Injustice Issues:

The Unlawful Detention and Rendition of Mahar

Arar
General Statement

Rendition was not executed by edict of trial

National sovereignty undermined
Scenario fulfillment
False Information

This discussion covers the events related to the extraordinary rendition of a

Canadian citizen into the custody of hostile foreign nation. We see that the United
States Department of Justice was able to misuse established immigration
procedures and systems. This case involves international law and how such
international laws and conventions can be abused in such a way to undermine the
sovereignty of the participatory nations. This case also highlights the consequences
of powerful process of externalizing of fear that large societies generate and the
false zeal such fears produce.

The events take place during a twelve month span - from the day of September 26,
2002 when while in transit in New York’s JFK airport returning home from a vacation
Mr. Arar was detained by US officials and interrogated about alleged links to al-
Qaeda - until October 5, 2003, when he was released to the Canadian Consul in
Syria to be returned to Canada. This practice, known as “Extraordinary Rendition”,
is not isolated to a single individual and has been exercised on many occasions.

One other factor worth mentioning is the psychological condition of 'scenario

fulfillment', which is said to occur when persons are under pressure. (Essentially a
“self-fulfilling prophecy”). In such a situation, the men will carry out a training
scenario, believing it to be reality while ignoring sensory information that
contradicts the scenario.

Discussion one: Background Information:

Maher Arar

Maher Arar is a Syrian-Born Canadian citizen. Arar emigrated from Syria to Canada
with his family in 1987 when he was seventeen years old. He became a Canadian
citizen in 1991. His family left Syria in 1980’s to escape a tyrannical overbearing
government. Arar earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from McGill
University and a master's degree in telecommunications from the Institut National
de la Recherche Scientifique (a branch of the Université du Québec) in Montreal.
While studying at McGill University, Arar met his future wife, Monia Mazigh. Arar and
Mazigh married in 1994. Ms. Mazigh has a Ph.D. in finance from McGill. They have
two young children: Barâa and Houd. He has earned his Ph.D. in Electrical
Engineering/Wireless communications in 2010.

Discussion Two – Allegations and investigation of Wrongdoing:

Arar was accused of having terrorist links in Canada.

A “Watch List” consisting of supposed to have terrorist links.
Information sharing between U.S. & Canada

Arar Mahar was en route to Montreal from vacationing in Tunis, with stops in Zurich,
then New York, to Montreal. His flight arrived in New York at 2:00 p.m. on
September 26th 2002.

He had a few hours to wait until his connecting flight to Montreal.

When his name is entered into the computer he is pulled aside. Two hours later he
is fingerprinted and photographed. He is told this is regular procedure. Airport police
search his bag and wallet and photocopy his passport. They refuse to answer Mr.
Arar’s questions, and will not let him make a phone call. At this point Mr. Mahar was
not told what was going on.

During his detention in New York, Mr. Arar says, authorities confronted him with a
lease he signed in 1997 in Ottawa. It was apparently given to U.S. police or
intelligence agencies by their Canadian counterparts.
The five-year-old lease documents were witnessed by Abdullah Almalki, a man the
United States regards as an al-Qaeda suspect. Mr. Arar says he was friends with Mr.
Almalki's brother and that Mr. Almalki had signed as a witness on the lease because
the brother was busy.

No account has been given of how, or when, the lease got into the possession of the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation or of immigration agents who were
interrogating Mr. Arar.

Arar was labeled as member of al Qaeda without evidence. As part of an ongoing

investigation of others, Arar was seen talking to one of those persons under
investigation. All people investigated were subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.
Nobody in the group was proven to be linked to al Qaeda. The Landlord was being
investigated as part of a subsequent inquiry1. The Canadian authorities did not
properly analyze the information in their possession beforehand. They rushed to
send this information to their American counterparts. This urgency was rationalized
along a philosophy of “Zero-tolerance” – officials become determined to respond
immediately rather than take a risk real or perceived (trying eliminate any random
occurrences)2. Arar was Taken prisoner at the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC)
in New York. He remained in custody there for one week. The lease was the only
document produced regarding the allegation that he was member of al Qaeda. This
was the only document the authorities disclosed Arar - the full body of evidence, to
this day, has never been produced – it was said to be “classified information”.

Arar had travelled often many times in the past to many overseas countries as a
telecommunications contractor for years without incident.

