered the probe in 2006 after an earlier inquiry found that Canadian Maher Arar had been deported to Syria by the United States and tortured there, after what the inquiry said was the false identification of him as an Islamic extremist by Canadian police.
Stockwell Day, the Canadian public security minister, said security agencies had taken steps to correct shortcomings following the Arar affair.
He declined to say if compensation would be offered, saying civil lawsuits were in progress.
Seeking to do your duty conscientiously while indirectly being responsible for torture and imprisonment.
Here is a quote from Iacobucci from the CBC.
"I found no evidence that any of these officials were seeking to do anything other than carry out conscientiously the duties and responsibilities of the institutions of which they were a part," former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci concluded in his report, made public Tuesday, 22 months after the inquiry began.
These conscientious persons included some person or person who labelled El Maati as linked to Al Qaeda and an imminent threat to Canadian security on the basis of intelligence not collected by the RCMP and not verified:
He noted three instances of information sharing by Canadian officials that led indirectly to El Maati's detention. The Toronto truck driver was arrested by Syrian officials in 2001 when he was in Damascus to attend his wedding. He was later transferred to Egypt, spending a total of 26 months in prison.
The report said that in September 2001, the RCMP described El Maati to foreign law officials, including Syrian officials, as "linked through association to al-Qaeda" and an "imminent threat to public safety."
"The RCMP appears to have described Mr. El Maati in its way without taking steps to ensure that the description was accurate or properly qualified," Iacobucci wrote, adding that the source of the information did not come from the force's own investigation
The same sort of mislabelling occurs with respect to the other two. It is for that reason the three think the report clears their name-at least to some extent.
Apparently this gross incompetence which resulted in imprisonment and torture for the three Canadians will go completely unpunished, just as I predicted. In fact no one even seems to be calling for anyone to be held accountable. Listen to the sweet voice of reason Iacobucci.
It is neither necessary nor appropriate that I make findings concerning the actions of any individual Canadian official, and I have not done so," Iacobucci wrote.
He is correct. He earned his pay. After all no Canadian official held any torture weapons or directly ordered torture. Gross incompetence is no big deal when you are successfully carrying out rendition lite and helping out the war on terror. Note that neither the US, Syria, Egypt, nor Malaysia would co-operate with the investigation. Now I wonder why! The U.S. and Canada co-operate when dirty tricks are involved but not when injustices come up and the innocent need to be absolved of suspicions.
"I found no evidence that any of these officials were seeking to do anything other than carry out conscientiously the duties and responsibilities of the institutions of which they were a part," former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci concluded in his report, made public Tuesday, 22 months after the inquiry began.
These conscientious persons included some person or person who labelled El Maati as linked to Al Qaeda and an imminent threat to Canadian security on the basis of intelligence not collected by the RCMP and not verified:
He noted three instances of information sharing by Canadian officials that led indirectly to El Maati's detention. The Toronto truck driver was arrested by Syrian officials in 2001 when he was in Damascus to attend his wedding. He was later transferred to Egypt, spending a total of 26 months in prison.
The report said that in September 2001, the RCMP described El Maati to foreign law officials, including Syrian officials, as "linked through association to al-Qaeda" and an "imminent threat to public safety."
"The RCMP appears to have described Mr. El Maati in its way without taking steps to ensure that the description was accurate or properly qualified," Iacobucci wrote, adding that the source of the information did not come from the force's own investigation
The same sort of mislabelling occurs with respect to the other two. It is for that reason the three think the report clears their name-at least to some extent.
Apparently this gross incompetence which resulted in imprisonment and torture for the three Canadians will go completely unpunished, just as I predicted. In fact no one even seems to be calling for anyone to be held accountable. Listen to the sweet voice of reason Iacobucci.
It is neither necessary nor appropriate that I make findings concerning the actions of any individual Canadian official, and I have not done so," Iacobucci wrote.
He is correct. He earned his pay. After all no Canadian official held any torture weapons or directly ordered torture. Gross incompetence is no big deal when you are successfully carrying out rendition lite and helping out the war on terror. Note that neither the US, Syria, Egypt, nor Malaysia would co-operate with the investigation. Now I wonder why! The U.S. and Canada co-operate when dirty tricks are involved but not when injustices come up and the innocent need to be absolved of suspicions.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Press conference Al Malki et al and lawyers re Iacobucci report
I just finished listening to part of this conference. Almalki hardly needs a laywer, he seemed to be the most articulate of anyone at the conference. He claims his cognitive powers have been diminished by torture. It wasn't evident at the conference!
It seems that the report is more positive for the civil cases of the three than I had thought. Iacobucci clearly notes that some of the labelling of the three as terrorists and as associated with Al Qaeda was mistaken or not well established.
The lawyers stressed the fact that the inquiry had established that the three had been tortured- although this had been established earlier in the Arar inquiry. They also noted that Canadian officials had indirectly caused their incarceration and resulting torture.
However, Iacobucci claims that officials were just doing their job as they saw it. So there is nothing malicious about labelling someone a terrorist without good evidence or sending questions to jailors who torture and asking for answers. Maybe it is not malicious but it should be grounds for dismissal. It shows gross incompetence or else being part of a bigger plan which cannot be revealed because it would jeapordize national security through poisoning our relationships with the intelligence agencies of other countries. Note that in the US Arar is still on record as being a member of Al Qaeda, that is why he was deported to Syria to be interrogated and tortured. In my opinion all three cases investigated were examples of adventitious rendition. The three were in Syria and the Canadian authorities took the occasion to give information to Syrian authorities that resulted in their arrests and interrogation. Of course the Iacobucci inquiry failed to reach that conclusion.
It seems that the report is more positive for the civil cases of the three than I had thought. Iacobucci clearly notes that some of the labelling of the three as terrorists and as associated with Al Qaeda was mistaken or not well established.
The lawyers stressed the fact that the inquiry had established that the three had been tortured- although this had been established earlier in the Arar inquiry. They also noted that Canadian officials had indirectly caused their incarceration and resulting torture.
However, Iacobucci claims that officials were just doing their job as they saw it. So there is nothing malicious about labelling someone a terrorist without good evidence or sending questions to jailors who torture and asking for answers. Maybe it is not malicious but it should be grounds for dismissal. It shows gross incompetence or else being part of a bigger plan which cannot be revealed because it would jeapordize national security through poisoning our relationships with the intelligence agencies of other countries. Note that in the US Arar is still on record as being a member of Al Qaeda, that is why he was deported to Syria to be interrogated and tortured. In my opinion all three cases investigated were examples of adventitious rendition. The three were in Syria and the Canadian authorities took the occasion to give information to Syrian authorities that resulted in their arrests and interrogation. Of course the Iacobucci inquiry failed to reach that conclusion.
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