Community Garden
Sara Falconer
If the Iacobucci inquiry is the sequel to the Maher Arar report, then Benamar Benatta's case is shaping up to be the explosive finale to the trilogy. At this point, it's a bit of a cliff-hanger - will the Canadian government continue to deport Muslim refugees and immigrants to torture? Will it even open an inquiry?The twist in Benatta's saga is that he wasn't tortured in Morocco, or Syria; no, Canada's first post-9/11 extraordinary rendition victim was sent to the United States, where he was held for almost five years.
Fleeing political persecution after deserting the Algerian Armed Forces, Benatta made a refugee claim in Canada on Sept. 5, 2001.
On Sept. 12, without a hearing or access to legal counsel, he was simply handed to U.S. officials.
"The issue that he is a Muslim man who happened to know about airplanes surely is not enough to throw all the laws in this country out the window," says Nicole Chrolavicius, a human rights lawyer who is representing Benatta in a civil case.
"They're a formidable opponent in terms of resources, and they also hold all the power in terms of access to information," she says. "We still remain hopeful that the government will see fit to order a public inquiry in this case."
Benatta tells of beatings, of sleep deprivation, of guards writing "WTC" (World Trade Center) on the door of his cell. Although he was cleared of any links to terrorism by the FBI in 2001, he had no idea because he was held incommunicado from legal counsel for months. His mistreatment
was documented by the U.S. Department of Justice and denounced as torture by the United Nations.In November 2007, Benatta's refugee claim was accepted by Canada. It's a sour victory.
"If they gave me due process in 2001, I would have been granted refugee status. Instead they violated my rights and exposed me to these risks," he says.
Earlier this month, lead counsel for the federal government Michael Peirce told the Iacobucci inquiry that the government does not believe that the UN Convention Against Torture prevents CSIS and the RCMP from sharing information with countries with poor human rights records, saying that international standards do not trump national security concerns. The private inquiry is investigating the role Canada played in the detention and torture of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin in Syria and Egypt.
Benatta's campaign for an inquiry is gaining some ground. "We need to address [the] whole issue of the rendition system," he insists. "This situation is going to keep happening over and over and over unless the system is changed."
On Jan. 30, Benatta will march with supporters to deliver a petition with close to 1,000 signatures to Prime Minister Harper. For more information and to sign on, visit www.benamarbenatta.com. According to the Iacobucci inquiry's mandate, it must deliver its report by the end of January.
In the meantime, it's not easy for Benatta to find work in his field of aeronautics with five years lost and an undeserved black mark on his reputation. "It's like I'm still in detention," he says. "Because of this one move by the government, my whole life is a mess."
Canada's First 9/11 Rendition to Torture: An Evening with Benamar Benatta happens Tuesday, January 29, at 7:30 p.m. at Public Service Alliance of Canada Hall (233 Gilmour St., at Metcalfe).
