Maher Arar: My case reveals insincerity of human rights commitments by the U.S.

[marmar]

from the Progressive:




My case reveals insincerity of human rights commitments by the U.S.
By Maher Arar, December 9, 2009


Dec. 10 is Human Rights Day, but any gestures the United States makes in commemoration will come across as hollow to me.

A few weeks ago, seven federal judges told me I had no way to seek justice in American courts for being sent by U.S. officials to be tortured in Syria, where I spent nearly a year in a grave-like underground cell.

I was a victim of an “extraordinary rendition”: I was seized by U.S. officials while changing planes in September 2002 at the Kennedy International Airport on my way home to Canada, prevented from going to court and sent, over my protests, to a country where I knew I would be tortured.

Despite both the Syrian and Canadian governments finding I had no connection to terrorism whatsoever, I have still received no justice from the United States and have seen no change since President Obama took office.

Since I launched my lawsuit with the help of the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2004, many facts regarding my case have surfaced. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.progressive.org/mp/arar120909.html

[TexasObserver]

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