Ottawa denies responsibility for overseas torture – In newly filed court documents, government says it ‘has no knowledge’ of whether three Canadians were abused in Syrian prison
Abdullah Almalki, entouré de Muayyed Nureddin et de Ahmad El Maati, devant les médias en octobre 2007.
The federal government denies responsibility for the overseas imprisonment and torture of three Canadians, despite a commission of inquiry report that parcelled out blame to CSIS, the RCMP and Foreign Affairs.
In newly filed court documents, the government goes so far as to say it “has no knowledge” of whether the men were abused in Syrian prison cells, even though former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci concluded they were tortured.
Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin are suing the federal government in Ontario Superior Court over alleged complicity in their detention and mistreatment abroad.
The claims against the government have not been tested in court.
The commission of inquiry led by Mr. Iacobucci, which reported last October, found Canadian officials contributed to the brutalization of the three men by sharing information – including unfounded and inflammatory accounts of extremist links – with foreign intelligence and police agencies.
Mr. Iacobucci cited the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Foreign Affairs for mistakes in the three cases.
In his 544-page report, the former judge said the three men were tortured in Syrian custody and, in the case of El Maati, in Egypt as well.
In statements of defence filed in the cases, the government says if mistreatment did occur, responsibility rests with Syrian and Egyptian authorities.
None of the men – all of whom are now in Canada and deny involvement in terrorism – has ever been criminally charged.
They want compensation for ordeals they say shattered their reputations and left them physically and psychologically bruised.
Mr. Almalki, an Ottawa electronics engineer, was detained in Syria in 2002 and held for 22 months.
“What will it take for the government to acknowledge the harm it has inflicted upon myself and my family?” Mr. Almalki said in an interview. “When will the government apologize and address this harm?”
Mr. El Maati, a former truck driver, was arrested in November 2001 upon flying to Syria to celebrate his wedding — nuptials that never took place.
False confessions extracted under torture from Mr. El Maati were used to justify a telephone wiretap in Canada. After several weeks in Syria, he was flown to Egypt and further abused during two years of detention there.
Mr. Nureddin, a Toronto geologist, was detained by Syrian officials in December, 2003, as he crossed the border from Iraq, where he was visiting family. He was held for 34 days in Syria in late 2003 and early 2004.
In identical wording in all three statements of defence, the government rejects the men’s claims, adding the suits should be dismissed.
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Tags: Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, Canadian government, CSIS, Egypt, Iacobucci inquiry, Muayyed Nureddin, RCMP, Syria, Torture
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