In September 2002 U.S. authorities arrested Arar, a 36-year-old telecommunications engineer, in New York and deported him to his native Syria even though he was a Canadian citizen traveling on a Canadian passport. During a year in prison in Damascus, Syria, Arar was tortured into false confessions of links to “terrorism,” the Toronto Star reported.

Arar’s fight for justice has drawn attention to other examples of how Canada’s rulers are using the “war on terrorism” to attack the rights of working people. Kassim Mohamed, a former Toronto school bus driver, was jailed in Egypt for two weeks in 2004, missing the birth of his child, after Canadian authorities “investigated” him for “terrorism,” although he was never charged.

Canadian officials say that based on Section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act, as amended by the 2001 “Antiterrorism Act,” they do not have to reveal any information about their “investigation” against Mohamed. He has demanded a letter from the federal government “indicating that he is not suspected of being a terrorist,” the Star reported.

In a related case, a federal court is holding a bail hearing for Mahmoud Jaballah, an Egyptian-born man who was arrested and jailed without charges five years ago. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has accused Jaballah of being a member of al-Jihad, which it says is a “terrorist” group, and of orchestrating several bombings in East Africa. Neither Jaballah nor his lawyer have been allowed to see the evidence against him.
 
 
Related articles:
N.Y. attorney, two legal aides sentenced to jail in ‘terror’ case
Socialist candidate: Drop sentences! Reverse convictions!  
 
 
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