| US appeals court: Lawsuit by detained Canadian was properly dismissed | |
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| Law Firm Bulletin - Small Law Firm News |
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NEW YORK — A federal appeals court says a Canadian engineer cannot sue the United States after being mistaken for a terrorist when he was changing planes in America a year after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The full 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday regarding Maher Arar. The Syrian-born Ottawa man was detained as he tried to switch planes in New York in 2002. The Center for constitutional Rights, which represented the Ottawa resident, said its lawyers had not seen the ruling and could not immediately comment. Arar was detained in New York in September 2002 and shipped abroad by U.S. authorities. He wound up in a Damascus cell where he was beaten into giving false confessions about terrorist links. Three years ago, a Canadian inquiry headed by Justice Dennis O'Connor found the RCMP passed misleading, inaccurate and unfair information to the Americans that likely led to Arar's arrest and deportation to face torture at the hands of Syrian military intelligence. |
