...federal aviation records examined by The New York Times appear to corroborate Mr. Arar's account of his flight, during which, he says, he sat chained on the leather seats of a luxury executive jet as his American guards watched movies and ignored his protests.
The Justice Department is challenging the assertion Mr. Arar was sent to another country, specifically Syria, for interrogation. Why Syria? If Mr. Arar is Canadian, why not deport him to Canada? Perhaps Syria has persuasive methods of interrogation.
The tale of Mr. Arar, the subject of a yearlong inquiry by the Canadian government, is perhaps the best documented of a number of cases since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which suspects have accused the United States of secretly delivering them to other countries for interrogation under torture.
In papers filed in a New York court replying to Mr. Arar's lawsuit, Justice Department lawyers say the case was not one of rendition but of deportation. They say Mr. Arar was deported to Syria based on secret information that he was a member of Al Qaeda, an accusation he denies.
The term rendition is used to describe the action of taking someone and deporting them abroad for interrogation. Justice Department lawyers argue the act was one of deportation, not rendition.
But, once again, why Syria? Also, notice how often we read about "secret" information or sources that if divulged would compromise national security or the investigation. Here's a typical response:
Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, said the government had no comment on the case. The administration has refused to cooperate with the Canadian inquiry into Mr. Arar's case and has asked a judge to dismiss most of his lawsuit, saying that allowing it to proceed would reveal classified information.
I don't know about you, but I want facts. There seems to be too much secrecy with this administration.
Again, from the article:
If the plane was used to move Mr. Arar, it is the fourth known to have been used to transport suspected terrorists secretly from one country to detention in another.
Among the three identified in previous news reports is one owned by a company apparently set up by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to The Washington Post. Another, first described by The Chicago Tribune, is an ordinary charter jet that was also used by the Boston Red Sox manager between missions ferrying detainees and their guards to Guantánamo, with the Red Sox logo attached to the fuselage or removed, depending on who was aboard.
As for who was using the aircraft during the time of his apprehension, it seems as if someone's privacy is more important than getting to the bottom of who was responsible for transferring Mr. Arar to Syria:
Nigel England, director of operations for Presidential [Presidential Aviation, operators of the Gulfstream III jet reported to have transported Mr. Arar, is a charter company in Fort Lauderdale, FL], said he would not divulge who rented the Gulfstream that day or discuss any clients.
"It's a very select group of people that we fly, from entertainers to foreign heads of state, a whole gamut of customers that we fly and wouldn't discuss one over the other," he said.
It is not clear how much support the Canadian government is going to receive in pursuing this lawsuit. Most likely, very little.
Why isn't any of this making headlines? Shipping off individuals to countries that will do the dirty work for the US, who knows how many individuals were affected and what cruely was inflicted upon them. This is not the first of such revelations. and this will likely not be the last.
Shame on the government.
Shame on us for not doing more to hold those responsible accountable.
Technorati Categories: Human Rights, Prisoner Abuse, War
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