Media Release

Arar lawyers want Canadians to hear the truth about use of evidence gathered under torture

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Lawyers for Maher Arar say now is the time to openly discuss the issue of whether or not Canadian intelligence authorities are using information extracted under torture to implicate individuals such as Mr. Arar.

Responding to the Canadian Government’s position that much of the documentation surrounding the Arar case must be kept secret in the interests of national security and international relations, Marlys Edwardh and Lorne Waldman ask Inquiry Commissioner Mr. Justice Dennis O’Connor to “approach with skepticism” the Government’s application to suppress a wide range of documents. Much material is already in the public eye, often through selective leaks or statements made by government authorities in both Canada and the US. (Mr. Arar’s lawyers advised the Commissioner that this argument will be enhanced in a motion to be put before the Inquiry, due to begin hearings on June 14.)

The submission, entitled “National Security and Confidentiality” says that recent intelligence failures in Iraq have “shaken the confidence of the citizenry in the ability of our intelligence services to properly collect and assess information”. The Canadian Government describes a “seamless flow” of information between Canada and the United States. In the current climate, there is great public interest in knowing whether Canada provides information to other nations without regard to how it will be used or abused.”.

The Government’s claim that intelligence gathering methods would be adversely affected by public scrutiny is “overbroad to the point of being insulting”. Techniques used in criminal and intelligence investigations are well-known. No fact is more notorious than CSIS’s interest in Muslim men, born in the Middle East who may have links to Afghanistan, no matter how tenuous. “It strains credulity” to say disclosure of this would harm national security.

In their submission, Arar’s lawyers ask Justice O’Connor to maintain a fragile balance between the claim of National Security and the right of citizens to hold accountable those who are complicit in torture.

Media Contact for Maher Arar: Kelly Crichton
email: kellycrichton@sympatico.ca (613) 832-9349 or cell (613) 858-8180