In detention he was interrogated for two days straight in sessions lasting six to eight
hours. No legal council was afforded to Arar. On the third day of confinement he
was allowed to contact a lawyer. Authorities lied about the evidence against him
and gave false information to his legal counsel. Arar was also able to contact his
mother-in-law during this time. His Lawyer would visit him at the prison in-between
interrogations that lasted six to eight hours. Two days after that he was flown to
Jordan where he was transported to Syria.

1
Al’Jazeera - Interview with Mahar Arar
2
See: Scenario Fulfillment. Re: Inquiry of the USS Vincennes. It is a documented, yet un-recognized,
phenomenon of modern combat scenario training.

Discussion Three: Trial Information

Mr. Arar is detained at airport by regular airport security acting on orders issued
from department of homeland security (which is a Branch of The Department of
Justice). Homeland security received the information from Canadian Security and
Intelligence services. That is all. No other materials were introduced as evidence.

A commission of inquiry was launched in 2004 by the Canadian government.

Further official Inquiry into the Arar Affair has been launched as a direct result of
the first commission’s findings3.

Justice Dennis O'Connor cleared Arar of all terrorism allegations, stating he was
"able to say categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has
committed any offence or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of
Canada."

Accusations of terrorism (which is a euphemism for a violent act of sedition) are

criminal matters de facto. Any consequences derived from such criminal matters in
relation to the individuals immigration privilege come second and must handled
once guilt of wrongdoing is established by court of law. The Governor General’s
2004 inquiry into the Arar Affair seen Mr. Arar to be totally exonerated of any
wrongdoing.

3
Mitch Potter. The Star.com. Published http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/823207--rcmp-
goes-global-with-maher-arar-torture-probe

Discussion Four: Conviction Resolution

 Extraordinary Rendition to Syria
Private jet trip to Syria
Torture
Syria and US are not allies
Mr. Arar’s communication with the Canadian consulate

Mr. Arar was accompanied by guards on a private jet on which he was the only
prisoner. The setting was very informal - he was not shackled. This operation
required a coordinated effort from teams of authorities from the three separate
countries: United States, Jordan and Syria. He was flown into Jordan to be sent to
Syria by bus from there. Mr. Arar was locked away in solitary confinement for 10
months. Locked underground, he was completely deprived of light during that time.

The Order to have Mr. Arar detained was determined to have originated from The
United States Department of Justice. This order was based on incomplete
information provided by Canadian Security and Information Services (CSIS).
Interrogation regarding supposed terrorist activities occurred on a regular basis
during his detention at the Far Falestin Intelligence bureau in Syria. Other people
were being tortured there. In spite of the fact that the U.S. and Syria are not allies,
Syrian officials wanted to impress American officials with their supposed superior
information gathering techniques regardless.

Terrorists operating undercover who carry out deadly attacks are believed, mostly
due to the advanced knowledge required to maintain and co-ordinate operations
involving dozens of individual cells, to have a certain educated profile - Arar fit this
produced profile. It must be stated that information derived from torture is, without
a doubt, not reliable.

There was no intention of releasing him - ever. Pressure from his wife, family and
the Canadian public forced the Canadian government to take an interest in his
illegal incarceration. A formal public inquiry was launched in 2004. Official apologies
from the Canadian Government were issued to Mr. Arar and he was cleared of any
wrongdoing. Even in the minutes leading to his release to the Canadian consul, Mr.
Arar was forced by violence by his torturers to notarize false confession documents.
The Canadian consul took Mr. Arar to his private home in Syria to await his return to
Canada.

Discussion Five: Consequence Resolution

Publicity
Sued US authorities
RCMP will investigate internationally

Confession under torture was leaked to the public by the U.S. D.O.J. four days after
his release in an attempt to undermine his campaign to sue the perpetrators. A
lawsuit against the Canadian army was unsuccessful. For months nobody could
ascertain just who was responsible for giving the order for Mr. Arar’s detention and
rendition. A Commission of Inquiry by the Governor General was subsequently
launched in 2004. He was compensated regardless to the amount of millions
Canadian dollars and given a public apology by the Canadian Government for its
role in providing the erroneous information which lead to his apprehension and
subsequent torture. Arar is still determined to bring the perpetrators of his ordeal to
justice. Three attempts to bring the case to the U.S. Supreme Court have failed –
one in 2006, again in December 2009 and a third refusal by the Obama
administration in June, 2010. He remains stonewalled by the United States
establishment who firmly deny any involvement in his rendition. The Department of
Justice maintains the outrageous claim that when given the choice between being
deported to Canada or Syria, the country of deportation asked to chose to be Syria –
that Mr. Arar chose to relinquish, without motive, his loving family, career and
security in this manner does not make any logical sense.

