Does CSIS condone torure? Or doesn’t it?
p2pnet news view | Freedom:- “Maher Arar is a 34-year-old wireless technology consultant. He was born in Syria and came to Canada with his family at the age of 17. He became a Canadian citizen in 1991. On Sept. 26, 2002, while in transit in New York`s JFK airport when returning home from a vacation, Arar was detained by US officials and interrogated about alleged links to al-Qaeda. Twelve days later, he was chained, shackled and flown to Syria, where he was held in a tiny ‘grave-like’ cell for ten months and ten days before he was moved to a better cell in a different prison.
“In Syria, he was beaten, tortured and forced to make a false confession.
“During his imprisonment, Arar’s wife, Monia Mazigh, campaigned relentlessly on his behalf until he was returned to Canada in October 2003. On Jan. 28, 2004, under pressure from Canadian human rights organizations and a growing number of citizens, the Government of Canada announced a Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar.
“On September 18, 2006, the Commissioner of the Inquiry, 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.’ To read the Commissioner’s report, including his findings on the actions of Canadian officials, please visit the Arar Commission’s website or click here.”
The paragraphs above come from Maher Arar’s web site.
The 312 words are all that remains of the 21st century horror story in which Arar, an innocent man, was stripped of his rights while the Canadian government looked on, doing nothing to help him.
Yesterday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), “offered conflicting interpretations of policy yesterday on the use of information derived from torture abroad, with a senior official saying that Canadian spies would act on it to prevent a catastrophe,” says the Globe and Mail, quoting CSIS dviser Geoffrey O’Brian as telling a parliamentary committee, “We only do so if lives are at stake.”
But the Conservative government, “moved quickly” to deny testimony, says the Toronto Star, going on:
“Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan told reporters that Geoffrey O’Brian, adviser on CSIS operations and legislation, wrongly stated the policy and practice of the government and its spy agency. “The rule of the government, the practice of the government is quite clear. We do not condone the use of torture in any circumstances.”
However, “The simple truth is, if we get information which can prevent something like the Air India bombing, the Twin Towers whatever, frankly that is the time when we will use it [information derived from torture] despite the provenance of that information,” O’Brian told the public safety committee Tuesday, says the story.
Intelligence expert Wesley Wark, “said he was surprised by Mr. O’Brian’s assertion, given that recent experiences show that information obtained under torture is largely worthless,who you are” says the Globe and Mail.
“It would mean that CSIS was involved essentially in breaking Canada’s commitments to international conventions forbidding the use of torture,” the sotry had him saying, adding:
“The matter is crucial given the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian engineer who was tortured in Syria and whose case was at the heart of a public inquiry.”
[The upper right pic is the cover of She Fought for Her Husband, Maher Arar]
stripped of his rights – CIA victim Maher Arar: 2nd chance for justice, August 20, 2008
Globe and Mail - CSIS offers conflicting stance on information derived from torture, April 1, 2009
Toronto Star – , April 2, 2009
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It`s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Proof that CSIS Condones Torture
I suspect that Mr. O’Brian was not at all confused in his original statement when Parliament was told there are circumstances where Canadian spies might rely on information obtained from foreign torture. There is substantial additional evidence not yet considered by The Parliamentary Committee that CSIS does in fact condone the use of torture. The matter is being covered up by the Government of Canada.
Several articles have already been published on the subject. The following article âLies,
Threats and Government Cover-upâ describes these human rights abuses by CSIS:
http://mostlywater.org/node/64811
This case involves abuses that are not of the medieval type of torture, but a more modern Orwellian 1984 equivalent that is sometimes called Zerzetsen since it was developed by the former GDR secret police âThe Stasiâ to pressure dissidents. These human rights abuses by CSIS were brought, through an intermediary, to Prime Minister Harperâs direct attention and it is being covered-up.
This January I spoke at McMaster University to the 30th World Congress on Economic Crime Prevention. I had previously submitted a research paper on the use of the Zerzetsen torture technique today in Canada and the UK by CSIS and MI5. The paperâs URL is:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12401193/Corporate-Terrorism-Blowing-And-Failure-of-Policing
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan are both aware from my own case that CSIS condones torture in Canada and the cover-up continues. A more detailed version of my research paper has been sent to the following MPs and Senators on the Parliamentary Human Rights Committees and it is time that they responded:
DosanU@parl.gc.ca, MurphB@parl.gc.ca, FaseE@parl.gc.ca, MenarR@parl.gc.ca, LemayM@parl.gc.ca, Leblad@parl.gc.ca, JUST@parl.gc.ca, ComarJ@parl.gc.ca, dallar@sen.parl.gc.ca, Jaffem@sen.parl.gc.ca, goldsy@sen.parl.gc.ca, poyv@sen.parl.gc.ca
The Chairman of the UK Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights has responded advising that my paper has been formally put before UK committee members. These human rights abuses started in Canada, we fled to the UK where they continued, returning to Canada in 2006 where they still continue. It is time that the cover-up in Canada was stopped. As the paper shows these allegations are verified by independent witnesses.
Roderick Russell
304, 2204 – 1 St SW
Calgary AB T2S 1P4
(403) 229 â 0864