Canadian government calls for inquiry on citizen arrested in U.S.

Published: 2004-01-30

OTTAWA (CNS) -- The Canadian government said it would hold a public inquiry into the 2002 arrest in the United States of a naturalized Canadian citizen who was eventually deported to Syria. Maher Arar, 33, accused of having terrorist links, spent 10 months in a Syrian jail where he allegedly was tortured before being released back to Canada last October. The case drew the attention of numerous church and human rights groups, including the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. "We are very, very happy that the Canadian government has taken this step, and we hope it will bring us justice," said Arar, an Ottawa telecommunications engineer, at a Jan. 28 press conference in Ottawa.

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