This is a rather suprising but positive development in Arar's suit against the U.S. government. There is no explanation as to why the Court decided to review the case. The Bush administration may be upset by this development. It will insist that national security issues preclude going forward with the case no doubt.
Not only is Arar still on the U.S. no fly list, in the judgment that resulted in his deportation to Syria he is described as a member of Al Qaeda!
Arar lawsuit to get rare review by U.S. Appeal Court
Last Updated: Thursday, August 14, 2008 3:52 PM ET
The Canadian Press
A U.S. Appeal Court said Thursday it will revisit a lawsuit filed by Ottawa-based engineer Maher Arar, who was tortured in Syria after he was shipped overseas by American authorities.
The court dismissed an appeal from Arar in June.
It has now issued what Arar's lawyers call an extremely rare decision to take a second look at the case without prompting from the parties involved.
Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was detained at New York's JFK International Airport in September 2002 and later whisked out of the country as a terrorism suspect, winding up in a grim prison cell in Damascus.
Under torture, he gave false confessions to Syrian military intelligence about alleged ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
After a Canadian public inquiry exonerated Arar of any suspected terrorist involvement, he was awarded a $10.5-million compensation package in January 2007.
© The
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