Mr. Arar is reminded constantly of his ordeal in daily life. He states on the record
that he fears this will happen again.

Conclusion

The pseudo-science of profiling

State-enforced defenselessness and protection racketeering
No one willing to enforce laws broken by government officials
State-sponsored torture
Post-traumatic stress

Mr. Arar was unfairly made to pay the consequences that emerge from a public who
unwilling to defend themselves place their personal defense into the hands of
strangers and elite organizations. Recorded history proves, time and time again,
that such establishments always abuse their power, become negligent and finally
turn against the very people they were sworn to protect. What are these guardians
supposed to do when there is nothing to guard against? What other consequences
lie ahead for us when thousands of otherwise normal people establish livelihoods in
use of force? We have all become the victims of a state-endorsed protection racket
of international proportions.

Criminal investigators frequently employ the pseudo-science of profiling to generate

suspects when they have no leads in a case. As opposed to using evidence to tie a
suspect into the crime, investigators will use what they call a “profile”. Essentially,
constructing a profile requires observations of consistencies which when arrayed in
an arbitrary fashion will seem to resemble a pattern. There is little empirical
evidence that profiling is effective. It mostly rests on commonsense justifications. In
a controlled situation, professional profilers were not significantly better than 1st
year science students in predicting criminals' cognitive processes, physical
attributes, offense behaviors, or social habits and history. 4
Michel Chossudovsky from The Centre for Research on Globalization best
summarizes the attitudes behind these heinous actions against Mr. Arar:

“The American Inquisition as an ideological construct which is, in many

regards, similar to the inquisitorial social order prevailing in France and
Spain during the Middle Ages. The inquisition, which started in France in
the 12th century, was used as a justification for conquest and military
intervention. (See Michel Chossudovsky, 9/11 and the "American
Inquisition", Global Research, September 11, 2008).”

Furthermore, he states that: “…An inquisitorial doctrine turns realities

upside down. It is a social order based on lies and fabrications. But
because these lies emanate from the highest political authority and are
part of a widely held "consensus", they invariably remain unchallenged.
And those who challenge the inquisitorial order or in any way oppose
America's military or national security agenda are themselves branded as
"conspiracy theorists" or outright terrorists.”

To pin anyone down with a connection to anybody is a common scientific fact called
“Degrees of separation”. Each degree is one step representing the person plus
associations with other human beings. The first degree is the number of individual
associations, the second degree equals the total sum of the first degree times itself
and so on. The degree of separation principle demonstrates that each individual in a
society is no less than six steps from any other individual5. It can be demonstrated
that a single person can accumulate associations in the magnitude of thousands
when traced through as little as three degrees.

All this of itself, of course, is common sense – which you are required to surrender in
exchange for participation in state-controlled rackets. Such propositions are
historically categorized as coercion - a topic which exceeds the scope of this current
discussion.

The persons responsible for his torture have yet to be brought to justice. There are
no consequences for state authorities who deliberately withhold, tamper or destroy
evidence. Cooperation with countries that practice torture is wrong.
4
Kocsis, Richard N. (2004). Psychological Profiling of Serial Arson Offenses an
Assessment of Skills and Accuracy. Criminal Justice and Behavior. 31 (3), 341-361.

5
Watts and Strogatz showed that: Average Path Length = (ln N / ln K) where N =
total nodes and K = acquaintances per node. Thus if N = 300,000,000 (90% US
pop.) and K = 30 then Degrees of Separation = 19.5 / 3.4 = 5.7 and if N =
6,000,000,000 (90% World pop.) and K = 30 then Degrees of Separation = 22.5 /
3.4 = 6.6. (Assume 10% of population is too young to participate.)

Watts, D.J.; Strogatz, S.H. (1998). "Collective dynamics of 'small-world' networks.".

Nature 393 (6684): 409–10. doi:10.1038/30918. PMID 9623998.
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